Literacy and Laptops: Effects of a One-to-One Program

• In Event: Poster Session 20
  In Poster Session: Quantitative Approaches to the Evaluation of Literacy Programs and Instruction for Elementary and Secondary Students

Abstract

Though laptop programs are touted to be of value in K-12 literacy instruction, prior studies of reading and writing outcomes in such programs are inconclusive. This study examines the effect of a one-to-one laptop program on literacy processes and outcomes of 1,300 fourth-grade students in a California school district. Analysis of the California Standards Test results over a three-year period indicate that the laptop program positively and significantly impacted achievement in both reading and writing. In reading, the greatest gains accrued to English language learners, Hispanics, and students from low-income families. Classroom observations, interviews, and student and teacher surveys further confirmed the value of laptop access and provided information on particular ways that laptops were used to benefit literacy instruction.

Authors

• Binbin Zheng, University of California - Irvine

• Mark Warschauer, University of California - Irvine

• George Farkas, University of California - Irvine