October 2003 — Features
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Improving School Performance and Career Preparation With a Wireless Computer Lab
Project CREATE focused on careers, while giving students the technology, research and writing experiences necessary to help create their futures. The project sought to produce students who were critical thinkers, independent problem-solvers, as well as information seekers and processors. It also sought to cultivate students who were more aware of the career options available to them, as well as the skills and coursework necessary to pursue those careers. Overall, there were more than 365 regular and special needs ninth-graders impacted by this project.
Project CREATE was implemented through the addition of a mobile computer lab containing 32 wireless, networked laptop computers to the instructional environment of the school. The mobile lab was brought into each ninth-grade English I class once a week. The English I teacher along with the lab facilitator planned and conducted this class. All involved personnel attended six hours of training for familiarization with IBM-compatible computers, Microsoft Office 2000, Internet search engines, as well as other software and research materials.
The mobile computer lab consisted of two laptop carts with 16 Compaq laptops each, plus a printer and teacher station. The lab used software such as Microsoft Office Pro 2000, Open Office Pro 2000, Inspiration and Microsoft LearningPaq software, which includes Bookshelf, Encarta Encyclopedia, Works, World Atlas, Student Writing and Research Center, TimeLiner, and VirusScan. In addition, soft funds were used for materials and supplies, including floppy disks, paper, toner and storage boxes.
Facilitated by seven English I teachers, two career orientation teachers and a lab facilitator, Project CREATE consisted of three components:
- Technology education targeted computer application skills intertwined in the writing process. Students created portfolios of computer application activities and writing assignments. These activities provided students with experiences in selecting appropriate technological tools and applying technologies such as word processing, hypermedia and network search tools.
- Students employed these skills in a research environment that included various print, Internet and electronic resources in focusing on careers. The students also organized and extracted meaningful information using their word-processing skills.
- Finally, during application, students created a research project based on a career, integrating the information and skills accumulated in the above two components. The objective was to integrate computer application, writing and research skills into the English I curriculum to better prepare students for tomorrow's information-intensive world, assist them in choosing a career and prepare them for their state-mandated tests.
The purpose of Project CREATE was to strengthen student academic weaknesses as identified through teacher input, articulation with feeder schools and analysis of the test data. Careers were used as a focus to make the research more meaningful and applicable, as well as to guide the students in their high school preparation for the future.
Each of the following components emphasized organizational skills through the compilation of student portfolios. These portfolio requirements allowed students to select performance criteria, maintain an activity log and create a table of contents. Portfolios also provided students a mechanism to give a written explanation of the problem-solving and processing techniques employed throughout this project.
