Ubiquitous technology integration in Canadian public schools: Year one study

The current investigation was an exploration of the first year of a multi-year project designed to provide every Grade 3 to Grade 11 student throughout an English school board in Quebec with a laptop computer. Data were collected from 403 elementary and 270 secondary students from the experimental school board and also from 330 students in the control school board. In addition, questionnaire data were collected from 60 elementary school teachers and 51 secondary school teachers. Finally, interviews were conducted with 72 students and 20 teachers. Potentially the most interesting finding was the difference in achievement scores between the experimental and control boards. Secondary students from the experimental board had higher scores on the CAT-3 reading test and indicated making six times more frequent use of computer technology in their English classes, suggesting a possible treatment effect. In contrast, math scores were higher at the control board where neither board indicated high levels of computer use. Nevertheless, these findings must be interpreted with some caution until the threats to validity of selection bias are more clearly overcome.