OLPC research

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Research, Outcome Monitoring & Impact Evaluation

Introduction

This page provides links to reports related to the OLPC project. We begin by looking at the resources used; share instruments and frameworks as well as white papers and inform about the organizations involved.

We then arrange the reports under four main headings: Research[1], Outcome Monitoring [2], Impact Evaluation [3] and other works under Miscellaneous [4] Research, Monitoring & Evaluating is not only important as a way of improving, assessing and understanding what is happening in respective OLPC projects around the world, but also to connect this growing community at the forefront of technology integration in education to help build, suggest, and inform this field as it quickly grows and develops. In addition to the work itself, we are also at the apex of rethinking these approaches and models and innovating them to make sure the appropriate information and outcomes are being collected. The OLPC Learning Team, lead by Dr. Claudia Urrea have put forth a paper outlining the need for “Innovation in Evaluation.”[5]

We look forward for OLPC communities to continue contributing and sharing their work as well as welcome those looking for information on OLPC projects.

Please see also Experience, Constructionism, Reviews of OLPC, and Class Acts (a FLOSS Manuals community publication) for articles and other anecdotal works.

Resources

Instruments & Framework

to be added

White Papers

Innovation in Evaluation, by Dr. Claudia Urrea & Walter Bender (2012)

A look at the role of innovation in evaluation within OLPC projects and tools available through Sugar. Read more about their work here [6]

2011 OLPC in Rwanda Report by OLPC HQ (2011)

An OLPC HQ report on aspects of the Rwanda implementation.

One Laptop Per Child Pilot Project: Marshall Islands by Ministry of Education (2010)

This document outlines the Project Implementation Plan for the OLPC Pilot in the Marshall Islands. It is an addendum to the MOE Comprehensive Technology Plan.

Assessment and Overview of international M&E Reports, by the the OLPCF Learning Team (2010)

Recently published assessment of existing international M&E literature by local and government actors on OLPC distributions

Ghana: The One Laptop per Child Project and Its Applicability to Ghana, by Buchele & Owusu-Aning (2007)

An academic overview of work in Ghana, providing data and raising questions for anyone considering a national implementation.

Proposals

Please share works in progress

Research

Research is defined as the intent to add new general knowledge to the field using gathered information and data, [7] [8]

Literature

Tackling the Problems of Quality and Disparity in Nepal's School - Education: The OLPC Model (2008)

Dr. Saurav Dev Bhatta, OLE Nepal, June 2008
The paper argues that utilizing the full potential of the OLPC concept requires simultaneous work in four areas: digital content development, teacher preparation, network and power infrastructure development, and government capacity development.

First Experiences with OLPC in European Classrooms (2009)

Describes early programs in Graz, Austria. 10/30/2009

1:1 Technologies/Computing in the Developing World: Challenging the Digital Divide (2008)

Mary Hooker, Education Specialist, Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative. Requires ACM Membership to view.

Educational Outcomes and Research from 1:1 Computing Settings (2010)

Damian Bebell and Laura O'Dwyer
The current special edition of the Journal of Technology and Assessment presents four empirical studies of K–12 1:1 computing programs and one review of key themes in the conversation about 1:1 computing among advocates and critics.

Proposals

Please share works in progress

Outcome Monitoring

Outcome Monitoring is a form of evaluation or assessment. It allows programs to determine what is working, and what is not working, based from expected results, so that it may be addressed and improved on an on-going basis. [9]

Literature

Early OLPC experiences in an Uruguayan School

This report on the first Uruguayan XO pilot, with 150 students in a rural school, provides a good observational overview of XO activities in the classroom.

Ceibal Assessment 2010 Summary Document

English translation of Evaluación del Plan Ceibal 2010 DOCUMENTO RESUMEN [10]

Síntesis del informe de monitoreo del estado del parque de XO a abril de 2010

Executive Summary of the 2010 OLPC monitoring report (Spanish)

Monitoreo y evaluación educativa del Plan Ceibal: Primeros resultados a nivel nacional

Plan Ceibal 2010 Monitoring Report (Spanish) Salamano, I., Pagés, P., Baraibar, A., Ferro, H., Pérez, L., & Pérez, M.

Evaluacion Educativa

El presente resumen de evaluación educativa contiene los primeros datos representativos a nivel nacional producidos en torno al Plan Ceibal.

After Installation: Ubiquitous Computing and High School Science in Three Experienced, High-Technology Schools

Brian Drayton, Joni K. Falk, Rena Stroud, Kathryn Hobbs, and James Hammerman
The present study presents data on 3 high schools with carefully elaborated ubiquitous computing systems, who have gone through at least one "obsolescence cycle" and are therefore several years past first implementation.

Results from Birmingham's One Laptop per Child XO laptop project

Shelia Cotten, et al. This report focused on positive results for students who chose to take advantage of the program, differences that might account for teacher and student interest in taking advantage of it, and the value of bridging the digitial divide.

Haiti pre-pilot evaluation report

This IDB report provides an analysis of usage trends and outcomes for grades 1-5 after studying 50 students, assessed by interviews and observations. Gains were observed particularly in literacy (reading and writing) and student preparedness for the future (research about envisioning their future work options.

One to One Computing: A Summary of the Quantitative Results from the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative

Damian Bebell and Rachel Kay
This paper examines the educational impacts of the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative (BWLI), a pilot program that provided 1:1 technology access to all students and teachers across five public and private middle schools in western Massachusetts.

Formative Evaluation of OLPC Project Nepal: A Summary

Rabi Karmacharya, OLE Nepal, June-August 2008
This is a summary of the findings of a formative evaluation carried out by Mr. Uttam Sharma, a doctoral student at at the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota. The evaluation was carried out for OLE Nepal’s internal purpose.

Evaluation of the Teaching Matters One Laptop Per Child (XO) Pilot at Kappa IV

Dr. Susan Lowes, Director, Research and Evaluation; and Cyrus Luhr, Research Assistant. Institute for Learning Technologies, Teachers College/Columbia University, June 2008.
Look at the impact of the implementation of XO laptops in Teaching Matters program in New York, USA.

Proposals

Please share works in progress

Impact Evaluation

Impact Evaluations are a particular type of evaluation that seeks to answer cause-and-effect questions. Unlike general evaluations, which can answer many types of questions, impact evaluations are structured around one particular type of question: What is the impact (or causal effect) of a program on an outcome of interest.” [11] [12]

Literature

Experimental Assessment of the Program "One Laptop Per Child" in Peru

Inter-American Development Bank July 2010
This paper presents the impact of the first large-scale randomized evaluation of the OLPC program, using data collected after 15 months of implementation in 319 primary schools in rural Peru. The results indicate that the program increased the ratio of computers per student from 0.12 to 1.18 in treatment schools.

Papers, Technology and Child Development: Evidence from the One Laptop per Child Program in Peru 2012

Inter-American Development Bank February 2012 Even though this program has only recently been implemented, this document presents a few preliminary findings that could be relevant for its future development. On the one hand, we find evidence of better attitudes and expectations among teachers and parents; students that are more critical of school work and of their own performance; and a greater development of technological skills among girls and boys. On the other hand, there seems to be a decrease in the intensity of computer use in the classroom, as time passes and difficulties arise in the implementation of the project.

Evaluación de OLPC con Ingeniería de Usabilidad

An academic thesis by Ingeniero Carlos Mauro Cárdenas, Perú

Laptops and Fourth Grade Literacy: Assisting the Jump over the Fourth-Grade Slump

Kurt A. Suhr, David A. Hernandez, Doug Grimes, and Mark Warschauer'
This study investigated whether a one-to-one laptop program could help improve English language arts (ELA) test scores of upper elementary students.

Evaluating the Implementation Fidelity of Technology Immersion and its Relationship with Student Achievement

Kelly S. Shapley, Daniel Sheehan, Catherine Maloney, and Fanny Caranikas-Walker
This article examines the fidelity of model implementation and associations between implementation indicators and student achievement.

Evaluation of OLPC programs globally: a literature review, Version 4

by Dita Nugroho and Michele Lonsdale. Australian Council for Educational Research, August 2010 Country program summaries, with XO deployment data, funding, and reported outcomes and impacts.

L’évaluation des déploiements OLPC : quelles méthodes ? In French, 22 pages, August 26th 2010, by Pierre Varly, consultant, member of OLPC France

English version

Proposals

Please share works in progress

Miscellaneous

One to One Laptop Schools review

High-level overviews of the major 1:1 projects around the world, including the Magellan project and many OLPC projects.

Reflections on a Pilot OLPC Experience in Uruguay

Juan Pablo Hourcade, Daiana Beitler, Fernando Cormenzana, and Pablo Flores, 2007, Uruguay A two-page position paper presenting opinions regarding a pilot in Uruguay. From empirical data and observations, a positive impact on the children and their school activities is claimed by this Uruguayan team...

One year of experiences with XO laptops in Uruguay

HTML Overview

Autonomous Learning Skills: Education and Technology for Strengthening Culture: Colombia

Sandra Barragán

New Technology in Developing Countries: A Critique of the One-Laptop-Per-Child Program

Jeffrey James
A critical economic analysis of OLPC as development policy in resource limited environments

Pre and post test survey results from the Birmingham, Alabama USA XO laptop dissemination (Shelia Cotten, University of Alabama-Birmingham, PI of the project)

• Evaluation of the OLPC with Usability Engineering
• Usability testing class project

Teacher Logs from Uruguay

Objective research in Uruguay done by sampling the previously recorded Lesson Plan logs of teachers for one week, to ascertain how many had included activities involving using XOs for learning activities.[13] and [14] give basic data, such as an average use of the XO for learning activities of less than 1.5 times per week, further interpretation would be useful.

OLPCNews: OLPC Overview in 2009

By Wayan Vota, Christoph Derndorfer and Bryan Berry of OLPC News (completely independent of OLPC)

• http://www.olpcnews.com/commentary/olpc_news/one_laptop_per_child_overview_2009.html
  
• http://www.olpcnews.com/files/One_Laptop_Per_Child_Overview_2009.pdf

Briefing Note – One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) in Afghanistan

Lima Ahmad (AIMS), Kenneth Adams (AIMS), Mike Dawson (PAIWASTOON), Carol Ruth Silver (MTSA)

EduTech Debate: discussion on OLPC impact in 2010

External links

• Portal Ceibal (Uruguay)
• Peru Educa (Peru)
• Paraguay Educa (Paraguay)
• Mochila Digital (Mexico)