During the 2007-2008 school year Perry Middle School was at a critical juncture in terms of the technology hardware available to enhance the learning experiences for students. At the time the school had over 100 computers that were close to 13 years old with little to no functionality. A key leadership decision was made to purchase technology that represented the future of integrating technology into the teaching and learning process. Adam Marino, a fifth grade teacher, piloted the use of 6 Fujitsu U810's in his classroom at the end of the 2007-2008 school year. He was able to successfully demonstrate that the units could be used as a tool to have students present their work, capture it to video, and post it to sites like SchoolTube as a peer teaching tool. He was also able to use the units in the assessment process using a web site where students could demonstrate their proficiency in building parallel and series circuits for an electricity unit. The middle school purchased 150 Fujitsu U810 mini-computers with the goal of providing all classroom teachers in grades 5-8 with six units per teacher at each grade level. The U810's are wireless and portable which will allow students to use the technology whenever and wherever. The goal for the 2008-2009 school year was to distribute all units, and to provide professional development, in partnership with Fujitsu, specifically in two areas: Use of the video/image capture function and the use of the program OneNote. A key demographic data point in the district is that approximately 20% of families are categorized at poverty level. Making the Fujitsu U810's available to this demographic of the student population truly levels the playing field for them as the reality is that school is the only place they have access to this type of portable technology. In addition to the stated goals, an expectation in the first year of implementation, for the Fujitsu U810 is that using it will create a shift in the planning process for teachers in terms of integrating technology into their instructional practice. Currently, teachers are integrating this tool as expected into their instructional practice and students can be seen throughout the building, in hallways, in the library/media center and in the classrooms using the mini-Fujitsu.

The Fujitsu U810 was the critical key element in creating the current reality at Perry Middle School. The technology infrastructure on the school campus has allowed for maximum use of the wireless capability we have. Due to the fact the Fujitsu U810's are small and light weight students are able to literally take them anywhere on campus. An additional benefit to implementing 6 per classroom teacher is that the units can be pooled to accommodate a whole class when necessary.

Yes

Yes

There are some new opportunities that will be realized this year using the Fujitsu U810. First, students will be able to take advantage of the portability of the unit by taking them on field trips. Teachers will be able to integrate the functionality of the unit off-site in a variety of ways. Students will be able to capture images of key locations on a field trip and they will be able to document notes for assignments specific to a field trip. There is potential for using the webcam capability to connect with partner schools or classmates that do not attend a field trip. The opportunities are truly endless.

This project has benefited over 600 middle school students and 25 classroom teachers. Students now have access to a wireless portable tool that provides them with the necessary technology they need to be successful in the future. Teachers have benefited as well. They have been infused with a new excitement about providing enriching opportunities to students through technology.

This project is exceptional because of the school-wide implementation and expectations for use of the Fujitsu U810. I also believe this is the first implementation for this type of portable technology of this magnitude. Over 600 middle school students and 25 classroom teachers now have access to a wireless, portable computer to use daily.

As part of introducing the notebooks, the middle school had to develop new security protocols to make sure the small devices don't disappear. We've really solved the challenge of keeping our students safe online through very robust filtering and we needed to make sure the devices were equally safe. By instituting some simple and clear protocols for teachers to follow and adding security software that allows us to track the devices via GPS, we've established very solid security for the devices without creating an onerous environment.

There were several obstacles to overcome before any type of implementation could begin. First, there was great debate as to what type of technology we should purchase to fulfill the technology needs at Perry Middle School. The initial discussions focused on the question: What type of technology most represents what students will need to prepare them for the future? Members of the district leadership team debated whether to purchase a rolling laptop lab, PDA devices, or desktop computers. I advocated for the purchase of the Fujitsu U810s and took full responsibility for a successful implementation to justify the purchase. Next, there was a delay in the purchase of the units based on the type of warranty that should be approved by the board of education. There were also several technical obstacles to overcome so the units could be aligned to work properly on our network infrastructure. Finally, a decision needed to be made about what we ask teachers to focus on so the appropriate professional development could be designed for them.

Achieved

We are currently 6 months into the implementation. At this point the implementation has been a success. This implementation can be replicated in other school organizations or organizations that have the capability of supporting wireless technology and wish to provide a technology vision for portable applications. We are fully operational but still need to fulfill the goal of having students use OneNote as a tool to document and catalog their work.

Based on Adam Marino's success at using the LifeBook U810 mini notebook, Principal Hunt is seeing mounting excitement among his other teachers. Some teachers approached the mini notebooks with skepticism, now the question is, "When are we getting them?"

Hunt expects that once the devices are distributed and new programs are developed that take advantage of portability, the mini notebooks will be in use throughout the school day.