Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Press release: Study Concludes Access to Technology—In & Outside the Classroom—Increases Student Engagement




 












Contact Information:
Linda Kerr
Kajeet
240-482-3516


Study Concludes Access to Technology—In & Outside the Classroom—Increases Student Engagement

Project Tomorrow & Kajeet Announce Results of Two-Year Study with Chicago Public Schools

MCLEAN, Virginia—Jan. 21, 2015—Kajeet® (www.kajeet.com/education), the only wireless service provider dedicated to kids and education, and Project Tomorrow®, a national education nonprofit, announce the results of a two-year-long study on the impact of mobile devices on teaching and learning.  The Making Learning Mobile 2.0 study continues taking an in-depth look at the impact of 1-to-1 tablet implementation, including Internet access outside the classroom, with Chicago Public Schools students.

Results from the Making Learning Mobile study included:  
  • The school-issued tablet increased at-home Internet access for this cohort of students by 53 percent.  This is especially significant given the persistence of the digital divide in home Internet access within our communities.
  • The teachers felt more comfortable and assigned more reading and writing homework because the students had home Internet access. This resulted in increased reading and writing fluency, which is especially important for English Language Learners.
  • 60 percent of the students agreed their reading increased because of their personal access to the tablet and the Internet; 60 percent noted they did more writing this school year than in previous years and that the tablet helped them improve their writing skills. 

The project was sponsored by Kajeet with funding from Qualcomm Incorporated, through its Qualcomm® Wireless Reach™ initiative. Kajeet and Project Tomorrow will host a webinar on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 4 pm EST to discuss the results, including how the tablets transformed teaching and learning for both students and teachers from one year to the next.

As part of the Making Learning Mobile 2.0 study, 127 Chicago 5th grade students and their four teachers were provided with Android tablets using Kajeet Education Broadband to connect kids in school and at home. The objectives were to evaluate how the students used the devices, in and outside the classroom, to support their schoolwork and extend learning beyond the classroom, focusing on increased literacy. Ninety three percent of the students in the Chicago focus school were considered low income and 45 percent were qualified as English Language Learners. Just over one-third of the students noted they did not have Internet access at home. 

“We wanted to evaluate how access to these devices for communication with teachers and classmates increases comfort with technology, extends the learning day, and allows students to develop digital citizenship skills within a safe and secure learning environment,” said Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow. “During the second year of the study, we were interested in learning how the teachers would integrate the devices into instruction and how that integration would help the students develop stronger research skills.”

“As technology spreads through schools, students are proving eager to embrace it. But that same technology increasingly demands mobile Internet connectivity — preferably broadband —to be fully effective as a tool,” said Daniel Neal, CEO and founder of Kajeet. “There are still many schools without adequate wireless Internet connectivity to allow mobile devices to function to their full capability. Studies like this one show teachers, students, parents and administrators the value of not only the technology, but the necessity for connectivity as well.”

The Making Learning Mobile study is continuing this school year within Chicago Public Schools. Register for the webinar at info.kajeet.com/webinar-mlmreport and download the complete report from both school districts info.kajeet.com/downloadmlmreport.

About Kajeet® 
Kajeet, the only wireless solution provider dedicated to kids and education, is bridging the digital divide in school districts across the country. Kajeet provides a safe, affordable, mobile broadband solution that connects disadvantaged students to the resources they need to complete required assignments and projects outside of school. The Kajeet SmartSpot solution, a portable Wi-Fi hotspot combined with the innovative Sentinel® cloud portal, enables administrators and teachers to provide CIPA-compliant, customizable filtered Internet access that keeps students focused on school work and provides off-campus Internet connectivity without worry of data abuse. The Kajeet service platform, which operates on both the Sprint and Verizon network, is protected by the following patents 8,774,755; 8,774,754; 8,755,768; 8,731,517; 8,725,109; 8,712,371; 8,706,079; 8,667,559; 8,644,796; 8,639,216; 8,634,803; 8,634,802; 8,634,801; 8,630,612; 8,611,885; 8,600,348; 8,594,619; 8,588,735; 8,285,249; 8,078,140; 7,945,238; 7,899,438; 7,881,697. Other patents are pending.For more information, please visit us at kajeet.com/education. 

About Project Tomorrow
Project Tomorrow®, the national education nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering student voices in education discussions, designed and implemented this program evaluation for Kajeet for Education.  Project Tomorrow has 17 years of experience in the K-12 and higher education sector and regularly provides consulting and research support to school districts, government agencies, business and higher education institutions about key trends and research in science, math and technology education.


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