Using Laptop Computers to Improve the Performance of Minority Students: A Pilot Project

Abstract

A school system and a university joined forces to improve the science and mathematics environment for local minority students with a program that utilized computer technology. The initiative involved individual students from all of the high schools in the Winston–Salem/Forsyth County (North Carolina) School System. In this initiative, Wake Forest University operated a two-week Summer Science and Math Experience for minority students. During the two weeks, students worked intensively with computers and, at the end of the summer program, a laptop computer was loaned to each student for personal use during the of school year. Through interviews and questionnaires, students overwhelmingly endorsed their involvement in the computer-oriented project, both the summer and academic year phases. They especially liked having access to the Internet (provided by the project), being able to use e-mail and chat rooms, and utilizing the information retrieval potential. Parents and teachers surveyed also praised the project, feeling that their students learned more as a result of being involved in project activity.