A recent study by edutech research firm Interactive Educational Systems Design (IESD), funded by 1:1 curriculum provider Time To Know, asked school administrators how they felt about classroom technology.  Hundreds of superintendants and principals across the US, drawn from districts with more than 2,500 students, were polled.
Details of the study have not been made available, but the results of four questions were published in edtech magazine  The Journal:
When asked their preference for a comprehensive curriculum if cost were not a factor, 80 percent of respondents indicated a preference for a comprehensive curriculum program with 1:1 computer access and an interactive whiteboard in combination with some print or printable electronic materials.
We need educational studies to start sharing their underlying data — something we should remember to ask our partners to do as well when they evaluate OLPC projects.
The poll seems to have been softballed a bit. If you force people to choose, without giving the option of having their current program *and* computers + connectivity, more might prefer not to switch. It’s true digital textbooks are going to dominate everywhere for reasons of price and searchability and flexibility, but that has rarely driven initial adoption because schools want to see how a new program works before discarding the old.
Hmmm…when cost is not a factor. Add up all of the textbooks kids haul around in their backpacks, and they add up to a lot more than a ~$150 XO laptop. Or even one of the new tablets coming out, I would imagine.