Using a qualitative multiple case study design, this study investigated the ways that teachers’ pedagogical beliefs about learning: 1) affect students’ access to and use of one-to-one technologies and 2) shape one-to-one learning environments. Results indicate that teachers’ pedagogical beliefs are not a predictor of student access to computing devices, but do impact how students use the devices in the classroom. Also, teachers’ use of technology resources reflects their pedagogical beliefs. Teachers in the study reported that the increased access to technology via a one-to-one program positively impacted the learning environment by: facilitating better communication with students; empowering students; providing better feedback to students; making the teachers’ job easier; providing teachers and students with better access to resources; allowing more ways to differentiate student learning; developing 21st century technology skills; providing variety; and helping motivate students to learn. Teachers’ perceived negative impacts of the one-to-one program centered on the difficulties of shifting to new classroom management methods that accommodate technology devices and the distractions associated with the computing devices. Teachers also reported that they need better professional development to successfully integrate technology into their classrooms. Future professional development for one-to-one programs should be directed towards developing student-centered pedagogies with a focus on collaboration and integration of technology into the educational curriculum.

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With increasing emphasis on technology in schools, the importance of technology policies is great. This study investigated policies for four 1:1 secondary schools in Texas (schools with a ratio of one computing device per student), particularly with respect to the relationship of those policies to practice. The purpose of the study was to determine the current status of the National Education Technology Standards (NETS) essential conditions as reflected in policy and the relationship of those conditions to practice as measured through levels of technology usage and teaching innovation. Schools were selected through purposive, criterion sampling. Open-ended interviews were conducted with twelve participants (principals, technology directors, and superintendents). Policies were rated by campus principals and the researcher using a rubric based on the NETS essential conditions. Finally, surveys of proficiency and readiness measures were collected from 156 teachers using the School Technology and Readiness (STaR) instrument and the Levels of Teaching Innovation (LoTI) instrument. Interviews were transcribed and coded using structural and frequency coding. Policies were analyzed using magnitude coding and policy ratings. A qualitative analysis determined patterns between policy and practice. Quantitative data collected from surveys were measured against policy ratings and magnitude coding using bivariate correlation methods in SPSS. Quantitative analysis revealed two statistically significant relationships between policy and reported levels of practice in the classroom. Qualitative elements of the study from interviews and policy ratings revealed six findings that may explain a lack of correlation between policy and practice: a lack of ability for leadership to identify 1:1 program policy; lack among school leaders of perceived relationship between policy and practice; a belief among leaders that they are communicating policy to stakeholders even though they demonstrated difficulty in articulating policy; an inability to identify specific research-based theoretical foundations in policy; a lack of meaningful measurement of practices; and a lack of leadership at the same school to interpret policy similarly. A seventh finding revealed potential patterns between conditions that are addressed extensively in policy and evidence of those conditions in practice. Qualitative findings, in particular, contribute insights into disconnections between policy and practice in 1:1 settings.

Denna studie handlar om lärares upplevelser kring sitt arbete med en dator per elev, även kallat 1:1. Många kommuner har redan klivit på det digitala tåget och forskning har pågått på området sedan 2007. Resultaten från olika studier har börjat visa sig och regeringen har slagit fast att hela den svenska skolan ska genomgå en radikal förändring där alla elever och lärare ska ha tillgång till en egen dator. Forskningsresultaten visar att den generella inställningen till 1:1 är positiv. Sollentuna kommun arbetar fullt ut med 1:1 och har uppnått bra resultat. Därför valde vi att fördjupa oss i lärarnas upplevelser kring 1:1 och kanske få veta hemligheten bakom deras arbete. Syftet med vår studie är att undersöka hur lärare upplever och implementerar 1:1 i undervisningen, samt i sitt övriga arbete. Studien omfattar sju lärare från sex grundskolor i årskurs 4-9 i Sollentuna kommun. De frågor vi arbetat kring är följande: ·         Vilka problem respektive möjligheter ser lärarna med användandet av 1:1 i undervisningen? ·         Upplever lärarna att deras lärarroll förändrats i och med införandet av 1:1 i undervisningen? ·         Skiljer sig inställningen till 1:1-undervisning bland olika grupper av lärare? ·         Hur påverkar lärarnas inställningar och uppfattningar arbetet med 1:1 i undervisningen? Våra intervjuer genomfördes och därefter bearbetades resultaten och analyserades. Vi kunde skönja två sidor av digitaliseringen, 1:1 hjälper samt 1:1 stjälper, som vi valde som tema för arbetet. Här är det viktigt att påpeka att det inte alltid var två läger av lärare med olika uppfattning, utan en och samma person kunde se stora fördelar men också stora nackdelar med 1:1.     Vad är då slutsatsen av detta arbete? Lärarna verkar, i det stora hela, enade om att datorer i undervisningen är här för att stanna. Trots enigheten slits individerna mellan 1:1:s  starka sidor och dess svaga sidor. För möjligheterna med 1:1 i undervisningen är många, men problemen finns där också och anses av flera som stora. Lärarrollen har förändrats markant och på vilket sätt den förändrats beror på vem du frågar.     Vi fann intressanta skillnader mellan de två grupper som arbetat länge inom lärarkåren och de som arbetat kortare. De som hade längre erfarenhet visade sig vara mer kritiska till 1:1 än de som hade kortare erfarenhet. Gruppen med kortare erfarenhet som lärare hade en mer positiv inställning till 1:1 och integrerade datorerna mer i sin undervisning än gruppen med längre erfarenhet.

Digitaliseringens utveckling i skolan går i takt med den teknologiska utvecklingen av det omgivande samhället. Ny och mer lättillgänglig teknologi skapar nya möjligheter för skolan. Som en följd implementerar allt fler skolor en-till-en på olika grunder. Således är studiens syfte att undersöka fem lärares uppfattningar om och förhållningssätt till en-till-en-konceptet i svenskämnet, årskurs 4–6. Vidare syftar studien att ta reda på hur undervisningen ser ut idag och vad det finns för utvecklingspotential angående en-till-en som arbetssätt. Studien tar sin utgångspunkt i det sociokulturella perspektivet och semistrukturerade intervjuer användes för att samla in studiens material samt besvara följande frågeställningar: Hur använder fem lärare i årskurs 4–6 en-till-en i svenskundervisningen? Hur upplever fem lärare i årskurs 4–6 att en-till-en påverkar sättet att undervisa i svenskämnet? Hur upplever fem lärare i årskurs 4–6 att arbetet med en-till-en i svenskundervisningen kan utvecklas? Resultatet visar att en-till-en i huvudsak används och fungerar som ersättning för den redan befintliga undervisningen, närmare bestämt som ersättning för arbetsbok, penna och papper. Vidare visar resultatet att en-till-en bidrar till en formativ, individanpassad och elevcentrerad undervisning samt att det motiverar eleverna. Slutligen framkommer det av resultatet att skolors system och plattformar eventuellt kan motarbeta digitaliseringen och att en-till-två skulle kunna vara ett alternativt arbetssätt till en-till-en. / The development of digitalization in the school is in step with the technological development of the surrounding society. New and more accessible technology creates new opportunities for the school. As a result, more and more schools are implementing one-to-one on different grounds. Thus, the aim of the study is to examine five teachers' perceptions of and approach to one-to-one in the Swedish subject. Furthermore, the study aims to find out how the teaching looks today and what there is for development potential regarding one-to-one as a way of working. The study takes its point of departure in the socio-cultural perspective and semi-structured interviews were used to collect the study material and answer the following questions: How do five teachers in grades 4-6 use one-to-one in the Swedish subject? How do five teachers in grades 4-6 experience that one-to-one affects the way in which the Swedish subject is taught? How do five teachers in grades 4-6 experience that the work on one-to-one in the Swedish subject can be developed? The result shows that one-to-one is mainly used and serves as a replacement for already existing teaching, more specifically as a replacement for workbook, pen and paper. Furthermore, the result shows that the one-to-one contributes to a formative, individualized and student-centered teaching and that it motivates the pupils. Finally, the result show that schools' systems and platforms can possibly counteract the digitization and that one-to-two could be an alternative to the one-to-one.

Thesis advisor: Diana Pullin / Thesis advisor: Vincent Cho / The existing literature regarding leadership to support technology innovation in schools is limited. This qualitative study employs a multiple case study method to explore the leadership of superintendents in five school districts that have moved toward a 1:1 learning environment. This dissertation examined how superintendents gain acceptance for large-scale technology initiatives by describing the superintendent's own use of technology and their attitude about technology. The study explored the impact a superintendent's attitude and use of technology had on the acceptance of technology initiatives. The study highlights how superintendents use technology both professionally and personally. The study results indicated that while the superintendent's attitude about mobile devices in the hands of students has a profound impact on gaining acceptance for a large-scale technology initiative, it is inconclusive if the superintendent's use of technology has such an impact. The result is an important addition to the literature including recommendations for superintendents seeking to implement a large-scale technology initiative in their district. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

The genomic integrity of a cell is constantly being pressured by both intrinsic and extrinsic forces. Cell cycle checkpoints exist to protect the cells by arresting cell cycle progression in response to DNA damage or replication stress. It has been shown that the interaction between the checkpoint proteins Rad9A and TopBP1 is a crucial upstream event required for the ATR-dependent checkpoint response to DNA damage, which can be activated throughout different points in the cell cycle. The Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation (BiFC) technique has recently emerged as a simple and effective tool for analyzing protein-protein interactions in live cell cultures. By fusing complementary fragments of fluorescent proteins to proteins of interest, one can visualize protein-protein interactions through the formation of a mature fluorophore from these fragments. In the current work, the BiFC assay system was employed to study the interaction between TopBP1 and Rad9A; the human homologue of fission yeast Rad9. BiFC vectors expressing TopBP1, Rad9A, and the Rad9A-S387 mutant were constructed and optimized for transfection in HeLa cells. It was shown that the BiFC fusion protein of Rad9A lacked phosphorylation on its constitutive S387 site, although it retained its upstream damage dependent S272 phosphorylation after IR treatment. BiFC signals could be detected in cells containing the BiFC fusion proteins of Rad9A and TopBP1 using confocal microscopy and flow cytometry techniques. However, the signals could not be distinguished from that of the negative control samples. Our results suggest a possibility that our BiFC fusion proteins of interest interact in a non-specific manner, although further characterization is required to confirm this. The BiFC assay employed in this project must be further optimized to effectively study the interaction between Rad9A and TopBP1, as well as other checkpoint proteins. However, this study has given us great insight into the implementation of this new BiFC technique for studying protein interactions in the context of cell cycle proteins, and the knowledge gained from this study will be invaluable for future work. / Thesis (Master, Biochemistry) -- Queen's University, 2009-12-17 12:42:06.717

Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1) will revolutionize how the public accesses emergency services and will alter the technological landscape within which existing public safety agencies operate. A lack of systematic methodologies exists for quality control of the required geospatial data layers for NG 9-1-1 systems. The primary objective of this study was to develop and systematize a highly accurate NG 9-1-1 GIS database for Counties of Southern Illinois (CSI). The project goals included mapping relevant geospatial data layers required by and based on NENA standard data formats; conducting data quality control and standardization; and providing standardized spatial datasets for NG 9-1-1 to relevant stakeholders. The approach was developed using a conceptual model for error and uncertainty analysis of the GIS-based NG 9-1-1 system. This included the identification of various sources of input uncertainties often associated with spatial data layers; modeling the accumulation and propagation of errors; analyzing their impact on the quality of the spatial data layers; and correcting the errors. Modeling uncertainty propagation focused on positional errors and was conducted through a simulation procedure. The results showed that the original spatial datasets possessed a large account of uncertainties, especially location errors of railroads and roads. The errors had different sources, including input map errors, the use of different map projection and coordinate systems, a lack of topological structures, etc. In addition, they varied from county to county. From the error propagation simulation, it was also found that the location errors measured as root mean square error (RMSE) fluctuated when the perturbed distance of the ground control points (GCP) was less than 15 m. After that, the RMSE increased as the perturbed distance of GCPs increased. This relationship was significantly linear. In addition, the location errors from railroads were larger than those from roads.

Digitaliseringen i skolan har lett till att det blivit allt vanligare med 1:1-satsningar, det vill säga införande av en dator per elev. Detta görs för att öka elevernas digitala kompetens, men också ofta med förhoppning om ökad motivation till skolarbete. I studien har 17 elever inom årskurs 4–6 intervjuats. Syftet har varit att undersöka hur eleverna upplever att användningen av datorn under matematiklektionerna påverkar deras motivation, samt vilka faktorer eleverna lyfter fram som för-och nackdelar vid användningen av datorn. Dessa faktorer har sedan analyserats utifrån motivationsteori för att se hur olika typer av motivation kan påverka lärande. Resultatet visar att användningen av datorn under matematiklektionerna kan bidra både till elevernas yttre- och inre motivation, men att motivation för datorn bör skiljas från motivation för matematikinnehållet. Resultatet visar även på en brist i lärarstöd och att datorn ofta inkluderas i undervisningen på ett sätt som inte främjar elevernas inre motivation och lärande i matematik. / The digitization in school has led to an increase in 1: 1 investment, also known as the introduction of one computer per pupil. This is to enhance students' digital competence, but also often with the hope of increased motivation for schoolwork. In the study, 17 students in grades 4–6 were interviewed. The purpose has been to investigate how the students feel that the use of the computer during lessons in mathematics affects their motivation, as well as what factors the students highlight as the pros and cons of using the computer. These factors have then been analysed against motivation theory to see how different types of motivation can affect learning. The result shows that the use of the computer during lessons in mathematics can contribute both to the students' extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, but that motivation for the computer should be separated from the motivation for the mathematical content. The result also shows a lack in teacher support, and that the computer is often included in a way that does not promote the students' intrinsic motivation and learning in mathematics.