These schools sought changes in instructional practices, changes in student expectations, and radical changes in the culture of the school. Laptops essentially provided a platform for educational reform. The second type of school, typically independent, chose laptops as a sensible way to infuse technology into a strong existing curriculum. Laptops smoothed the deployment of technology across the school and allowed the school to establish common practices in each curricular area. Laptops brought schools from a discontinuous, sometimes fragmented technology to coherence in their technology programs.
Applications software is the centerpiece of the implementation.
Every laptop provides a core toolset for practices common to teaching, learning, administration, and the work environment. Curricular software, always an option, can be loaded as departments select and adopt other types of curriculum delivery tools. Geometers Sketch Pad would be an example of a curricular specific software that adds to the math toolset which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and a web browser. Envision The laptop s primary influence is on learning practices . All transactions are electronic and build skill and confidence in working with information and production in an electronic world that includes classrooms, Media Centers, the home, and remote access from anywhere at anytime.