Realize student potential with Anytime, Anywhere Learning
Updated: October 7, 2005
Connect students and schools with 1:1 computing that lets them learn anytime, anywhere—with schoolwork designed around their needs and interests. Anytime, Anywhere Learning (AAL) is part of the Microsoft Learning Gateway, which inspires students, parents, teachers, and administrators to collaborate and share information by providing a single, more secure point of entry. When all users have access to the data, information, and applications they need, they can work together to make high-quality education a reality.
Remove borders and barriers
Give students the freedom of Anytime, Anywhere Learning with mobility solutions from Microsoft and its partners. The operating system, applications, files, and data go where students go, and it’s easy for teachers to tailor curriculum and communications to individual student’s needs. Administrators can make the most of their current resource environment, ensuring that schools with any budget have access to the possibilities of a connected world.
Inspire with information
Make schools, teachers, and students equal partners in the learning process. With access to library databases around the world, RSS feeds, streaming media, and infinite Internet resources, teachers deliver custom learning experiences that motivate and inspire their students. Handwritten notes become digital ink on mobile devices so students can annotate online textbooks, and instructors can quickly grade student work.
Transform effort into achievement
A three-year evaluation of Anytime, Anywhere Learning programs using laptop computers found improvements in both student learning and teaching practices according to ROCKMAN ET AL, an independent research organization in San Francisco, California. Researchers report the following results after assessing pioneer AAL schools.
Year one
Implementation of Anytime, Anywhere Learning programs is affected by factors such as financial and technical support, available planning time, and concerns about equal access to technology for all students.
Year two
Students with full-time access to notebook computers apply more problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, are more motivated and interested in core academic subjects, and produce higher-quality work.
Year three
Students with mobile devices write better and collaborate more effectively on projects, and their teachers take approaches that put students at the center of learning, such as using discussion instead of lecture, encouraging student-led inquiry, and emphasizing critical-thinking skills.
See it in action
A year-long pilot study in Orange County, Florida, was carried out to determine how well students learned using a Tablet PC and a Web-based curriculum with full-time Internet access. Improvements in student performance, affect on teaching, and easy integration of the technology into the school’s infrastructure were among the factors evaluated in this innovative experiment.
