Laptops for students: Understanding and evaluating the drivers for change

Abstract

This paper describes the development of the student laptop initiative at the University of Strathclyde, examines the process by which this project became an embedded service and assesses the impact that this technology-rich, pedagogically flexible initiative has had on institutional structures, roles and processes. The authors use the MIT90s Model for Institutional Change to explore the way in which technology influences organisational development. A wealth of quantitative and qualitative evidence has been gathered over the last 7 years to support the examination of whether the benefits of the initiative justify the cost to the student and to the institution.