Increased Use of Computers in Classrooms: “More Likely to be Associated with Lower Results”
September 16th, 2015Via: BBC:
Investing heavily in school computers and classroom technology does not improve pupils’ performance, says a global study from the OECD.
The think tank says frequent use of computers in schools is more likely to be associated with lower results.
The OECD’s education director Andreas Schleicher says school technology had raised “too many false hopes”.
Tom Bennett, the government’s expert on pupil behaviour, said teachers had been “dazzled” by school computers.
The report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development examines the impact of school technology on international test results, such as the Pisa tests taken in more than 70 countries and tests measuring digital skills.
It says education systems which have invested heavily in information and communications technology have seen “no noticeable improvement” in Pisa test results for reading, mathematics or science.
Unplugged
“If you look at the best-performing education systems, such as those in East Asia, they’ve been very cautious about using technology in their classrooms,” said Mr Schleicher.
“Those students who use tablets and computers very often tend to do worse than those who use them moderately.”
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Among the seven countries with the highest level of internet use in school, it found three experienced “significant declines” in reading performance – Australia, New Zealand and Sweden – and three more had results that had “stagnated” – Spain, Norway and Denmark.
