The Connections Between Computer Use and Learning Outcomes in Students
The Connections Between Computer Use and Learning Outcomes in Students
Last fall, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development published its first-ever, and one of the largest-ever, international analyses of student access to computers and how that relates to student learning. (The OECD administers the PISA test, the world-famous international academic ranking.)
“Students who use computers very frequently at school do a lot worse in most learning outcomes, even after controlling for social background and student demographics.”
In April, the research firm SRI published a report at the behest of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (which is a supporter of NPR Ed). It looked at college courses that are using so-called “adaptive learning” software as an enhancement to blended courses.
Finally, a study published in July looked at high-achieving eighth-graders across North Carolina who had the opportunity to take Algebra I online. The study found that they did much worse than students who took the course face-to-face — about a third of a letter grade worse, in fact.
Implementation is really important, yet it’s often ignored.
Imperfect data and inadequate evaluation make it hard to understand or improve the use of ed-tech.
Computers are enhancing access. There’s less evidence that they’re enhancing learning.
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more on the relationship between technology and learning in this IMS blog