OECD Study Says Impact Of Information And Communication Technologies On Student Performance Is ‘Mixed’
A study conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reveals that information and communication technologies' (ICT) impact on the students' performance inside the classroom is "mixed."
WSMV.com forecasts on Friday that ICT have not improved the students' performance towards learning mathematics, reading and science. The organization's study reveals that students who use computers very frequently at school have worse performances as compared to those who used computers moderately.
In addition, students who use computers moderately "tend to have somewhat better learning outcomes than students who use computers rarely," BBC News noted on Tuesday.
"Technology is the only way to dramatically expand access to knowledge," says Andreas Schleicher, the OECD's director for education and skills. "To deliver on the promises technology holds, countries need to invest more effectively and ensure that teachers are at the forefront of designing and implementing this change."
However, Schleicher says these findings should not discourage the use of technology, particularly in the academe. He adds, "Technology is the only way to dramatically expand access to knowledge."
Schleicher states that technology allows students and teachers to have access on the most updated and limitless information out there.
Meanwhile, findings reveal that technology does not bring so much in "bridging the skills divide between advantaged and disadvantaged students."
The results of the study "show no appreciable improvements in student achievement in reading, mathematics or science in the countries that had invested heavily in information and communication technology (ICT) for education."
"If you read this report as saying that it's up in the air about whether technology is helpful for learning, that's the wrong reading," says Jim Slotta, an associate professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and Canada Research Chair in Education and Technology.
He adds that the data used for the global study could be difficult to interpret since they came from different cultural contexts, as reported by The Globe and Mail on Tuesday.
"Personally, my feeling is that the research on how to use technology well for learning is just beginning to turn over some interesting, useful new leaves in the book," says Slotta.
Slotta also says "technology is most effective in the classroom when it is used to develop skills similar to those that adults are using in everyday life, such as finding resources, critiquing arguments, communicating with peers, solving problems and working with data."
"When you've set up a curriculum that is aligned with those kinds of practices, you won't see as much of a misfit as when you try to just bolt the technology on to the old paradigm of instruction with the problems, and homework and lecture content."
