Impactofclassroomtechnology

questioned
By:GeneA.BudigandAlanHeapsgenea.budigandalanheaps
Published:October1,2015
Fordecades,therehasbeenavisionofaneducationsystemtransformedbytechnology.Manyhave
believed,oratleasthoped,that
thecombinedpowerofhardware,softwareandtheInternetwould
vastlyimprovestudentperformance.
Thisvisionhasmanyfacetsincludingschoolswithalevelplayingfieldforrichandpooravibrant
connectedglobalcommunityofstudentsandteachersandvastresourcesincludingnotonlybooks,
images,musicandvideos,butalsobold,compellingandeffectiveideas.
Thesenotionsarenowbeingseriouslyquestioned.Anewreport,Students,ComputersandLearning:
MakingtheConnection,fromtheOrganizationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopmentstudied
theimpactoftechnologyoneducationin31countries.
Onequotefromtheexecutivesummarycapturesthereport'stwomajorfindings.
"Theresultsshownoappreciableimprovementsinstudentachievementinreading,mathorscience
inthosecountriesthatinvestedheavilyinICT(informationandcommunicationtechnology)for
education.
Andperhapsthemostdisappointingfindinginthereportisthattechnologyisoflittlehelp
inbridgingtheskillsdividebetweenadvantagedanddisadvantagedstudents."
(Lestanyonethinkthatourstudentstechnologicallyoutperformtheirpeersfromothercountries,
theUnitedStatesranked13thon"howwellstudentsareabletoread,navigateandunderstandonline
texts"despitehavingahigherstudenttocomputerratiothanalmostallofthecountriessurveyed.)
Therearesomeintheeducationcommunitywhowillnotbesurprisedbythesefindings.
TwoyearsagotheCenterforAmericanProgressissuedawhitepaperthatstated
"Inshort,thereis
littleindicationthattechnologyhasrevolutionizedournation'sschoolsystem."

Earlierthisyear,LarryCuban,professoremeritusofeducationatStanfordUniversity,wrotethat
"Thefactisthatnosubstantialbasisinresearchfindingsorexistingdataontheacademic
effectivenessofclassroomtechnologywarranttheboomtownspreadofclassroomdevices."
Andwedospendmoneyonclassroomtechnology.
ItisestimatedthatK12technologyexpenditures
in2015willbe$4.7billion.(Addanother$6.6.billionin2015forhighereducation.)
Thosecautiousabouttheimpactoftechnologyarenotsayingthatitisoflittleimport.Whattheyare
sayingisthattherehasbeenarushtoimplementtechnologywithfewguidelines,littleanalysesofits
impactonstudentlearningandskimpyteachertraining.Theresultisthatitisfrequentlyusedas
addedsupportforantiquatedandineffectiveclassroomactivities.
Butthesignificanceofthenewreportgoesbeyondtechnology.Itisanothercompellingreminderthat
tooofteneasysolutionsareprovidedtocomplicatedproblems.Educationhascertainlybeenguiltyof
this.
Atvarioustimesoverthepastfewdecades,inadditiontotechnology,othersimplisticresponses
suchastestingorcommonstandardsorteacherevaluationshavebeenputforwardtodriveschool
reform.
Improvingstudentoutcomeswillrequireamultifacetedapproach.Itmustbebuiltaroundbetter
teaching(primarilymoresupportforourteachers)but
willalsorequirefamilyandcommunity
involvement,socialservices,broadercurriculaandmoreextracurricularactivities.
Whenclassroomtechnologyisbundledwithasetofwellthoughtoutandtestedinterventions,then,
andonlythen,willitfulfillitspotential.

GeneA.Budigispastpresidentofthreemajorstateuniversities(IllinoisStateUniversity,West
VirginiaUniversityandtheUniversityofKansas)andofMajorLeagueBaseball'sAmericanLeague.
AlanHeapsisaformervicepresidentoftheCollegeBoard.

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ForyourBlog:

Doesthisarticlehaveaparticularbias?Howdoyouknow?
Fromyourexperiencesofar,doyouthinkthattechnologyhasapositiveornegative
impactoneducationandlearning.
Whatdoyouthinkschoolsshoulddowhentheyimplementtechnologytomakeit
moreeffective?