More technology in the classroom may be hindering rather than helping: research

(Submitted by Simon Druker) It’s no secret that technology is playing a bigger and bigger role in the classroom these days, but new research suggests it might not be such a great thing.

“Students who use computers most frequently in schools typically did worse than those who used them a bit more moderately. Adding 21st century technology to 20th century teachings isn’t going to leverage the kind of improvements that we’re hoping for,” says Andreas Schleicher, director for education skills at the Paris-basedOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

He says that’s not unique to a single country. “Quite surprisingly, most of the countries with the strongest learning outcomes have actually been quite cautious when introducing technology.”

“And when they do, they sort of focus on teachers — connecting teachers, building platforms for teacher collaboration — and being quite moderate in student use of computers.”

Research from the OECD shows more technology actually equals lower grades.  High-achieving school systems such those in South Korea and Shanghai have lower levels of computer use in school.

“There is no single country in which the Internet is used frequently at school by a majority of students and where students’ performance improved,” says Schleicher.

“The more technology-intensive classroom environments, the students there seem to be coming out lower on their tests. And it’s not just on traditional learning outcomes like math, science, and reading — but also on digital skills. That is really surprising.”

He says how the technology is adapted to current lessons and curriculums is the problem, not the computers and tablets themselves.

“There’s certainly a lot to say for improved software. But we need to think a lot harder about how we leverage technology. Making teachers not just part of those strategies, but a part of their design,” says Schleicher.

Australia, Denmark and Greece were the top three countries, in terms of the amount of classroom minutes students spend on the on the Internet.