Impact of ICTs on Learning & Achievement
General
- It is generally believed that ICTs can empower teachers and learners, promote change and foster the development of ‘21st century skills, but data to support these beliefs are still limited
There is widespread belief that ICTs can and will empower teachers and learners, transforming teaching and learning processes from being highly teacher-dominated to student-centered, and that this transformation will result in increased learning gains for students, creating and allowing for opportunities for learners to develop their creativity, problem-solving abilities, informational reasoning skills, communication skills, and other higher-order thinking skills. However, there are currently very limited, unequivocally compelling data to support this belief.- ICTs are very rarely seen as
central to the overall learning process
Even in the most advanced schools in OECD countries, ICTs are generally not considered central to the teaching and learning process. Many ICT in education initiatives in LDCs seek (at least in their rhetoric) to place ICTs as central to teaching and learning. - An enduring problem: putting
technology before education
One of the enduring difficulties of technology use in education is that educational planners and technology advocates think of the technology first and then investigate the educational applications of this technology only later.
Impact on
student achievement
- The positive impact of ICT use
in education has not been proven In general, and despite thousands of impact
studies, the impact of ICT use on student achievement remains difficult to
measure and open to much reasonable debate.
- Positive impact more likely
when linked to pedagogy It is believed that specific uses of ICT can have
positive effects on student achievement when ICTs are used appropriately
to complement a teacher’s existing pedagogical philosophies.
- ‘Computer Aided Instruction’
has been seen to slightly improve student performance on multiple choice,
standardized testing in some areas
Computer Aided (or Assisted) Instruction (CAI), which refers generally to student self-study or tutorials on PCs, has been shown to slightly improve student test scores on some reading and math skills, although whether such improvement correlates to real improvement in student learning is debatable. - Need for clear goals
ICTs are seen to be less effective (or ineffective) when the goals for their use are not clear. While such a statement would appear to be self-evident, the specific goals for ICT use in education are, in practice, are often only very broadly or rather loosely defined. - There is an important tension
between traditional versus 'new' pedagogies and standardized testing
Traditional, transmission-type pedagogies are seen as more effective in preparation for standardized testing, which tends to measure the results of such teaching practices, than are more ‘constructivist’ pedagogical styles. - Mismatch between methods used
to measure effects and type of learning promoted
In many studies there may be a mismatch between the methods used to measure effects and the nature of the learning promoted by the specific uses of ICT. For example, some studies have looked only for improvements in traditional teaching and learning processes and knowledge mastery instead of looking for new processes and knowledge relatd to the use of ICTs. It may be that more useful analyses of the impact of ICT can only emerge when the methods used to measure achievement and outcomes are more closely related to the learning activities and processes promoted by the use of ICTs. - ICTs are used differently in
different school subjects
Uses of ICTs for simulations and modeling in science and math have been shown to be effective, as have word processing and communication software (e-mail) in the development of student language and communication skills. - Access outside of school
affects impact
The relationships between in-class student computer use, out of class student computer use and student achievement are unclear. However, students in OECD countries reporting the greatest amount of computer use outside school are seen in some studies to have lower than average achievement (the presumption is that high computer use outside of school is disproportionately devoted to computer gaming). - Users believe that ICTs make a
positive difference
In studies that rely largely on self-reporting, most users feel that using ICTs make them more effective learners.
Impact on
student motivation
- ICTs motivate teachers and
students
There appears to be general consensus that both teachers and students feel ICT use greatly contributes to student motivation for learning. - Access outside of school
affects user confidence
(Not surprisingly) Students who use a computer at home also use them in school more frequently and with more confidence than pupils who have no home access. - Where to place computers has an
impact
Placing computers in classrooms enables much greater use of ICTs for ‘higher order’ skills than placing computers in separate computer laboratories (indeed, fewer computers in classrooms may enable even more use than greater numbers of computers located in separate computer labs). Related to this is an increasing attention given to the use of laptops by both teachers and students (and in some places, ‘computers-on-wheels’), as well as, to a much lesser extent, to the use of personal digital assistants and other mobile devices. - Models for successfully
integrating ICT use in school and after school hours are still emerging
There are few successful models for the integration of student computer use at home or in other 'informal settings' outside of school facilities with use in school. - The appropriate ages for
introducing computers to students are hotly debated
On a general level, appropriate ages for student ICT use in general are unclear. However, it is clear that certain uses are more or less appropriate, given student ages and abilities. Emerging research cautions against widespread use at younger ages. - ICTs can promote learner
autonomy
Evidence exists that use of ICTs can increase learner autonomy for certain learners. - Gender affects impact
Uses of ICTs in education in many cases to be affected by the gender of the learner. - The ‘pilot effect’ can be an
important driver for positive impact
Dedicated ICT-related interventions in education that introduce a new tool for teaching and learning may show improvements merely because the efforts surrounding such interventions lead teachers and students to do ‘more’ (potentially diverting energies and resources from other activities)
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