- 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 limitedThere
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 processEven
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 educationOne
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 areasComputer 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 goalsICTs 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 testingTraditional,
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 promotedIn
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 subjectsUses
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 impactThe
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 differenceIn 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 studentsThere 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 impactPlacing
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 emergingThere
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 debatedOn
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 autonomyEvidence exists that use of ICTs can increase learner autonomy for certain learners.
- Gender affects impactUses 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)