Computers and technology has become a vital part of schools and education in the last decade. But our dependency on all things tech is not all good news warns new study.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently conducted a study of education systems in more than 30 countries, and the result surprised the researchers.
The large-scale study found that students who use computers very frequently at school do “a lot worse” academically than students who use them moderately, and that countries that have invested heavily in information and communications technology in schools show no appreciable improvement in student achievement.
The OECD are now warning that the use of technology in schools may be doing more harm than good, and calls into question whether the investments many schools have made when it comes to computer, tablets and technology really was such a wise spend after all.
According to the study, limited use of computers are marginally better than no use at all, but that above average use is heavily associated with significantly poorer academic results. In fact, it turns out that countries that have invested less in computers in schools have seen faster academic improvement than countries that have invested more.
This is clearly unsettling news to schools and educational facilities that have made large investments when it comes to technology. The OECD will conduct further studies into the result.
