Impact Report 061110

Technology’s impact on schools Roger Blamire and Anja Balanskat ICT Cluster Meeting Brussels 15 th November 2006

Context
Two PLA reports: Finland, Luxembourg
Third report to meet Cluster needs
Remit: To establish what the research tells us about the impact of technology on schools
Is ICT living up to its pedagogical potential in schools in terms of the wider achievements of ICT on the education system: on learning outcomes (and learners) and teaching methodologies (and teachers)?
Aim: to inform policy makers and practitioners on the results of this research
Work completed December 2006

Scope
14 studies selected
Two recent additions
Overview: Page 2

Three areas of study
Direct outputs of ICT investments
Use of ICT for educational purposes
Impact of ICT on learning outcomes, teaching methodologies and the education system

Approaches to Impact
Impact 2 (UK), elearning Nordic
End point of intervention
Impact and assessing impact is strongly related to policy goals
Quantifying vs. assessing impact
Focus on “raising standards/ educational attainment” or “learning among pupils”

The four quadrant model Source: Becta, September 2006
Internal effectiveness
Economies of scale
Sharing, collaboration
Effective use of data
More learning opportunities
Technology
Equipment
Access to a learning platform
Digital content
Learner outcomes
Employability
Achievement
Socialisation …
E-maturity
Institutional
Workforce
Learner
Performance Capacity

Structure
Impact on learning outcomes
Quantitative
Qualitative
Impact on processes
Learning and learners
Teaching and teachers
Reflection on the evidence
Issues for policy makers
Issues for research

A) Quantitative evidence
Causal relationship between use of ICT and gains in national tests via statistical analysis
BUT: Isolating the variable that caused impact is problematic in education

Impact on learning outcomes
ICT impacts positively on educational performance in primary schools , particularly in the native language.
Use of ICT improves attainment levels of school children in native language (above all), in Science and in Design and technology between ages 7 and 16, particularly in primary schools.
There is a positive association between the length of time of ICT use and students’ performance in mathematics tests .

The effect of school organisation on performance
Schools with higher levels of e-maturity demonstrate a more rapid increase in performance scores than those with lower levels;
Schools with good ICT resources achieve better results than those that are poorly equipped;
ICT investment impacts on educational standards most when there is fertile ground in schools for making efficient use of it;

Impact of specific technologies on outcomes
7. B roadband access in classrooms results in significant improvements in pupils’ performance in national tests at 16.
8. In troducing interactive whiteboards results in pupils’ performance in national tests in English (particularly for low-achieving pupils and for writing), mathematics and science, improving more than that of pupils in schools without interactive whiteboards

B) Qualitative evidence
“ Assessing” impact via
questionnaires and interviews with
students, teachers,…
BUT: perceived impact vs. real impact

Impact on outcomes
Pupils, teachers and parents consider that ICT has a positive impact on pupils’ learning.
Pupils’ subject-related performance and basic skills (calculation, reading and writing) improve with ICT, according to teachers.
11.Teachers are becoming more and more convinced that the educational achievements of pupils improve through the use of ICT.
12. Academically strong students benefit more from ICT use, but ICT serves also weak students.

Impact on processes

Motivation and skills
Differentiation and independent learning
Teamwork

Enthusiasm
Efficiency and collaboration
Teacher-student relationship
Pedagogical practice
Teachers’ competence

Barriers to impact
Teacher
School
System

Outlook
Eurobarometer Benchmarking (2006)
Impact 2006 “ematurity” (at the institution level) and “personalisation of learning”
Sites 2006: pedagogical practices adopted in different countries and the use of ICT in them (400 schools)
Eurydice: ICT in Europe in 2007
PISA: making greater use of computer based assessment

Reflections Issues for research
Do researchers measure the “right” outcomes?
Are policy makers clear about what they except the results of ICT investments to be?
What kind of evidence is needed?
Rethink the approach to Impact?

Reflections Issues for policy makers
Invest in those areas where impact has been shown? (primary, native language, science)?
How to avoid digital disadvantages?
Are the results as good as they could be?
Predominance of UK (England) research

Actions to achieve greater impact
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Policy
Plan for transformation, not for ICT
A clear political will and investment in ICT consolidation
New forms of teacher training (workplace, peer-to peer)
Include new competencies in curricula and assessment

Research
Context sensitive and process oriented research
Encourage more trans-national research
Make national evidence accessible
Rethink approach to impact

Impact Report 061110

by rblamire on Aug 24, 2007

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