The Impact Of Digital Technology on Learning

The role of technology in education has been an important question since the potential of computer technology to transform Skinner’s teaching machines was recognized in the 1960s. It remains an important issue today with debates about the impact of technology on our society, the implications of quick and easy online access to information for knowledge and learning and the effect of technology on young people’s social, emotional and physical development frequently in the news. It is therefore important to take stock of what we know about the impact of digital technology on education from what we have learned over the last fifty years.

Studies linking provision and use of technology with attainment tend to find consistent but small positive associations with educational outcomes. However, a causal link cannot be inferred from this kind of research. It seems probable that more effective schools and teachers are more likely to use ICT and digital technologies more effectively than other schools. We need to know more about where and how it is used to greatest effect, then investigate if this information can be used help to improve learning in other contexts.

Source : Personal Documentation

 1.       The rationale for the impact of digital technologies on teaching and learning needs to be clear:

Will learners work more efficiently, more effectively, more intensively? Will the technology help them to learn for longer, more deeply, more productively? Or will the teacher be able to support learners more efficiently or more effectively?

2.        The role of technology in learning should be identified:

Will it help learners gain access to learning content, to teachers or to peers? Will the technology itself provide feedback or will it support more effective feedback from others?

3.        Technology should support collaboration and effective interaction for learning:

The use of computer and digital technologies is usually more productive when it supports collaboration and interaction, particularly collaborative use by learners or when teachers use it to support discussion, interaction and feedback.

4.    Teachers and/or learners should be supported in developing their use of digital and computer technologies to ensure it improves learning.

Skills training is not usually sufficient to support teachers and pupils in getting the best from technology. On-going professional development and support to evaluate the impact on learning is likely to be required.

5.        Identify what learners and teachers will stop doing:

The use of computer and digital technologies is usually more successful as a supplement rather than as a replacement for usual teaching. It is therefore important to identify carefully what it will replace or how the technology activities will be additional to what learners would normally experience.

Source : 

Higgins, S., Xiao, Z., Katsipataki, M. (2012). The Impact of Digital Technology on Learning: A Summary for the Education Endowment Foundation. London: EEF. Retrieved from http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/uploads/pdf/The_Impact_of_Digital_Technologies_on_Learning_FULL_REPORT_(2012).pdf