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Munich (pte015/21.03.2005/11:00) - More technology at school can have a detrimental effect on education and computers at home can harm learning, new research suggests. Although the study by Germany's Ifo Institute http://www.ifo.de at the University of Munich found that children who used computers very little fared worse than those who use them a "moderate amount", it crucially revealed that very frequent use of computers forced performance back down again. As The Scotsman http://news.scotsman.com reports, according to the researchers, computers are a major asset to the classroom or bedroom, as long as their use is supervised and takes place alongside active teaching methods. The findings are set to cause alarm among those who advocate teaching through greater use of technology.
According to Ludger Woessmann, a co-researcher from Munich University, previous studies show that children with more computers performed better because they were from more privileged backgrounds. However, by standardising family backgrounds, the new research has turned around the assumption. "It shows it is not obvious that just adding computers to the classroom will lead to more learning and computers at home can actually hold back learning," said Woessmann. He added that there was an "optimal use" of computers in schools, perhaps once or twice a week.
The research used data from the Programme of International Student Assessment, a student achievement test that also offers information on the use of computers. The study found that computers at home were not used solely for running educational software, mining the internet for useful data or composing better homework assignments - all things that would have a positive impact on educational performance. Instead, they are used for playing games, chatting and otherwise providing entertainment. Computers therefore displace other activities more conducive to learning, the researchers found.
At schools, the availability of computers does not translate into higher student performance. According to Nick Clayton, a technology writer and former IT teacher, it is not the number of computers that is important, but rather how they are used. "A computer is a tool and can be used across all subjects particularly now you have the internet. But it has to be a natural part of teaching in the same way as books and other tools. And teachers need training in order to use them effectively;" he said.
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