Recent data reflects that technology in the classroom may not noticeably improve student academic performance, nor bridge the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students. The Directorate for Education and Skills, Andreas Schleicher, was quick to stress that technological leaps won’t replace poor teaching. At Queenswood, we incorporate ICT into our curriculum, without using it to replace the basic tenets of successful pedagogy.

What is The OECD Report?

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) Report is entitled ‘Students, Computers and Learning: Making the Connection’, and it studies the relationship between the use of information and communication technology (ICT) and how it has impacted adolescent learning internationally, based on 2012 PISA results.

PISA (the Programme for International Student Assessment) is an exam which measures academic performance in 59 countries. The report is the first of its kind to scrutinise students’ digital skills.

What Are the Advantages of Technology in Education?

At Queenswood, we acknowledge a number of advantages of utilising technology in the classroom, many of which are listed in the OECD report. These include the use of up to the minute information that is far beyond that of textbooks, the ability to learn in multiple formats, and the ability for teachers to collaborate on and improve teaching materials.

It offers the use of new pedagogies, such as active learning in collaborative workspaces, real-time assessments, remote and virtual learning landscapes, and sophisticated software that includes simulation and offers social media and in-depth games.

Furthermore, technology offers the opportunity for students to interact more freely in lesson activities. For example, pupils’ answers can be displayed on the board and then commented on or amended, while puzzles can be collectively solved by the whole class.

Results of the OECD Report

Despite 17.5 billion each year in global spending on education technology in schools (900 million in the UK,) students delivered no noticeable improvement in PISA test results. It also showed that countries with the highest achieving education systems (many in Asia) used the least amount of internet in lessons. This did not seem to impact their ability to keep up with technology, as Singapore, which uses the internet only moderately in lessons, had the best digital skills.
A caveat of this is that students who used computers moderately had better learning outcomes than those who used them rarely. A significant difference (taking into account demographics and socioeconomic backgrounds) showed that students who used computers very frequently had the worst academic outcomes in most areas. The schools that invested the most in ICT could show no significant improvement in science or maths.

Preliminary Conclusions About The OECD Report

What was once thought to be a potential solution towards bridging socioeconomic gaps has shown no such noticeable equaliser. Also, the students who spend six or more hours per day online reported feeling lonelier at school, arriving later and skipping more days prior to the PISA test.

‘Ensuring that every child reaches a baseline level of proficiency in reading and mathematics will do more to create equal opportunities in a digital world than solely expanding or subsidising access to high-tech devices and services’, said the OECD. They believe that if we correct the gap in education, digital skills will inadvertently follow. One example given is that online reading can be taught using analogue reading techniques.

Computers and Learning: Making the Connection Study – Conclusions

While the Directorate for Education and Skills, Andreas Schleicher, acknowledges that ‘technology is the only way to dramatically expand access to knowledge’, the pedagogy for best harnessing and delivering education may not yet have arrived. It can overused, misused and presents a number of classic risks in a what is simply a more sophisticated landscape.

At Queenswood, we believe in the importance of a balanced curriculum and take every effort to educate students about both the benefits and drawbacks to technology advancements, both inside and outside of the classrooms. We work to prevent information overload, understand the scope of plagiarism and fraud, warn against privacy violation and predators and teach online bullying prevention and awareness.

It stands to reason that technology would grow at a rate that is faster than the best practices for using it. For example, sub-quality educational software and courseware can potentially hold education back; we cannot rely on technology alone to educate pupils. We agree that the role of policy makers may be to mobilise the help of some of our nation’s best teachers to provide design input and support.

How Important Is Student-Teacher Interaction to Learning?

We also agree that teacher-student interaction is a necessary part of true conceptual understanding and advanced thinking such as inference, abstract ideas, critical thinking and integrating process concepts. Human engagement has value in the educational sector for more than just the purpose of socialisation; it’s essential for holistic growth.

We are fortunate at Queenswood to offer a broad, balanced programme of study that incorporates technology without using it to replace strong teaching practices. In Computing lessons, we focus on the design and development of computer systems and programs. Logical thinking, algorithm design, computer hardware and learning to write code all feature heavily. We want girls to develop into students who can not only use a computer efficiently but also understand how computers work and are able to create the next big app, web development, computer program, etc.

Our recent GCSE results reflect our success; we couldn’t be more pleased with our pupils’ outstanding academic results and look forward to witnessing their bright futures.

Additional Notes:

The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Chinese-Taipei, Colombia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Hong Kong-China, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Macao-China, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Russian Federation, Shanghai-China, Singapore, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates and the United States.