The benefits of technology in education have been
lauded for many years, from
Thomas Edison’s 1910 proclamation that film would
transform education making books obsolete, to the most recent phenomenon of
using the Internet for instructional purposes. Large sums of money have been
spent over the years on the researching and investment of new technologies for
education, such as the 170 million dollars spent in the 1950’s on testing the
use of television for educational purposes by the Ford Foundation in the US, to
the more recent investments in computer and networking infrastructure in
schools which saw 40 billion dollars spent in the decade leading up to 2003
alone. With so much promised and invested, the question begs as to what the
benefits of using technology in education are. Some of the identified benefits
of using technology from educational research include the following.
Technology Improves Student Achievement on Tests. There is mounting evidence that
technology improves student achievement on tests in both core subject areas as
well as overall Grade Point Averages (GPAs). According to a study by Gulek,
(2005), one of the major areas in which greater achievement has been seen is in
math. Significantly higher test scores
and grades were also registered for writing, English-language arts,
mathematics, and overall Grade Point Averages (GPAs) among students who used
technology in their study, according to Gulek, (2005). Gains in test
achievement are not only seen as a result of using technology to study, but
also in the use of technology for assessment, particularly for students with
special needs. Students that have physical and learning disabilities may
underperform on tests not because they have not mastered the content, but
possibly because of the format through which the test is administered (Dolan,
2005).
Technology has also been identified as being able to improve
the quality of student work. Research supports that technology has the
potential to improve quantitative assessment performance in all curriculum
subjects. However, there is also mounting evidence that technology not only has
a quantitative advantage over traditional methods, but also leads to
qualitative improvements; resulting in higher-quality student work. Students
who use computers when learning to write are not only more engaged and
motivated in their writing, but also produce work that is of greater length and
higher quality, especially at the secondary level (Gulek, 2005, pg. 29). Improvement
in writing when utilizing technology is especially evident with regard to
students with special needs and low-achievers. Such students appear to improve
even more than both average students and high-achievers when doing so via word
processor rather than with conventional Instructional methods (Hannafin, 2001).
Technology has great benefits to students with Special
Needs. According to a study by Koedinger, (2008), improved writing is not the
only area in which students with special needs benefit from technology. One
study found that students with Dyslexia improved significantly in reading
ability when a computer remediation program, Fast ForWord Language, was used
and that in some cases dyslexic student scores were raised into the normal
range (Temple, 2003). It was found that such remediation led to “improved
language, reading performance and increased activation in multiple brain
regions during phonological processing” (Temple, 2003).
Technology Improves Attitudes towards Learning. Many
research studies have found that most students prefer learning with technology,
which in turn leads to a better attitude towards learning as well as giving
them more confidence. In a Cognitive Tutor study by Morgan (2002), students exposed
to ICTs in their study were found to believe that technology “made it easier to
do school work, made them more interested in learning, and would help them get
better jobs in the future.” According to
Lowther (2007) students with special needs similarly felt that they did better
on computer based tests and nearly all recommended the program for other
students. Although many studies find that student attitude towards learning
improves using technology, some studies have not found significant difference
in student attitude or motivation (Funkhouser, Winter 2003; Dolan, 2005).
However, most research tends to support the correlation of improved attitude
with technology use.
Technology Provides Individualized Learning. One
aspect which may contribute to improved attitude towards learning is that many
uses of technology in learning allow for individualized learning. According to
Koedinger (2008), Computer Aided Instruction (CAI), especially when used for
drill and practice as a tool for teaching in a traditional sense allows
students to take control of the rate of learning and helps them to avoid
embarrassment by allowing them to learn and make mistakes in a non-public
manner. Students know right away that they are making progress and having
success at a challenging task. Further, because the system does not make a big
deal out of errors, students do not feel the social stigma associated with
making an error in class or on homework. Errors are a private event that are
usually quickly resolved and the student is then back to making progress
(Koedinger, 2008). Moreover, such Computer Assisted Instruction provides
feedback immediately which leads to reductions in learning time. This is very
likely to be a key element in making students feel more confident as well as
leading to better attitudes towards learning. Such feedback reduces student
frustration and provides a sense of accomplishment (Koedinger, 2008). Teachers
also benefit from the way the tutor programs accommodate a large number of
questions students have. This frees them up “to give more individualized help
to students with particular needs” (Koedinger, 2008) – which in turn benefits
students with special needs and who are at risk.
Technology Acts as a Catalyst for Change. One of the
greatest areas in which technology has the potential to benefit education is
its role in being a catalyst for change in educational pedagogy. Research shows
that student centred constructivist approaches to education lead to better
achievement in testing as well as preparing students with the skills necessary
in the modern workplace. One study done in Turkey found that students who
learned in a classroom with a constructivist approach to learning showed
greater cooperation and collaboration, higher levels of learning, more
confidence, and more willingness to participate in learning activities
(Erdamar, 2008). Technology on its own will probably not be the determining
factor in bringing about such change. As one study concluded, simply having
computers in the room is not necessarily going to lead to student centred
learning, indeed teachers may not even use the computer (Norton, 2000).
Technology Prepares Students for the Future. The
future workplace will require students to have skills related to technology
including the technical ability to use spread sheets, word processors,
databases and such. By having and working with technology in schools, students
gain the skills that they will need to be marketable in the future workplace
and to operate in a high-tech world. However, these technical skills are not
enough. The modern workplace requires that one have less tangible skills
including the ability to collaborate with others, interpersonal skills,
creativity, and problem solving skills, to name a few. Technology, combined
with a student centred constructivist mode of learning, has the potential to
provide students with these higher-level cognitive and interpersonal skills
(Lowther, 2007).
