Laptops In Schools Do Not Improve Academic Results

Most bright students don’t use phones or laptops in schools to study. I knew how to use a computer after I joined campus many years ago. Nowadays class one students upload photos on Intagram and poke everybody on Facebook. A report found out that computers do not improve student’s academic results. The study further provided that tech in schools hamper performance.

The report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found that technology has not made any improvement on results despite the fact that most students use computers at schools to do their homework and other projects.

The research was conducted in a number of countries and discovered that, countries that reported the most technology use in the classroom, students’ reading performance actually declined between 2000 and 2012. Computers are not meant to be used on a full time basis by high school and primary school students. Most machines have games and other Apps that can make a student shift the attention from studies to doing other things.

In Asia, students use computers for 10 minutes at school which is just a fraction of the full hour spent on the internet by students in other countries. Apparently, in Asia students who do not spend most of their time using computers, are among the top performers in reading and computer-based mathematics tests, according to OECD’s assessment program.

Also read:Ericsson partners with five schools in an initiative to mentor young women in ICT studies

UK schools are expected to spend £623 million on ICT in 2015, with £95m spent on software and digital content. But this clearly doesn’t correlate with better performance. Well, this is according to a report published by British Educational Suppliers Association.

Telegraph reports that technology does not have an impact in bridging the skills divide between advantaged and disadvantaged students.

“Put simply, ensuring that every child attains a baseline level of proficiency in reading and mathematics seems to do more to create equal opportunities in a digital world than can be achieved by expanding or subsidizing access to high-tech devices and services,”Andreas Schleider said.

“In the end, technology can amplify great teaching, but great technology cannot replace poor teaching,”OECD’s education director Andreas Schleicher said.

In Kenya, our digital government decided to put together a team that will ensure the laptops project is implemented. Many people are against the project since millions will just disappear in the name of distributing laptops in schools. The government introduced the ICT curriculum back in 2004 and over 72,000 teachers graduate with ICT skills every year. So will computers improve academic results or expose students to bad behavior?

Also read:Airtel extends LEAP Hubs program to 41 schools in Kenya

 

Erick Vateta564 Posts

--- Erick Vateta is a lawyer by training, poet, script and creative writer by talent, a model, and tech enthusiast. He covers International tech trends, data security and cyber attacks.

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