Computers don’t improve students’ results says OECD

New approach needed to deliver on technology’s potential in schools

An OECD study on Tuesday found that computers in the classroom don’t enhance student performance and can even hinder it. The report looked at the impact of technology in classrooms round the glove. While 75% of pupils in countries surveyed use technology in their classrooms, there was no noteworthy improvement in results.

“Students who use computers very frequently at school do a lot worse in most learning outcomes, even after accounting for social background and student demographics,” said OECD Education Director Andrea Schleicher, calling the impact of tech in the classroom “mixed at best.”

Students in Western countries that spend the most time using technology include Australia (58 hurs), Greece (42) and Sweden (39), but countries like Asia where technology is relatively absent in classrooms outranked others.

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