At a time when technology has all but overtaken most aspects of life, a new study titled "Students, Computers and Learning," by the OECD - Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development - a global group with 34 member countries interested in progress and world trade, has found that increasing technology in classrooms may not result in better education for children.
"Despite considerable investments in computers, Internet connections and software for educational use, there is little solid evidence that greater computer use among students leads to better scores in mathematics and reading," the report said, according to The Wall Street Journal.
"Students who use computers very frequently at school do a lot worse in reading, even after accounting for students' background," the OECD's results found, reports CBS.
The "first-of-its-kind internationally comparative analysis" of digital skills and learning environments found "no appreciable improvements in student achievement in reading, mathematics or science in the countries that had invested heavily in (information and communication technology, or ICT) for education," said the report, according to CBS.
"We have not yet become good enough at the kind of pedagogues that make the most of technology; that adding 21st century technologies to 20th century teaching practices will just dilute the effectiveness of teaching," said the report, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Technology can amplify good teaching but it can't replace poor teaching," said Andreas Schleicher, director of the OECD's Directorate of Education and Skills, when presenting the report, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In fact the report summarizes that that most schools and education systems may not be ready to fully utilize the potential of technology. It also warns that technology can be a double edged sword, wherein it may increases the efficiency of already efficient processes, but may also conversely make inefficient processes more non-productive.
