The case for using technology in class

Being successful as a teacher means finding ways to help your students learn. Choosing good technology that is appropriate for the lesson is something positive you can do to facilitate this important mission.

Possibly the most important lesson from the OECD PISA survey¹ is that we should not try to cram technology into our lessons just because it is available.

In fact, a surprising finding of the survey was that, contrary to popular expectations, students who did not use computers in math lessons achieved higher scores in mathematics examinations than those who did.

One possible reason for this unexpected result is that the typical math teacher does not receive sufficient technology training to enable them to make the best choices about which technologies are best suited to a specific activity.

If you are a math teacher, you may be thinking that the easiest way to interpret this finding is that you should avoid the use of computers in teaching your classes. But as usual the easiest interpretation is not always the best one.

Keep in mind that the reason for students scoring higher in exams when not using computers in the classroom was not due to any flaw in the technology itself. The flaw believed to be causing the differences is in the amount of technology training teachers are receiving before attempting to incorporate technology into their lessons.

Receiving more technology training will enable teachers to make informed decisions about the technology they choose to make use of.

The worst outcomes can be expected in situations where teachers are required to incorporate certain technologies into their lessons, yet are not provided with any training in how to do so. In these situations, teachers face an unfair disadvantage, and student performance can be expected to suffer as a result.

Students will learn best when their lessons are stimulating and engaging. Computers can offer two important advantages for teachers to facilitate these qualities in the lessons they teach.

The first of these advantages is interactivity. Students can test theoretical solutions by interacting with the computer, and in so doing, an experiential quality is imparted to the learning outcome.

The second advantage is computers can provide virtually instant access to a worldwide pool of expert knowledge. While it is important for teachers to ensure the resources consulted are authoritative and accessible (in this context, accessible means not only that it accommodates those with disabilities, but also that it is written in an audience-appropriate style).

Citations:

1. OECD (2018), Program for International Student Assessment
2. Pew Research Center (2020), Parenting Children in the Age of Screens
3. Walsh E & Walsh D (2019), "How Children Develop Empathy", Psychology Today