How to interpret results (ICT impact on results in School)

There is an ongoing discussion to what extent the use of digital tools and resources contribute to better academic results in schools. Recently I heard Sølvi Lillejord refer to the report A systematic mapping of the effekts of ICT on learning outcomes from the Knowledge Centre for Education, The Research Council of Norway saying that they found no evidence. To my recollection that was not the case so I checked. This is from the summary:

”While few studies document convincing effects of ICT on students’ learning outcome, an analysis across studies shows a consistent, but small positive impact from the use of ICT in classroom settings. Although some research has reported large Effect Sizes (ES) (>> +2,0) from novel technology implementations, the more rigorous meta-analyses of large scale randomized control studies, consistently reports ES’s in the range of +0,1 to +0,3. The most important finding being that the highest ES’s from such comprehensive and rigorous analyses are associated with studies where ICT has been implemented as a planned part of a comprehensive teaching environment with clear goals, teaching plans, teaching materials, supporting technical resources, teacher training and development. In such a context the improvements associated with ICT in education are to be viewed as part of a broader improvement in the educational environment and not just as a single technology.”

It’s interesting to try to figure out why people choose to present findings in different ways. Some actually draw very general conclusions out of very limited studies or dont take into account the content or context of the study. To me it is obvious that one have to be careful especially as this field changes. It is just a couple of years since the technology itself was not that useful and accessible.

There is an ongoing discussion to what extent the use of digital tools and resources contribute to better academic results in schools. Recently I heard Sølvi Lillejord refer to the...