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@Mokurai - Do Computers and Internet Access at Home Reduce Student Test Scores?

Here is the best place to find links to research on OLPC XOs in schools. http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_research The research clearly shows that dumping XOs into schools without teacher training and curriculum development matching local needs has only modest benefits and some negatives, while doing it right has not only educational but social benefits. This is in line with research over more than 50 years on computers in education, starting with IBM 360s and rooms full of terminals. The difference today is that netbook computers cost less than printed textbooks, so development of elearning materials under free licenses can improve education and will certainly save money.

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:15:29 -0700

Doreen - Do Computers and Internet Access at Home Reduce Student Test Scores?

I am doing some work with eight-year olds in Trinidad, West Indies. Many use their computers for school projects or for games or to search for info on areas they already have an interest in. The use of the computer for their projects are mostly done in away that in some encourage things like cutting and pasting or plagiarism. The computer is a tool and lessons have to be structured to teach children how to use them for research and general learning Use of it should be monitored and regulated. Many parents do not regulate the use of all these devices enough, be computers, television DS the whole lot.

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 07:36:00 -0700

Thomas Grotkjaer - Do Computers and Internet Access at Home Reduce Student Test Scores?

Don’t Jump to Conclusions Most people/academics want to draw conclusions from a new set of data. It is more difficult to publish a study where nothing can be concluded. Most journalists want/need a good story every day, and a good story is usually when something goes wrong. They have a newspaper to sell everyday. That is not to say that these three new research studies contain interesting reading. They bring to light important aspects of using scarce resources within an education sector. But let us not jump to bold conclusions right away.

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:55:33 -0700

Saba Musharrif - Do Computers and Internet Access at Home Reduce Student Test Scores?

It is children that we are talking about here and as we all must know, children are always curious. For the child the computer is a new toy (and with interenet access its a whole new world of fun and games), and therefore 'play time' needs to be monitored. When we provide the child with a computer and internet access we are providing them with a whole bunch of options and he will chose that which interests him the most; majority of the children will find English and Mathematics the least interesting. I agree with Christpoher Segots point that the curriculum should be designed to incorporate technology in and out of the classroom.

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:38:00 -0700

Ian Lynch - Do Computers and Internet Access at Home Reduce Student Test Scores?

Learning to use computers efficiently is part of working life and most adults with good degrees don't do it well. They are still sending each other Word and Powerpoint attachments when the same information could be indexed and linked into cloud based applications to better effect and at lower cost. There might not be a test score for IT skills but they are important in their own right - if there was such a test most adults would fail it. But teachers are important.

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 09:32:38 -0700

W Yohai - OLPC: How Not to Run a Laptop Program

I live in Uruguay with two school children at home. As they go to public school, both have their XO. one of the main tasks of their home staying mother is to keep them from television and their XO´s, playing computer games or chating with their mates and actually studying instead. If she were an out of home working mother, the kids would be completely spoiled by, not only, of course by XO´s. We live in a medium class neibourhood, but classes are overcrowded, more than 30 kids in each. The decission to come into OLPC was taken solely, in a quite monarchich way by the president Vázquez, without consultation with education participants be them teachers or local education authorities.

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:23:20 -0700

Christopher Segot - Do Computers and Internet Access at Home Reduce Student Test Scores?

@Grant I would have to agree that just monitoring is not enough.... however having worked with many educators in various settings and school/district/state administrators I can tell you that they are very driven by metrics and results and they use them to gauge learning and where to allocate resources (however incorrect this is it is still a fact, to get the much needed funding we need to get them metrics)

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 01:21:00 -0700

robvanson - Do Computers and Internet Access at Home Reduce Student Test Scores?

What are we measuring in these studies? - A drop in achievement in formal (drill) skills: Math, foreign language, and native grammar/literature. - An increase in cognitive ability. Sounds like a classic example of distraction by an intellectual or cognitive challenge. The children are enticed by a new activity that engages their intellectual abilities and time so they spent less time doing their homework drills. My curiosity is raised by the boring nature of the pre-test environment of the children. Was life really that bad that the children would rather do their homework?

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 23:19:00 -0700

Jan Krol - Do Computers and Internet Access at Home Reduce Student Test Scores?

Now we are talking, Wayan! This is the ugly truth ignored so far indeed. We do not yet know how to use these new technologies to build up knowledge and skills - in the long-term memory of the pupils - systematically. On our blog we pay a lot of attention to this problem in relation to the technology as it is today. The problem is evident in rich countries who have taken the lead in digital education and already invested billions of dollars in it. Here a 'quantum leap' in pedagogy is needed to make it productive, see: http://visualteach.blogspot.com/p/about-this-blog...

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:44:00 -0700