Educational technology: evidence of impacts on teaching and learning. Findings and recommendations from the DFID Topic Guide on Educational Technology, 2014.

摘要

There is enormous interest and investment in the potential of Educational Technology to improve the quality of teaching and learning in low and lower-middle income countries. However, it is difficult to find syntheses of evidence that outlines the impact of Edtech on teaching and learning. It has been argued that the collective weakness of educational technology research has created a challenging situation for educational leaders and policy makers, with little empirical research to support many of the most cited claims on the effects of Educational Technology (Bebell et al, 2010). DFID commissioned the Educational Technology Topic Guide as a first contribution to addressing this evidence gap. The guide has compiled evidence from over 80 studies on the relationship between Edtech, teaching practice and learning achievement, from low to lower-middle income countries. There were several forms of educational technology associated with improvements in teaching practice or learning outcomes, and many examples with little or no evidence of impact. This re-enforces the understanding that it is not educational technology per se, that improves teaching and learning, but: how the technology is designed and implemented; how teachers are supported to use it; how outcomes are measured; what communities are in place to support it (Technology Enhanced Learning, 2014). The Topic Guide considers the enabling contexts of programmes that did provide evidence of improved teaching and learning, and makes recommendations about how other programmes might develop similar enabling contexts.