Learning With Technology

Prepared in May 2002 for Cable in the Classroom. Posted with permission.
Evidence that Technology Can, and Does, Support Learning
By James M. Marshall, PhD / San Diego State University
Introduction

Does technology have a positive impact on teaching and learning? Is television an effective teaching tool? How can Internet content be best used by students and teachers?

To explore these questions, Cable in the Classroom commissioned a report that aggregates known research on technology's impact on learning. James Marshall, Ph.D., former director of research at Lightspan Inc., and currently an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Educational Technology at San Diego State University, reviewed existing evidence of technology's impact on learning to evaluate the content and conditions that support effective use of technology in schools.

Titled "Learning with Technology: Practices, Outcomes and Effects," the report is a comprehensive summary of important research questions about technology's impact in the classroom, including:
  • Evidence of technology's historical and contemporary effect on learning;

  • An examination of the correlation between recent brain research and technology-based instruction;

  • Highlights of studies that suggest a role for technology in addressing different ways of learning;

  • A look at more than 50 research studies that provide conclusive evidence that students can, and do, learn from educational technologies; and

  • A summary of technologies currently in development and their potential to impact education.
"Overall we found strong evidence that educational technology complements what a great teacher does naturally. It extends their reach. It also broadens the student experience by taking them places they may not otherwise be able to go," says Dr. Marshall. "With ever-expanding content and technology choices, from video to multimedia to the Internet, there's an unprecedented need to understand the recipe for success, which involves the learner, the teacher, the content, and the environment in which technology is used."

To read the full Learning with Technology study, click here.