The CSM is not one of my favorite sources for information on technology in education, however, the shear size of the international sample (175,000) in this poll makes it hard to ignore:
Contrarian finding: Computers are a drag on learning
"It seems if you overuse computers and trade them for other [types of] teaching, it actually harms the student," says lead researcher Ludger Woessmann in a telephone interview from Munich. "At least we should be cautious in stating that increasing [access to] computers in the home and school will improve students' math and reading performance."
Is this where I am suppossed to insert a "Well....duhhh" comment?
From a sample of 175,000 15-year-old students in 31 countries, researchers at the University of Munich announced in November that performance in math and reading had suffered significantly among students who have more than one computer at home [my emphasis].
I have not seen the raw data from this survey (and probably won't). The idea that someone asked how many computers that an individual has at home surprises me almost as much as the conclusion that too many computers contributed to a decline in performance. Is there an implication here that with more than one computer available at home, our 15 year olds don't have to compete with mom, dad, or other siblings for computer time? Are they taking the cues from parents who spend hours upon hours blogging, paying bills, reading RSS feeds, etc (for which I am guilty on all counts)...and just doing their own thing sharing music, IM'ing their friends, and/or feeding their Sims addictions?
Access to a computer (or lack thereof) has been included in the various definitions of the digital divide. Apparently, access to multiple computers has created a new (upper?) class of have-many's to the have's and have not's that traditionally define the gaps referred to in the digital divide. I need to chew on that one just a bit...