Technology Is Not Always Enough

The adoption of information technology does not assure per se a learning improvement. The task of researchers in this field is to identify the support activities that improve the effectiveness of e-learning. "The use of mobile technologies within the education sector has led to a paradigm shift in e-learning literature", says Massimo Magni, Associate Professor of Organization and Information Systems and co-author of the empirical research When Teachers Support Students in Technology Mediated Learning with Leonardo Caporarello and Ferdinando Pennarola. "We therefore must study the main factors that contribute to learning effectiveness: technology and context".

The authors have used a sample of Italian students of 21 classes in 9 high schools. For a two year span, 370 students used a tablet to access digital resources and to produce output. The grades in a wide range of humanities and scientific subjects were compared with those obtained by a control group of classes where traditional teaching techniques were used. Students filled out an entry and an exit questionnaire that was designed to measure their perception of technology (ease of use and usefulness) and context (teacher's and peer's encouragement).

"The results say that previous experiences with technologies and peer support are statistically not significant. Technology effectiveness depends on integration with the learning process. In other words, offering digital contents is not enough. Moreover, in the absence of encouragement from teachers, the learning process is slower and sometimes even abandoned".

Read more about this topic:
When Learning Becomes an Augmented Experience. Article by Leonardo Caporarello
Business Schools Should Learn from Netflix. Article by Gabriele Troilo
Beatrice Manzoni. How Students Feel About Online Learning
Ferdinando Pennarola. If Learning Is a Game