Students, computers and learning: Where is the connection?

Excerpt

The report released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2015, titled: Students, Computers and Learning: Making the Connection, has drawn considerable worldwide reaction on what appears a dismal reality: computers do not improve student results. Despite the limited data and sources it used, the report voiced the challenges many countries’ school systems face in finding more effective ways for teachers to integrate information and communication technology (ICT) into teaching and learning in their classrooms to provide students with learning environments that support their learning needs of the twenty-first century. Our school systems have been investing in every way they can in use of ICT to improve education. However, have they invested effectively to ensure that teachers are at the forefront of designing and implementing ICT-integrated pedagogical methods in their classrooms? This Special Issue of the Journal intends to promote making the connection between use of ICT and evidence-based learning and practice. The articles you will be reading may not represent the state-of-the-art of ICT use in education today. Nevertheless, these articles reflect the efforts the educators around the world have made in pursuing effective use of ICT in their teaching practices, as well as in identifying the issues educators are still facing today in their pursuits. These articles also reflect our improved understanding about the pedagogical value of ICT, and particularly, the future of ICT-integrated education that still requires much exploration. …