Literacy Today January/February 2016

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n October, a large international study titled Students, Computers, and Learning

by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reported that

access to computers had no significant impact on students’ proficiency in reading,

math, and science. In many countries, using computers frequently at school

actually worsened performance.

Although these findings may relate to differences in professional development

or implementation, it was clear that drill-and-practice software had a negative

effect on student performance. The report’s authors appropriately acknowledged

that “building deep conceptual understanding and higher-order thinking requires

intensive student–teacher interactions, and technology sometimes distracts from

this valuable human engagement.”

Nevertheless, school districts are rapidly adopting 1:1 laptop initiatives

coupled with blended learning models aimed at increasing the amount of time

By Julie Coiro

LET’S GET

PERSONAL

Balancing talk with technology to truly

personalize learning

Julie Coiro

(jcoiro@uri.edu), an ILA

member since 1992, is an

associate professor in the

School of Education at the

University of Rhode Island. She

currently serves on the ILA

Board of Directors.

OUR VIEW

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January/February 2016 | LITERACY TODAY

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