Education software: No bang for the buck, study says

Dallas Blog | Caroline Walker:

“The largest study to date of educational technology's impact on student performance finds it's negligible -- the impact, that is.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

This week-old story from Dallas Blog came and went without much attention. The story raised a lot of questions in my mind, but it didn't offer many answers. I'm not ready to accept the implication yet, but it's huge: if computers and education software are not raising test results, then let's quit spending money on them and focus on more traditional teaching methods instead. Caroline Walker didn't come out and say that, but I suspect sympathy with that conclusion is the reason why she posted the story in the first place.

Yesterday, the Associated Press reported on another classroom experiment without results, headlined "Study: Abstinence classes don't stop sex". Here, I'm not surprised by the finding. It doesn't raise any questions in my mind. This is one outcome that was all too predictable. This time, I'm ready to jump to the conclusion that we shouldn't be spending money on ineffective classes.

Somehow, I doubt Caroline Walker will see it that way. Somehow, I doubt she or Dallas Blog will even cover this story. Too bad. Dallas Blog could have reused their headline with only a minor change: Abstinence Classes: More bang for the buck, study finds.