Category: Technology

A very different sound about technology in education: there is an ‘astonishing’ shortage of information about how rapid advances in educational technology could help pupils with disabilities in low and middle-income countries

The past year EdTech has been in the focus of educational news besides some kind of virus-thingy. But while a lot of people and tech companies are having high hopes that this situation will finally mean the big breakthrough of technology in education this new report shares a more gloomy story about the current lack… Read More A very different sound about technology in education: there is an ‘astonishing’ shortage of information about how rapid advances in educational technology could help pupils with disabilities in low and middle-income countries

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This review study gives a bit of hope – or depending on who your are some despair: prerecorded videos can help learning in higher education

This week I’ll only do live online classes with my students as they have asked our team several times to have as many live sessions as possible. Still, this new review study does show that prerecorded videos can help to learn. The researchers do plea for a combination of regular teaching and videos. Do note… Read More This review study gives a bit of hope – or depending on who your are some despair: prerecorded videos can help learning in higher education

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New review on multitasking while learning: a big problem, but also an opportunity?

It’s something Paul Kirschner and I have written about before, and a new review study confirms: using electronic media while doing schoolwork negatively impacts learning. But even worse: any students believe they’re immune to any ill effects because they’re good multitaskers, which they’re not. From the press release: Scanning social media while listening to a… Read More New review on multitasking while learning: a big problem, but also an opportunity?

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Don’t get this the wrong way: Teens who think their parents are loving are less likely to be cyberbullies

Again an interesting study but: correlation doesn’t equal causation this doesn’t mean all children from broken families will become CYBERbullies From the press release: Adolescents who perceive their parents to be loving and supportive are less likely to engage in cyberbullying, according to a new study by researchers at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing.… Read More Don’t get this the wrong way: Teens who think their parents are loving are less likely to be cyberbullies

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Interesting but not too surprising: Video is not always effective in science communication

We are living in YouTube and TikTok times so people often think that when communicating about science we also should use video. Not a bad idea, but do be warned… it could be a bad idea if you are looking for funding. The study doesn’t surprise me as it seems to be in line with… Read More Interesting but not too surprising: Video is not always effective in science communication

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Toddlers who use touchscreens show attention differences, but is that bad?

I guess the title has triggered you? Well, it did trigger me as much debate has been about the possible negative consequences, would this now also be the case? I hate to say it, but the researchers behind this longitudinal study can’t say it yet. Still, they already have some interesting findings! From the press… Read More Toddlers who use touchscreens show attention differences, but is that bad?

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Does the smartphone hinder learning? New review study suggests ‘yes’, but…

A new review study by Amez and Baert examined the existing research on the use of smartphones and the consequences for academic success. In short: A predominance of empirical results supporting a negative association. This finding is driven by studies relying on actual GPA measures. But, there is one important limitation: The literature’s main limitation… Read More Does the smartphone hinder learning? New review study suggests ‘yes’, but…

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Again: silver bullets are seldom the case in education. E.g. no single solution helps all students complete MOOCs

Yesterday I received this very interesting Freakonomics podcast on the issue of the scalability of interventions. Often we see – also in education – that something works in an experiment or in a field trial, but when everybody starts adopting the new method or the new insight… it fails. There can be several reasons why,… Read More Again: silver bullets are seldom the case in education. E.g. no single solution helps all students complete MOOCs

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