Problems with screen use in education

Julie Cullen

Opinion

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has recently published a study showing that computer or tablet-based learning in Year 5 students reduces reading enjoyment, as measured by data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. It also showed that New Zealand students have the greatest access to computers but the lowest reading scores among the eight OECD countries surveyed.

It seems that in primary schools, New Zealand has adopted screen use in education far more readily than other countries, but has so far failed to prove that devices are improving teaching and learning.

International research has also shown that tablet-based learning has had negative impacts on reading and several other areas of learning as well, particularly for children in this age group.

A large study of educational progress data across the whole of the US compared academic outcomes with time spent learning on computers in Grade 4 (Year 5 equivalent) students. It found that tablet use was associated with lower performance.

For reading, students who used tablets in some classes, compared to those who never did, scored slightly lower on reading exams; those who used tablets frequently were a full year's reading level behind and up to three years for some. These trends held across all states, and across all schools with different socioeconomic profiles. The report stated that “scores for tablet-related activities, like games and apps, are similarly dismal. For reading-related apps, educational games and electronic textbooks, more usage is clearly associated with worse scores. This raises questions about the value of these approaches as a basis for instruction.”

OECD and Australian data has even shown that frequent computer use and BYOD (bring your own device) policies at primary school level led to a decline in digital skills.

Digital technologies do present opportunities to enrich learning; such as the ability to contact experts, present data and research, to name a few. The digital divide does need to be addressed, not only through the Government's initiative to provide access to computers for high school students, but also by tackling wider inequities.

But this latest study by the MoE has found that computers were available for 93 percent of students here, significantly higher than the international average of 44 percent. Writing on tablets had the strongest link to reduced reading enjoyment, and the frequency of digital teaching also had a significant negative impact. International experts have described why it remains important that children learn to read in print, and similarly to write by hand.

What many New Zealanders may not have realised is that our use of computers in the classroom is the highest in the world. In 2015, New Zealand was in the top few countries in the OECD for use of screens in schools. However, since that time other OECD countries have slightly reduced their use, while New Zealand, relatively, has had a “huge increase” in computer use in schools.

This gives us more reason to question BYOD policies, and the need for schools to ask parents to purchase personal devices for children as young as seven or eight. That is without considering issues of cost, inappropriate content access, documented health risks and parental supervision required when giving young children personal devices. As noted by an Auckland solicitor, schools, principals and boards of trustees may also need to consider liability if complaints are made, when evidence of risk is increasingly being presented.

In a recent article, Dr Arran Hamilton reflected on a review he conducted with John Hattie about the effectiveness of education technology entitled, “Not all that glitters is gold”. He noted that “the challenging conclusion is that the impact of almost all types of technologies (on learner achievement in standardised tests) is on average only half of what can be realised by good old-fashioned human-to-human interactions . . .”

The use of digital devices in primary schools has been well intended; a response to fear that children will be “left behind” in a world where they need digital skills; a reaction to exciting claims made by the Ed Tech industry of personalised learning and improved outcomes; and maybe even due to the ease in class management where children are engaged with tablets, freeing teachers to work with a smaller group. But while this latter example may be common justification, at Sensible Screen Use, we would have to disagree that it's a good enough reason. Frequent device use can come with potential risks not only to health, but to learning outcomes and enjoyment of reading.

To get the benefits that digital technologies can offer to our children's learning, we need to have evidence-based, moderate and purposeful use of devices in schools.

■ Julie is a paediatric physiotherapist in Auckland, is the mother of four children, and is the founder of Sensible Screen Use (www.sensiblescreenuse.org).