:::CEA::: Are students ready for a technology rich world?

Canadian Education Association: "February 07, 2006
Are Students Ready for a Technology-Rich World?
Results of an OECD Study

School students who are established computer users tend to perform better in key school subjects than those with limited experience or a lack of confidence in their ability to perform basic computer functions, according to a new OECD report. The study “Are students ready for a technology-rich world?” provides the first internationally comparative data in this area, based on OECD’s PISA 2003 assessment of educational performance by 15-year olds. It backs up previous OECD analysis about the importance of computers in schools.

Nearly three out of four students on average in OECD countries - and in Canada, Iceland and Sweden nine out of 10 – use computers at home several times each week. In contrast, only 44% use computers frequently at school. In some countries, the discrepancy between home and school use is marked: Germany has the lowest percentage of frequent computer users at school among OECD countries (23%) but a high proportion of frequent users at home (82%). The relationship with student performance in mathematics is striking. Students who have used computers for several years mostly perform better than average. By contrast, those who don’t have access to computers or who have been using computers for only a short time tend to lag behind their class year.

The results of the study are available as a full report or as a Powerpoint which summarizes the findings.

Full Report

Powerpoint Presentation"