Should tablets and computers be a central part of the school day for children? That question is asked in several municipalities just before the election. – I think it is simpler. Your hand doesn’t hurt when you write, and it’s much easier, says Ansgar Sønderland. He and the rest of the class at Giske junior high school in Sunnmøre have had tablets in front of them in class ever since they started in 1st grade seven years ago. – We are learning to use the board and getting better at technology, says Sønderland. But not everyone agrees whether the digital screens belong in the classroom. At least not the politicians. The notebooks have been put aside, but are still in use when the notes on the tablet are not enough. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news Aadne Eikrem believes that the tablet makes it easier to keep up with the class, if one is a little harder to write than the others. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news Most of the notes the students make take place on the tablet, but the teacher also uses the old chalkboard. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news Haven’t had a screen-free school day In the whole of Giske municipality, they introduced their own tablets for students in school in 2016. Those who have just started junior high school have had their own screens on their desks their entire school career. Maria Hauge Blindheim teaches several subjects. In mathematics, there is a lot of analogue work with books, while it is different in this class: – In science, we don’t have our own textbook today, so some of it happens digitally, says Blindheim. – You who work with both digital and analogue aids; How do you think it is to teach with it? – It can be a very good aid. It gives us opportunities that we didn’t have before, of course. But it now has its challenges as well. Blindheim says it also varies from student to student what they get out of their screens and books. – For some it is easier to get things done, but with me they are always offered to use a book if they wish, says the teacher. Subject teacher Maria Hauge Blindheim had to spend large parts of this science lesson on IT help, as there were new tablet systems for several of her pupils. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news The textbook and notebook are not displaced by the tablet on the teacher’s catheter, but are also in use. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news Not all screens are welcome in class. In the mobile hotel by the blackboard, the students’ phones are packed away during the school day. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news Some want to abolish the scheme Whether tablets and personal computers belong in the classroom has been discussed for years: At the same time, there are politicians who want to get rid of tablets in school altogether. In Giske, which has been doing this for a long time, the Progress Party wants to scrap the scheme completely. In Moss, the Christian People’s Party will not hand out tablets in primary schools. In Oslo, too, KRF will reduce the use of screens in school. At national level, the MDGs will define digital teaching at the entire primary school level. At the same time as all this is happening, several teachers are positive about the digital development, and researchers are asking parents not to worry about the screens. The learning effect of screens in schools Photo: Tariq Alisubh / news Unesco’s report Technology in education from 2023 and the Norwegian GrunDig report from 2022 refer to international meta-analyses – research studies that try to find and weight previous research on screen use in schools. The meta-studies all conclude with positive effects of combining screen use and regular learning versus having only traditional teaching. But how effective it is varies between subjects and studies. (Small effects in educational research are considered effect sizes below 0.18. Anything above 0.56 is considered a large effect.) A meta-analysis of the impact of technology on learning effectiveness of elementary students (2017): 0.55 The potential of digital tools to enhance mathematics and science learning in secondary schools: A context-specific meta-analysis (2020): 0.65 How handheld use is connected to learning-related factors and academic achievement: Meta-analysis and research synthesis (2022): 0 .71 Effects of Game-Based Learning on Students’ Critical Thinking: A Meta-Analysis (2021): 0.86 The effectiveness of educational technology applications for enhancing mathematics achievement in K-12 classrooms: A meta-analysis (2013): 0 .15 The Effects of Using Mobile Devices on Student Achievement in Language Learning: A Meta-Analysis (2018): 0.51 Dynamic Geometry Software Improves Mathematical Achievement: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2014): 1.02 How features of educational technology applications affect student reading outcomes: A meta-analysis (2012): 0.11 Does gamification improve student learning outcomes? Evidence from a meta-analysis and synthesis of qualitative data in educational contexts (2020): 0.50 The effect of technology supported teaching on students’ academic achievement: A combined meta-analytic and thematic study (2017): 0.66 * Digital Game-Based Learning for K-12 Mathematics Education: A Meta-Analysis (2018): not stated in abstract A meta-analysis of the impact of mobile learning on mathematics achievement (2021): 0.48 A meta-analysis of the impact of technology on learning effectiveness of elementary students (2017): medium effect The use of touch devices for enhancing academic achievement: A meta-analysis (2019): medium effect The age of the students in these studies varies and can be from the entire education course. Metastudies looking at younger children (and not included in the reports mentioned above): Input to the list? Send an email. *effect size not stated, figures taken from the same lead author’s later meta-study (2019) Difficult to research – Just the term “screen use” is complicating, because what is a screen? Does it apply to the computer, the mobile phone, a film on the big screen, asks Siv Therese Måseidvåg Gamlem. She is a professor of pedagogy at the University of Volda, has researched and been the research leader for a project on digital aids in children’s and youth schools and sits on the Government’s Screen Use Committee, which will collect research on children’s and young people’s use of screens in school and in their free time. In short, an expert, that is. She says research into screen use in school is difficult, as there are many factors that come into play: how much are the students alone on the tablet, versus collaborating with others? What subjects do they use tablets and PCs in? What tasks do they solve? How much do books and screens benefit from each other? And the teachers are very important. “Teachers who have good digital competence make great variations and see how the tool can be used as a useful part of the students’ learning,” says Gamlem. – Can you say something roughly about what the research says about whether screens work in school? – Yes, this is where it starts to get difficult. It varies greatly from student to student, depending on how they like to learn. Some like to work together, others alone. One of the research projects Gamlem led found that some classes have over 50 per cent individual work, i.e. alone, with digital aids. Other classes had zero percent solo work on screen, only collaboration with others. – There are very different practices and organizations between schools and municipalities, says Gamlem. There is no shortage of books, periodicals and literature in the office of Siv Therese Måseidvåg Gamlem. Digital aids in school are a complex topic. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news But where do digital aids work best in school? Where do they not work? Listen to the debate with, among others, Gamlem on news Radio here: Tablets in school – politicians and researchers meet for a debate.
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Ansgar hasn’t had a day at school without a tablet – Frp in the municipality wants to end it completely
