I think a subtlety worth noting here is the difference between technology as a supplement to instruction, and technology used during classroom instruction. This study (if I'm reading it correctly) works to get students doing additional math practice on Khan Academy beyond the typical math class. That seems trivially good: practice is important, we're using digital tools to get students more math practice in a way that is sustainable without a teacher present.
That's different from a lot of the pushback I'm seeing right now, which focuses more on using Chromebooks during classroom instruction. When screens come out during class it introduces all sorts of distractions, can influence teachers to be more passive, and can reduce effort. Lots of popular math curricula right now don't have much practice, so technology as a practice supplement seems like a good use case.
That's exactly right. There's a huge distinction between YouTube and structured math practice. The former is likely an unhelpful distraction, while structured practice is quite helpful.
"In the last year of the three-year period, 70% of students met the recommended usage of at least 30 hours per week." The dosage can't be 30 hours a week. What was the recommended dosage?
I think a subtlety worth noting here is the difference between technology as a supplement to instruction, and technology used during classroom instruction. This study (if I'm reading it correctly) works to get students doing additional math practice on Khan Academy beyond the typical math class. That seems trivially good: practice is important, we're using digital tools to get students more math practice in a way that is sustainable without a teacher present.
That's different from a lot of the pushback I'm seeing right now, which focuses more on using Chromebooks during classroom instruction. When screens come out during class it introduces all sorts of distractions, can influence teachers to be more passive, and can reduce effort. Lots of popular math curricula right now don't have much practice, so technology as a practice supplement seems like a good use case.
That's exactly right. There's a huge distinction between YouTube and structured math practice. The former is likely an unhelpful distraction, while structured practice is quite helpful.
On that point, see this other study I linked to from India: https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/school-supervised-edtech-support-produces-massive-learning-gains-khan-academy-field or the studies on the ASSISTMents program: https://nospin.evidencebasedpolicy.org/articles/assistments-low-cost-online-tool-support-7th-grade-math-learning
"In the last year of the three-year period, 70% of students met the recommended usage of at least 30 hours per week." The dosage can't be 30 hours a week. What was the recommended dosage?
Grr, yes, that should be 30 *minutes* a week.
That's what I thought, but wanted to confirm. Thank you!