Does classroom technology make a difference? A random assignment study in US classrooms

Abstract

In the 2006–2007 school year, a suburban school district in northwest Arkansas installed state-of-the-art Interwrite educational technology in a randomly selected number of the district's classrooms. This project was designed to explore the benefits of educational technology on student achievement and assess the changes in attitudes and perceptions of participating teachers and students. Although research is emerging about the use of interactive educational technologies at the high school and college levels, the literature is limited regarding the effectiveness of these tools with younger students. In particular, there is little work in the USA in this growing area employing rigorous evaluation methods to assess the effectiveness of technology-based school interventions, particularly of interactive whiteboard programs. Thus, this randomized controlled trial of educational technology supplements this expanding literature base by providing insight into the use of interactive technology in elementary and mid...