Changing Needs… Really?
Kentaro Toyama
Visiting Scholar
University of California, Berkeley
Economic and Social Council 2011 High-Level Segment
United Nations – Geneva – July 8, 2011
Can you tell the difference?
Photos: Kentaro Toyama, http://www.livemint.com/images/4D7256D8-409A-41F2-B368-249442FEAB12ArtVPF.gi
Technology in Education
Believed to be...
– Good
– Transformational
– Necessary
Worries about...
Photo: Udai Pawar
– “Digital Divide”
– Falling behind
Technology Is Not Always Good
Technology requires ongoing support
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Cost
Cost
Cost
Training
Maintenance
Infrastructure
Curriculum integration
Technology distracts
Photo credit: Rajesh Veeraraghavan
– Students
– Teachers
– Administrators
Technology can lead to dependence,
addiction, inability to focus
Research Shows Mixed Impact
– Mark Warschauer et al. (USA)
• PCs amplify existing inequalities
– Leigh Linden et al. (India, Peru)
• PCs don’t substitute for teachers
• PCs rarely cost-effective
– Ana Santiago et al. (Peru)
• Mixed results with OLPC
– Todd Oppenheimer (USA)
• Technology distracts from real
education
– Larry Cuban, Mike Trucano, Wayan
Vota, Ofer Malamud, etc.
Good Education is Possible
With Little Technology
Finland
– 1st out of 57 countries
• OECD’s PISA (2003, 2006)
• Science, math, reading
– “Back to basics” approach
– Limited technology
• Blackboards, overhead projectors
• Computer labs only for computer
classes
• No mobile phones, iPods in class
– Hi-tech workforce
Photo credit: Sanna Schildt
• Linux
• Nokia
Same as mid-1900s USA, Japan,
Germany, England, France, etc.
“21st Century Education”
No different than good 20th century
education!
Ensure foundation first!
– Administration and teachers
– Foundational curriculum
– Measurable student achievement
Technology cannot substitute for
Institutional foundation.
Technology then helpful for
– Computer literacy
– Programming
– Targeted applications
Photo credit: Joyojeet Pal
Can you tell the difference?
Technology consumer
Income: $1,200
Technology producer
Income: $16,000+
Photo: Kentaro Toyama
Thank you!
kentaro_toyama@hotmail.com
http://www.kentarotoyama.org