The type of educational software matters: heterogeneous technology effects are not solely a product of context¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2014 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? By randomly assigning two different software packages to students in similar schools, the study shows the type of technology used affects learning, holding contextual factors constant. → Sarah Humpage and Horacio Álvarez-Marinelli 2014

Evidence¶

Sarah Humpage and Horacio Álvarez-Marinelli 2014¶

Sarah Humpage and Horacio Álvarez-Marinelli. (2014). Teachers’ Helpers: Experimental Evidence from Costa Rica on Computers for English Language Learning. SREE Spring 2014 Conference. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED562994

q3 · i? · causal · r2

The authors' interpretation of the head-to-head randomized comparison of DynEd and Imagine Learning, which found significant differences between the packages on several subtests in both years despite similar school contexts.

"By randomly assigning two different software packages to students in similar schools, this research has shown that the type of technology used matters, holding other factors constant."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• DynEd software produces significant positive effects on some English subtests compared to teacher-only instruction in the first year — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Different types of handwriting interventions produce equivalent gains in handwriting legibility and fluency — related
• After one year, reading and mathematics software products did not increase or decrease test scores by amounts statistically different from zero — related
• Studies in which students used familiar online-learning software reported positive achievement effects during school closures — related