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"Two researchers at Duke University have published a draft study that raises questions about the academic value of giving students home computers and broadband internet access. Their study has led to a flurry of media coverage, with some reports trumpeting the study’s findings as evidence that efforts to close the digital divide are counterproductive. But is that what their research really says?", continues eSchool News.
The study, “Scaling the Digital Divide: Home Computer Technology and Student Achievement,” is the work of researchers Jacob Vigdor and Helen Ladd of Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. It was published last month by the National Bureau of Economic Research as a working paper that was not peer-reviewed.The study examined the reading and math test scores of more than 500,000 North Carolina public school students in grades five through eight from 2000-05. It sought to determine if differential access to computer technology at home compounds the educational disparities among students from various socio-economic backgrounds, and whether government provision of computers to middle school students would reduce those disparities.
Related links
“Scaling the Digital Divide: Home Computer Technology and Student Achievement”
Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
“Are the New Millennium Learners Making the Grade?”
Consortium for School Networking
Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
“Are the New Millennium Learners Making the Grade?”
Consortium for School Networking
Source: eSchool News
