IT in schools: miracle or mirage?

"It is destined to revolutionise our educational system and (...) in a few years it will supplant largely, if not entirely, the use of textbooks." The computer? A virtual world linked by the Internet? No. This revolution was films, predicted in 1922 by Thomas Edison, the American who invented the electric light bulb.

More than a century later, films have not replaced school textbooks, any more than radio or TV have replaced teachers. Yet the experts always think such inventions will turn out to be absolutely vital for teachers. But radio and TV, though they have proved useful, have remained just tools, or even gadgets in the worst cases. They have not revolutionised the classroom.

Are today's new information and communication technologies (ICTs) really a turning point? The Internet and the growth of digital media fed the hopes of many. With one click, you could get information as easily in a remote Kenyan village as in Manhattan. But after several years of huge Internet expansion, where are we? Has the heralded revolution really happened?

The new technologies are certainly quite different from earlier media. "The novelty is that users can now link up with each other and be interactive," says Richard Sweet, principal administrator in the OECD's Education and Training Division. "That's something totally new. You can be much more active and creative."

The relationship between time and space has changed and you no longer have to be physically present to take a course. You can use several media at the same time and transmit material instantly and very cheaply. And you can customise teaching to fit the level of the pupil and present complex ideas vividly and effectively.

"A geometry teacher who would need three to five hours to explain a theory on the blackboard can now do it in just one using computer visuals," says Ryan Watkins, who teaches educational technology at George Washington University, in the United States. New technology attracts students by being more flexible, entertaining and interactive.

Schools realised this and quickly adopted it. The 30 OECD member countries have invested massively in ICTs for education, and internet penetration of schools has been spectacular. The arrival of the web has also greatly boosted distance learning.

For schools the benefits are twofold: it is a tool that helps learning and it also gives children key skills for the job market because, unlike TV and radio, it calls for special abilities. "To use the new technology properly, you must know how to use various computer programmes, how to choose relevant and serious information on the web and how to use databases," says Kurt Larsen, principle administrator at the OECD's Centre for Educational Research and Development. These are indispensable skills in the future information society.

The problem is that ICTs, the backbone of globalisation, are still the reserve of rich countries - OECD countries account for 79 per cent of the world's 400 million users. Investment in new technologies for poor schools, especially in Africa, where even the most basic tools are lacking, seems inappropriate. When textbooks, chalk, drinking water and teachers are in short supply, such investment is not seen as a priority.

Even in rich countries, there are big contrasts between levels of ICT. For example, in 1999, Norway had a computer for every five secondary school students, while over 25 students in Belgium and more than 35 in Portugal had to share one machine.

And new technologies have not yet proved effective everywhere, as shown by a survey done last year among Israeli schoolchildren. Marks obtained in maths and Hebrew by 13-year-olds in schools with computers were found to be worse than those of students who didn't have computers.

"There is little or no evidence that ICTs have fulfilled their early promise of better and cheaper education for more children," according to the OECD.

It is not enough to put good computers and Internet connections in classrooms. They have to be used properly. This means schools must change their methods and find new ways to convey knowledge. ICTs will be little use if they simply produce electronic versions of existing books or put classroom lessons online. The internet, digital TV and electronic publishing can take things much further along.

Teachers, who can now be e-mailed out of school hours, also have to adapt. "New technologies mean a teacher's authority is based less on what he or she knows than on how they pass on what they know," says Alexandra Draxler, who put together the book Technologies for Education 2, published last year by Unesco.

But are schools willing to change? "This is one of the biggest challenges of ICTs," says Cedric Wachholz, programme specialist in Unesco Bangkok. "If pupils are just cutting and pasting on the screen, they won't learn anything. A lot of mistakes have been made introducing ICTs in schools. Some countries have bought an enormous amount of equipment without realising how very different the technology is. Teachers have to be trained not only to use the tool but also to change the way they teach."

OECD agrees. "If schools don't break with their old habits, ICTs won't work and will just remain a supplementary tool," comments Mr Sweet.

New technologies have great promise and can revolutionise learning but only if those involved give themselves the means to do so. Like any tool, it all depends on what people do with it. "And we have to remember," says Ms Draxler, "that learning also has an emotional side that can't be handled by a machine."

This article first appeared in Education Today, Unesco's quarterly newsletter on trends and innovations in education.