Abstract:

Technology is an important aspect of life is the 21st century, and our schools are no exception. The thought provoking report by the National Commission on Excellence in Education titled “A Nation at Risk” (1983) discussed the changing role of technology in the workplace, as well as in everyday life. It predicted (so accurately) that jobs requiring the use of technology are expanding, and that technology is pervading all sections of society, and therefore we have to prepare our students, and the workforce to embrace it.
Expenditure on technology has increased three-fold over the last decade (Sivin-Kachala & Bialo, 2000). However, in this era of budget shortages, many stakeholders (school administrators, politicians, and parents) are questioning whether the large amount of money spent on technology has made a difference in the learning that happens in schools. Empirical support for a positive impact of technology can be found in the studies by Murphy et al. (2005) who found a direct relationship between student achievement in reading and mathematics and the use of educational software. O’Dwyer et al (2005) demonstrated that fourth graders’ test scores correlated positively with higher levels of technology use. Sivin-Kachala & Bialo (2000), in their review of 311 research studies that focused on effectiveness of technology on student achievement, found that when students were engaged in technology-rich environments, achievement in all subject areas went up, as did attitudes towards learning and self esteem.
Problem Statement
This relationship between expenditure on technology and the ‘return’ on such investment is the focus of this proposed study. The final outcome of ‘learning’ is the ‘return’ on the ‘technology investment’ that should be maximized. Following the notion of utility maximization as economic theory outlines it, are schools spending (scarce) resources on technology in a way that the learning return is maximized? In order to answer that question, it is important to understand the importance that schools give to technology and how it relates to learning. Are schools merely using technology to bring in efficiency on their everyday processes or are they able to change the way students learn using technology. This is the objective of this proposed study.

Keywords:

Technology, Return on Investment, Learning.