Success, Failure or “No Significant Difference”? The Arguments For and Against Technology as a Learning Tool

The question of whether computers have positively or negatively impacted student learning is still hotly contested in educational technology circles, particularly in the area of international development, by proponents and critics of technology in education. Overall, research still provides conflicting answers to this question. Nonetheless, the abundant research on effective school change and innovation implementation points to practices which those who promote technology in schools should tap. This paper outlines the long-term structural conditions that can lead to the deep change technology initiatives seek to promote.