Page 102 - Education in a Digital World

Local Variations 89

educational benefits of home computer use seemingly more pronounced in Canada,
Germany, Spain, Finland, Japan and Croatia, yet less so in Belgium, Greece, Italy,
Bulgaria and Serbia? Why do rural schools in countries such as Denmark, Italy and
Korea have relatively more computers per capita than their city counterparts? Why is
this trend reversed in Brazil and Poland? Why do students making frequent use of
school computers appear to display lower levels of test attainment than non-
frequent users in Finland, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Spain? Why is this trend
reversed in countries such as Canada, Iceland, Netherlands and Switzerland?
One of the key patterns that run throughout the PISA studies’ measures are the
clear differences that appear to persist between nations that could otherwise be
considered to be comparative in most other senses. For example, PISA data show
that while frequent use of a computer at home is correlated strongly to Austrian
students’ frequent use of school computers, this is not the case in neighbouring
Germany. Similarly, countries such as Korea and Japan display almost opposite
relationships between home and school use of digital technologies. Gender differ-
ences in student confidence are evident in many northern and central European
countries, but not Japan, Korea and Jordan. The OECD’s own analysis of the PISA
data in terms of students’ reported ‘digital profiles’ reveals a range of unexpected
patterns. If these data are to be believed, why does Japan have the highest number of
what OECD classifies as ‘analogue’ students, with nearly 80 per cent displaying a lack
of interest in educational and leisure-related use of digital technologies? Conversely,
why does Turkey have the highest levels of what OECD classifies as ‘digi-zapper’
students, with 17 per cent reported to be frequent leisure and educational users?
Without dwelling too long on the minutiae of any particular case, it would be
fair to conclude from these surveys that “the range of what is pedagogically possible
[with digital technology] in one region, or country, or school … can be very dif-
ferent from another” (Brown 2009, p.1147). Of course, the precise nature of these
apparent differences at various points during the past thirty years is perhaps of less
significance than their general persistence over time. Data such as these therefore
clearly contradict the depictions of almost universal digital technology use that
emerge from national policy strategies and many academic discussions. So why is it
that many people are convinced so easily of the globalising nature of technology use
in education, when much of the evidence points to clear local and regional dis-
parities? More importantly, what factors underpin these differences, and how may
they vary between countries and contexts? Given the varied findings of these sur-
veys, there is clearly a need for us to develop better understandings of the localised
nature of educational technology practices.

Possible Explanations for Differences in Educational Technology
Use – Issues of Choice and Context

It is clear that the actual implementation and use of educational technology varies
considerably (but not altogether consistently) around the world. So how then can