Books or laptops? The effect of shifting from printed to digital delivery of educational content on learning
ARTICLE
Rosangela Bando, Office of Strategic Planning and Development Effectiveness, Inter-American Development Bank, United States ; Francisco Gallego, Pontificia Universidad Católica, Chile ; Paul Gertler, University of California, Haas School of Business, United States ; Dario Romero Fonseca, Inter-American Development Bank, United States
Economics of Education Review Volume 61, Number 1, ISSN 0272-7757 Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
Abstract
Information and communication technologies can be used for educational purposes, but these devices may also pose as distractors that may tamper with the learning process. This paper presents results from a randomized controlled trial in which laptops replaced traditional textbook provision in elementary schools in high poverty communities in Honduras. We show that at the end of one school year, we fail to reject that there were no differences between laptop and textbook provision on mathematics and Spanish test scores and in non-academic outcomes related to coding and verbal fluency.
Citation
Bando, R., Gallego, F., Gertler, P. & Fonseca, D.R. (2017). Books or laptops? The effect of shifting from printed to digital delivery of educational content on learning. Economics of Education Review, 61(1), 162-173. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved January 28, 2023 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/206824/.
This record was imported from
Economics of Education Review
on March 1, 2019.
Economics of Education Review is a publication of Elsevier.
Keywords
References
View References & Citations Map- Abeberese, A.B., Kumler, T.J., & Linden, L.L. (2014). Improving reading skills by encouraging children to read in school: A randomized evaluation of the sa aklat sisikat reading program in the Philippines. Journal of Human Resources, 49(3), pp. 611-633.
- Arias, O.E., & Cristia, J.P. (2014). The IDB and technology in education: How to promote effective programs? Technical Note No. IDB-TN-670. Inter-American Development Bank. Washington, DC. http://publications.iadb.org/handle/11319/6550?locale-attribute=en.
- Bando, R. (2013). Guideliness for impact evaluation in education using experimental design. Technical Note No. IDB-TN-519. Inter-American Development Bank. Washington, DC.
- Banerjee, A., Cole, S., Duflo, E., & Linden, L. (2007). Remedying education: Evidence from two randomized experiments in India. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 122(3), pp. 1235-1264.
- Banerjee, A., & Duflo, E. (2014). (Dis)organization and success in an economics MOOC. American Economic Review, 104(5).
- Baron, N.S. (2015). How E-reading threatens learning in the humanities.
- Barrera-Osorio, F., & Linden, L. (2009). The use and misuse of computers in education: evidence from a randomized controlled trial of a language arts program. UT-Austin: Mimeo.
- Barrow, L., Markman, L., & Rouse, C.E. (2009). Technology's edge: The educational benefits of computer-aided instruction. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 1(1February), pp. 52-74.
- Barsyk, & MacDonald (2001). The treatment of quality change for computer price indexes. A review of current and proposed practices. Statistics Canada – Catalogue No. 62F0014MPB, Series No. 16.
- Beuermann, D.W., Cristia, J., Cueto, S., Malamud, O., & Cruz-Aguayo, Y. (2015). One laptop per child at home: Short-term impacts from a randomized experiment in Peru. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 7(2), pp. 53-80.
- Blanco, M., & Florencia, L.B. (2010). ICT skills and employment: A randomized experiment, IZA Discussion Papers 5336, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- Borkun, E., He, F., & Linden, L. (2012). The effects of school libraries on language skills: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial in India. Mimeo, UT-Austin.
- Bulman, G., & Fairlie, R.W. (2016). Technology and education: computers, software, and the internet.
- Carter, S.P., Greenberg, K., & Walker, M.S. (2017). The impact of computer usage on academic performance: Evidence from a randomized trial at the united states military academy. Economics of Education Review, 56, pp. 118-132.
- CIA: Central Intelligence Agency (2015). The world factbook central intelligence agency of the United States of America. Electronic link. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/about-cia/todays-cia/index.html.
- Cristia, J.P., Pablo, I., Santiago, C., Ana, S., & Eugenio, S. (2012). Technology and child development: evidence from the one laptop per child program. Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank.
- Daniel, D.B., & Woody, W.D. (2013). E-textbooks at what cost? Performance and use of electronic v. print texts. E-textbooks at what cost? Performance and use of electronic v. print texts, 62, pp. 18-23.
- Dhaliwal, I., Esther, D., Rachel, G., & Caitlin, T. (2012). Comparative cost-effectiveness analysis to inform policy in developing Countries: a general framework with applications for education. Cambridge, MA: Abdul Latiff Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). MIT.
- DiNardo, J., & Pischke, J.-S. (1997). The returns to computer use revisited: Have pencils changed the wage structure too?. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(February 1997), pp. 291-303.
- Duflo, E., Dupas, P., & Kremer, M. (2011). Peer effects, teacher incentives, and the impact of tracking: Evidence from a randomized evaluation in Kenya. American Economic Review, 101, pp. 1739-1774.
- Duflo, E., Glennerster, R., & Kremer, M. (2008). Using randomization in development economics research: A toolkit, handbook of development economics. Using randomization in development economics research: A toolkit, handbook of development economics, vol. 4, pp. 3895-3962.
- Fairlie, R.W., & Kalil, A. (2016). The effects of computers on children's social development and school participation: Evidence from a randomized control experiment.
- Fernald, L.C.H., Gertler, P.J., & Neufeld, L.M. (2008). The importance of cash in conditional cash transfer programs for child health, growth and development: An analysis of Mexico's oportunidades. Lancet., 371(9615), pp. 828-837.
- Glewwe, Paul, Michael, K., & Sylvie, M. (2009). Many children left behind? Textbooks and test scores in Kenya. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(1), pp. 112-135.
- Glewwe, P., Erick Alan, H., Sarah D, H., & Renato, R. (2011). School resources and educational outcomes in developing countries: a review of the literature from 1990 to 2010.
- Haushofer, & Shapiro (2013). Household response to income changes: Evidence from an unconditional cash transfer program in Kenya. Forthcoming.
- He, F., Linden, L.L., & MacLeod, M. (2008). How to teach english in India: testing the relative productivity of instruction methods within the pratham english language education program. UT-Austin: Mimeo.
- Holden, J.L. (2016). Buy the book? Evidence on the effect of textbook funding on school-level achievement. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 8(4), pp. 100-127.
- Kremer, M., Brannen, C., & Glennerster, R. (2013). The challenge of education and learning in the developing world. Science, 340(6130), pp. 297-300.
- Krueger, A.B. (1993). How computers have changed the wage structure: Evidence from microdata, 1984-1989. Quarterly Journal of Economics, CVIII, pp. 33-60.
- Linden, L. (2008). Complement or Substitute? The effect of technology on student achievement in india. UT-Austin: Mimeo.
- Liu, Z. (2006). Print vs. electronic resources: A study of user perceptions, preferences, and use. Information Processing & Management, 42(2), pp. 583-592. Available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2004.12.002.
- Machin, S., McNally, S., & Silva, O. (2007). New technology in schools: Is there a payoff?. Economic Journal, 117(522), pp. 1145-1167.
- Malamud, O., & Pop-Eleches, C. (2011). Home computer use and the development of human capital. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 126, pp. 987-1027.
- McEwan, P.J. (2011). Improving learning in primary schools of developing countries. A meta-analysis of randomized experiments. Review of Educational Research.
- Merkt, M., Weigand, S., Heier, A., & Schwan, S. Learning with videos vs. learning with print: The role of interactive features, Learning and Instruction, Volume 21, Issue 6, Pages 687–704, ISSN 0959-4752, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2011.03.004.
- Nelson, R.A., Tanguay, T.L., & Patterson, C.D. (1994). A quality-adjusted price index for personal computers. Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, 12(1), pp. 23-31.
- Patterson, R.W., & Patterson, R.M. (2017). Computers and productivity: Evidence from laptop use in the college classroom. Economics of Education Review, 57, pp. 66-79.
- Sabarwal, S., Evans, D., & Marshak, A. (2013). The permanent input hypothesis: the case of textbooks and (no) student learning in sierra leone (English).
- Shao, Z., Janse, E., Visser, K., & Meyer, A.S. (2014). What do verbal fluency tasks measure? Predictors of verbal fluency performance in older adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, p. 772.
- Subrahmanyam, K., Kraut, R., Greenfield, P.M., & Gross, E.F. (2001). New forms of electronic media: The impact of interactive games and the Internet on cognition, socialization, and behavior. Handbook of children and the media, pp. 73-99. Thousand Oaks: CA7 Sage Publications.
- UNESCO (2012). ICT in education in latin america and the Caribbean. A regional analysis of ECT integration and E-readiness. Montreal, Canada: Institute of Statistics, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
- Urquiola, M. (2006). Identifying class size effects in developing countries: Evidence from rural Bolivia. Review of Economics and Statistics, 88, pp. 171-177.
- Wells, C.L. (2012). Do Students Using Electronic Books Display Different Reading Comprehension and Motivation Levels than Students Using Traditional Print Books? Ph. D. Dissertation. Lynchburg, VA: Liberty University.
- Westfall, P.H., & Young, S.S. (1993). Resampling-Based multiple Testing: examples and methods for p-Value adjustment.
- World Bank (2016). Digital dividends.
- Wright, S., Fugett, A., & Caputa, F. (2013). Innovative technologies for the seamless integration of formal and informal learning. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 16(1(January)), pp. 367-379. Available online: http://www.jstor.org/stable/jeductechsoci.16.1.367.
These references have been extracted automatically and may have some errors. Signed in users can suggest corrections to these mistakes.
Suggest Corrections to References