Digital learning tools study

Digital learning tools that fit well within existing classrooms and don't disrupt the educational status quo tend to be the most widely adopted, despite their limited impact on student learning, an analysis of ed-tech products designed for higher education concludes. Experts say that pattern is also reflected in K-12, raising tough questions about whether many ed-tech vendors' emphasis on quickly bringing their products to scale is actually hampering the larger goal of improving schools. The researchers  identified three common factors among those products that scaled most rapidly: a promise of cost savings for schools, no requirements for face-to-face training, and an ability to be easily integrated into existing teaching and learning practices. "There is a lot of research showing that more comprehensive technology interventions tend to have more positive results in both sectors," said Barbara Means, the director of the Center for Technology in Learning at SRI International, the nonprofit research center that conducted the new analysis. "To create an education technology tool that can have an impact, but also be adopted in many classrooms, requires thinking about supports for teachers, resources for instruction, and rethinking the way time is used within schools."
Center for Technology in Learning. (2016). Popularity of ed tech not necessarily linked to products' impact. Education Week (May 10). 
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/05/11/popularity-of-ed-tech-not-necessarily-linked.htmlhttp://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/05/11/popularity-of-ed-tech-not-necessarily-linked.html