Hat tip to Dr. Nancy Johnson!
In a recently published article entitled "How Laptop Internet Use Relates to Classroom Learning," researchers Susan Ravizza, Mitchell Uitvlugt, and Kimberly Fenn report two interesting findings with respect to the empirical relationship between classroom internet use and final exam scores.
First (and perhaps not surprisingly), according to the article classroom non-academic use (such as surfing the web, watching videos, or using social media) has a negative impact on final exam scores.
Second (and perhaps surprisingly), according to the article classroom academic use of a computer (such as to look up a term that is being discussed in class on Wikipedia) has no measurable impact on final exam scores.
Taken together, the research suggests some caution with respect to student use of computers in classroom settings because, based on their findings, even academic use of computers by students during the classroom is not producing beneficial learning outcomes as measured by final exam scores.
In light of the lively debate concerning student use of computers in classrooms and potential benefits or detriments, here's the article in full: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0956797616677314
(Scott Johns)
