Technology impacts student learning in both directions. Used purposefully and in moderation, it widens access to information, supports personalized practice and helps students collaborate. Used for leisure or without limits, it distracts: in the OECD’s PISA 2022 survey, students distracted by classmates’ devices in maths lessons scored 15 points lower.
Key Takeaways
- Technology helps learning most when it has a clear purpose and a teacher guiding it.
- In PISA 2022, up to one hour a day of device use for learning at school was linked to maths scores 14 points higher than no use.
- Distraction is the main risk: 65% of students in OECD countries reported being distracted by their own devices in at least some maths lessons.
- By March 2026, 114 education systems (58%) had national bans on phones in schools, according to UNESCO’s GEM Report team.
- UNESCO’s 2023 guidance on generative AI sets an age limit of 13 for using AI tools in the classroom.
Like most industries, the education sector has been reshaped by technology, although its effects on learning are mixed rather than uniformly positive. Learning in the different levels of education, from elementary school to college, is different now than it used to be, thanks to technology.
Technology makes it easier for teachers to share material with students, but research shows that the effect on learning depends on how the technology is used. However, there are still ongoing discussions and debates about the exact role of technology in students learning.
The biggest challenge teachers have always faced in teaching is meeting the needs of each student in the classroom. That is hard to achieve with whole-class teaching alone. Each student has strengths, limitations, and unique gifts and needs.
Teaching them the same way in front of the classroom doesn’t help them all. But technology ensures that students can access information more easily and learn in several ways rather than rely on a single classroom method.
This article was originally contributed by writers from college-paper.org , a paper-writing service for college students. Schools and universities treat submitting purchased work as one’s own as academic misconduct (often called contract cheating). The sections below set out the main ways technology affects student learning, including the documented drawbacks.
Readily available information
By making information readily available, technology is improving students learning experience. Students can get any information that they need online in different formats. This reduces the time spent searching library shelves and catalogs, although students still need to judge whether an online source is reliable. Quick access to information supports learning best when students are also taught how to evaluate sources.
Apart from websites and e-books, there are also infographics, photo archives, podcasts, videos and video games. These formats are useful learning resources; teachers can even use them in the traditional classroom setting to improve the teaching and learning experience.
These resources allow teachers to give specific and illustrative answers to student questions, facilitating learning and better retention of the students. This also leaves more time for the student to study the information rather than search for it.
Immersive learning experience
Technology also makes digital material readily available to improve the learning process. Many students are used to learning from multimedia content as well as from printed books.
Many students engage more with interactive materials, although higher engagement does not automatically mean higher achievement. Some ways to achieve an immersive learning experience are through Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), computer simulation, and gamification.
Personalized learning
Without some technological support, it is very hard for teachers to give each student equal attention while adapting materials to every student’s interests, skills and individual needs. Students also learn at different paces.
While some may do better at STEM courses, others will succeed more in English, Geography, or History. Technology allows teachers to use personalized learning apps to create a personalized learning program for each student and monitor their learning progress.
Although there are several applications for this, they work differently, but the approach is mostly similar. Each student’s performance is analyzed based on different statistical parameters and test scores, which might lead to modifying how the material is taught.
Although the teacher determines the method used, some options are automated. This means they’re only executed based on some set of instructions. This makes the learning more personal for each student, and they get to spend more time learning and studying areas they’re weak at and less time studying areas they’ve mastered easily.
Improved teamwork
Like in other aspects of our lives, technology has also improved communication in learning. Firstly, the communication between teachers and students has improved significantly. Secondly, perhaps more importantly, communication between students has taken a new leap.
This makes them learn better together and improves student teamwork and cooperation. It doesn’t even matter that they may not be at the same location. They can still work together on the same project through communication apps such as Skype (which Microsoft retired on 5 May 2025, moving users to Microsoft Teams) and Zoom.
However, education technology isn’t limited to these communication apps alone. Several other apps, such as Office365, which Microsoft sells as Microsoft 365 (consumer Office 365 plans were renamed in April 2020), Google Docs, Popplet, and ePals, let students share documents, video, and audio materials. App line-ups change quickly, so check that a named tool is still offered before a class relies on it.
During the COVID-19 school closures, online education grew rapidly, and many students learned to cooperate over the internet. At the time, it was necessary to develop more effective means of distance learning.
Now it can be used online (for distance learning) and in physical classrooms. Ultimately, the goal remains the same – to improve collaboration among students, allow them to work as a team on a project and learn jointly to achieve a goal.
Conclusion
Technology has changed education as it has changed every other sector. Used with a clear purpose and teacher guidance, it can make learning easier and more effective; used without limits, it can distract students and lower results.
Now they can easily access all the information they need online, leverage immersive technologies for learning, enjoy personalized learning and work better in a team.
Does Technology Improve Student Learning? What the Evidence Says
The evidence on technology and student learning is mixed: the same device can raise or lower results depending on how it is used. The clearest large-scale data come from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which tested 15-year-olds in 2022.
- Learning use helps in moderation. According to the OECD, students who spent up to one hour a day on digital devices for learning activities at school scored 14 points higher in mathematics than students who spent no time.
- Distraction is common. 65% of students across OECD countries reported being distracted by using digital devices in at least some maths lessons, and 59% said other students’ phones, tablets or laptops distracted them.
- Distraction costs marks. Students distracted by classmates’ devices in at least some maths lessons scored 15 points lower in mathematics than those for whom this never or almost never happened, after accounting for socio-economic background. The OECD equates this to about three-quarters of a year of schooling.
The Downsides: Distraction and Phone Bans in Schools
Smartphone distraction is the most widely documented downside of classroom technology. UNESCO’s 2023 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report cited a study across 14 countries, from pre-primary to higher education, which found that smartphones distracted students from learning, and noted that students can take up to 20 minutes to refocus after being distracted.
The GEM Report also cited evidence from Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom that removing smartphones from schools improved academic results, especially for students who were not performing as well as their peers. Its core recommendation is that technology be used in class only when it supports learning outcomes.
Governments have acted on this. According to the GEM Report team, 24% of countries had school phone bans in June 2023, 79 education systems (40%) by the end of 2024, and 114 education systems (58%) by March 2026. Parents weighing home use can compare these policies with our guide to screen time limits by age.
Generative AI and Student Learning
Generative AI tools such as chatbots are the newest technology to reach classrooms. UNESCO released the first global Guidance for Generative AI in Education and Research on 7 September 2023; it sets an age limit of 13 for the use of AI tools in the classroom and calls for teacher training and data-privacy protection.
Used well, AI tools can explain a concept in a different way, generate practice questions or give feedback on a draft. Used badly, they let students skip the thinking that produces learning. Our overview of free AI tools for students lists options; check your school’s policy before using any of them for graded work.
Benefits and Risks of Technology in Learning
| Area | Potential benefit | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| Access to information | Instant access to e-books, videos and archives | Unreliable sources; time lost to browsing |
| Immersive learning (VR, AR, simulation) | Hands-on practice of hard-to-see concepts | Cost and equipment needs |
| Personalized learning apps | Practice matched to each student’s level | Data privacy; over-reliance on scores |
| Collaboration tools | Group work across locations | Off-task chatting and notifications |
| Smartphones in class | Quick look-ups and tools | Distraction linked to lower PISA maths scores |
| Generative AI | Explanations, practice questions, feedback | Shortcutting work; UNESCO age limit of 13 |
How Can Students and Teachers Use Technology Well?
- Start with the learning goal. Choose a tool only when it does something for that goal that paper or discussion cannot.
- Keep learning use moderate. The PISA 2022 gain was linked to up to about one hour a day of learning use at school, not unlimited screen time.
- Remove leisure devices during focused work. Phones on silent and out of reach cut the distraction the OECD and UNESCO data describe.
- Teach source checking. Show students how to compare sources and spot unreliable pages before setting online research.
- Use practice and feedback tools. Low-stakes quizzes, such as online practice tests, show what a student still needs to work on.
- Protect student data. Check what an app collects and whether the school has approved it.
For learners studying away from a classroom, our guide to the benefits of online education covers distance learning in more depth, and our article on language barriers in education discusses ways to support students learning in a second language.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does technology positively impact student learning?
Technology positively impacts student learning by widening access to information, enabling personalized practice, supporting collaboration across locations and making abstract topics visible through simulations. According to PISA 2022, moderate learning use of devices at school (up to one hour a day) was linked to higher maths scores.
What are the negative effects of technology on students?
The main negative effect of technology on students is distraction. In PISA 2022, 65% of students in OECD countries reported being distracted by their own devices in at least some maths lessons, and students distracted by classmates’ devices scored 15 points lower in maths.
Should phones be banned in schools?
Many governments have decided to restrict them: by March 2026, 114 education systems (58%) had national bans on phones in schools, according to UNESCO’s GEM Report team. UNESCO’s position is that technology should be used in class only when it supports learning outcomes.
Is it safe for children to use AI tools for school?
UNESCO’s 2023 guidance on generative AI in education sets an age limit of 13 for the use of AI tools in the classroom and asks schools to protect data privacy. Students should follow their school’s rules on AI use for assignments.
Does more screen time mean better learning?
No. More screen time does not mean better learning. The PISA 2022 benefit was tied to moderate use for learning, while distraction by devices was linked to lower scores.
Justwebworld has published guides since 2012. How we write and update articles Report an error
