Education Technology Map

This report serves as a user guide for a mapping exercise regarding the use of technology in low-resource environments. It should be read in conjunction with the map itself, which is an excel sheet titled ‘Education technology evidence database'. The map and user guide are intended to be resources for all those in the sector seeking to engage with the evidence regarding education technology. For the purpose of the exercise, education technology is understood to encompass all areas of education programmes and policy where technology may be used to help improve the effectiveness of interventions in achieving educational outputs and outcomes. The conceptual framework for the map is organized around six input / intervention areas, five outputs, ten outcomes, six cross-cutting themes, and 12 types of technology.

The map allows users to search for evidence by filtering through one or more of these categories. In order to be included in the map, evidence had to be focused on low and middle income countries, be published in English and within the last 10 years, be based on primary research or secondary review, have direct relevance to the topic area, and be published in a journal or book chapter. In total the map includes 401 resources. Key trends include:

• There is a major emphasis on observational studies (278), followed by quasi-experimental studies (81), experimental studies (23) and secondary studies (six).
• Of the studies with a stated geographical focus, 365 are located within one country and only 22 are multi-country studies.
• Overall, the evidence has a dispersed geographical base, with seven regions contributing more than 20 studies. However there is a complete absence of research from much of Central Africa.
• No one particular technology has particular prominence within the map: mobiles, laptops, desktops and tablets each have less than 50 studies.
• The most frequently occurring intervention / input areas are in relation to curriculum and pedagogy (263) and teacher training (139). The most frequently occurring outputs are teacher ICT literacy and use (262) and student ICT literacy and use (223).
• The most frequently occurring outcomes are related to teaching quality (194) and student educational achievement (135).
• The map does not assess the quality of evidence in the resources. However, more than half of all the studies self-reported a positive effect (219) and less than 10% reported a negative effect (35).