A new study finds students use technology and digital tools in every part of their lives — except school.

The study by AdvancED found few students use technology or digital tools in any meaningful way in their classrooms. Yes, teachers have been trained to use whiteboards and many do, but there's little hands-on use of technology by students themselves, according to observations of students in 144,000 K-12 classrooms.

"Kids use technology outside of school all the time for personal and entertainment purposes," said researcher Ludwig van Broekhuizen in an interview Wednesday. "They have never really been pushed or asked to use that same technology inside the classroom for learning."

After analyzing three years of direct classroom observations in K-12 schools across 39 states and 11 countries, van Broekhuizen found:

•In more than half of classrooms, there is no evidence students are using technology to gather, evaluate, or use information for learning.

•In two-thirds of classrooms, there is no evidence students use it to solve problems, conduct research, or to work collaboratively.

To read more, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog.

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