A fall in international maths evaluation scores comes at the same time schools are ramping up their use of hand-held computers, leading some education experts question whether the new technology does more harm than good.
The figures are not corrected for other factors that could have influenced the scores, but educators say there is likely a connection.
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One possible reason for the fall, according to Jeppe Bundsgaard of Aarhus University, could be that teaching that incorporates tablets might not be as good as traditional teaching.
The other reason, he said, could just be that students are allowing themselves to be distracted by their tablets.
“It takes a lot of discipline not to let yourself be disturbed all the time,” he said.
