The ICT Impact Report: A review of studies of ICT impact on schools in Europe

« The use of ICT in education and training has been a priority in most European countries during the last decade, but progress has been uneven. There are considerable differences of "e-maturity" within and between countries, and between schools within countries. A small percentage of schools in some countries have embedded ICT into the curriculum, and demonstrate high levels of effective and appropriate ICT use to support and transform teaching and learning across a wide range of subject areas. Most schools in most countries, however, are in the early phase of ICT adoption, characterised by patchy uncoordinated provision and use, some enhancement of the learning process, some development of e-learning, but no profound improvements in learning and teaching. 

Such progress has been achieved at considerable cost. All EU countries have invested in ICT in schools: equipment, connectivity, professional development and digital learning content. What does the research and evaluation tell us about the return on investment in ICT? A number of recent studies begin to provide evidence of the return on investment and this study, carried out in the framework of the European Commission's ICT Cluster work, addresses the question of what have been the concrete results or impact of ICT investment and integration in schools in two major areas:

• Learning outcomes and learners
• Teaching methodologies and teachers. »