Making the Case: Research Efforts on Educational Technology--A Closer Look at Scientifically Based Research

Historically, very little, if any, research that meets the scientifically based standards as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act has been conducted on the effectiveness of educational technology. Clearly, the educational technology community most invest in research and evaluation studies to better guide the effective use of the investment, as well as to demonstrate to policy-makers the impact on teaching and learning. In an effort to address the need, the U.S. Department of Education is investing more than $56 million to study the conditions and practices under which technology is used to document its impact on student performance. The results of these efforts should enable the educational technology community to be in the forefront of evidence-based research on educational practices involving technology. Some of the federal funds are supporting studies at the national and state levels. In addition, the Education Department's Institute for Education Sciences (IES) is funding technology research at independent research and development organizations and at institutions of higher learning nationwide. This article provides brief descriptions of the various federally funded research efforts that are examining the impact of technology on student achievement, professional development and other educational outcomes.