Chapter 19: Teaching With Technology In Hong Kong Primary Schools: A Qualitative Study of Staffing Factors

Over the past decade in Hong Kong, a vast amount of public money has been spent in the delivery of information and communications technology (ICT) in primary and secondary (K–12) schools (Wong, 2007; Wong, 2008). However, the educational outcomes of this investment have not necessarily panned out, and in many cases, the ultimate result of the investment is still in question. The effectiveness of educational technology has been a debatable topic worldwide, with no consensus reached among researchers in the field.

The effectiveness of educational technology is still questioned because “many of these promises [of digital instructional material] have no clear unequivocal evidence from scientific research” (Olkinuora, Mikkilä, & Nurmi, 2004, p. 331). One of the greatest debates regarding the effectiveness of technology in education is whether multimedia learning materials will produce permanent, or persistent, effects on learning, in addition to the triggering effects. These two effects are known as the “catch” and “hold” factors (Veermans & Tapola, 2004). It has generally been agreed that digital materials are attractive to learners (Hsu, Chen & Hung, 2000; Ki, 2000; Wong & Cheung, 2000). Children may be “triggered” by multimedia materials to learn much more readily than with textual material. However, it has not yet been proven that triggered learning interests can persist (Veermans & Tapola, 2004).