Even though the notion of a formal education system dates back to at least Plato, the rise of the machine and electronic ages have inspired educators to look for technological solutions to find new ways to teach people to do things.

Folks like Mark Prensky have made a big fuss about how the video game generation wont sit still to learn in a traditional setting. And while there are certainly better and worse instructional approaches to teaching, there is nothing to date to suggest that the medium used in teaching has much relevance on the pedagogical outcome.

The “No Significant Difference Phenomenon” shows that distance learning efforts have not yieldied significantly different educational outcomes when compared to more traditional educational forms such as classroom instruction in studies conducted over the past 75 years. Since the more modern forms of distance education have included online learning and computer-based training, the “no significant” indictment applies equally well to eLearning as it does to the old-fashioned correspondence course.

Of course, computers can be used as teaching tools. And in many cases they can be used effectively. So, the No Significant Difference Phenomenon does not necessarily mean that we should discard our technology-based education efforts. But to my mind, the question of whether to teach using a human teacher or a computer tutor boils down to an economic argument. What is the best use of resource? Hiring teachers or building and support computer systems?

As for the point that somehow the videogame generation will refuse to learn if their educational content is not packaged in an electronic medium—that seems like shaky stand to take in the face of the evidence. At the very least, its hard to imagine that the motivation to learn—the necessary prerequisite to all learning—is linked to the medium. If I wanted to learn to be a baseball player, would I rather read a book about baseball or play a videogame about geography? For 2,500 years people have done all right learning using some pretty low-tech solutions. Abe Lincoln learning to write with a piece of coal and the back of a shovel comes to mind as an example. And as long as we have a will to learn, then the medium will remain of little significance.