Digital learning in the classroom: what matters most?

Digital technology is now woven into everyday teaching and learning, but when does it genuinely improve learning — and when might a non-digital approach be more effective?

A new report from Oxford University Press (OUP), Digital Learning: Insights from the Classroom, explores how secondary teachers and students are making those decisions. Published in September 2026, the research draws on surveys of 402 teachers and 602 students aged 13–16 across the UK, Brazil, Hong Kong and South Africa, alongside focus groups with teachers and students in the UK.

For computing educators, several findings stand out.

Start with the learning, not the technology

Perhaps the clearest message is that digital integration is not an either/or choice. Teachers and students reported selecting digital or non-digital approaches according to the task, the outcome they wanted and what they believed would work best.

That principle is particularly relevant in computing, where access to technology is fundamental to many aspects of the curriculum but does not mean that every learning activity needs to take place on a computer. Indeed, the report includes the example of a computer science teacher who sometimes chooses paper because using a computer can get in the way of learning the underlying concept.

The broader message is a useful one: effective digital education is about purposeful choices rather than maximising device use.

Being a ‘digital native’ does not guarantee digital skills

Another important finding challenges assumptions about young people's digital competence. Teachers described students who were confident with familiar touchscreen devices but struggled with basic computer skills such as using a mouse and keyboard. The report argues that access to technology needs to be accompanied by the development of core digital skills.

This will be familiar territory for many computing teachers. Everyday familiarity with smartphones, apps and online services should not be confused with the broader knowledge and skills pupils need to use technology effectively.

For schools, this raises an important question about where responsibility for developing digital literacy sits. Computing has an obvious role, but pupils need opportunities to apply effective and informed digital practices across the curriculum too.

AI use is already widespread

The report also offers a striking picture of generative AI use among those surveyed. Across the four-country teacher sample, 82% reported using AI chatbots for research and lesson preparation and 74% for creating resources. Among students, 63% reported using AI chatbots for homework and 67% for checking or improving their work.

There are important caveats: these figures cover the full international sample rather than UK respondents alone, and the research asked about general-purpose AI chatbots rather than education-specific applications.

Nevertheless, the findings reinforce the importance of AI literacy. Only 30% of students surveyed said they always checked information received from AI chatbots, compared with 60% who did so sometimes and 7% who said they never checked it. Focus-group participants also distinguished between using AI to support activities such as planning and revision and using it to complete work in ways that could undermine learning.

For computing educators, this adds weight to the need to teach not simply how AI tools can be used, but how their outputs should be questioned, checked and used responsibly.

Screen time is not the whole story

Debates about technology in schools can easily become debates about the amount of screen time. OUP's findings suggest a more nuanced picture.

In the UK sample, 56% of students surveyed believed they spent too much time on screens. Yet across the international sample, 53% wanted the amount of digital learning they experienced to increase. The research also found that teachers and students distinguished purposeful educational technology use from more passive or distracting recreational use.

That distinction matters when schools make decisions about technology. The report suggests that asking what pupils are doing with technology, and why may be as important as considering how long they spend using it.

Teachers remain central to digital learning

Technology may be changing rapidly, but the report repeatedly returns to the importance of teachers. Students in the UK focus groups valued teachers' explanations and the human dimension of classroom learning, while the report argues that teachers remain central to decisions about when and how technology should be deployed.

Successful digital integration therefore requires more than devices, software and infrastructure. It also requires digital literacy and professional development for teachers. Focus-group participants highlighted the need for staff training to keep pace with technological change.

For computing teachers and subject leaders, there is an opportunity here to contribute expertise beyond the computing classroom — supporting colleagues to make informed choices about digital tools and helping schools develop coherent approaches to digital and AI literacy.

Explore the full report

Digital Learning: Insights from the Classroom offers a wider exploration of how teachers and students perceive digital learning, including findings on access, engagement, distraction, independent learning and the conditions needed for effective digital integration.

The full report also includes the underlying survey findings, perspectives from teachers and students, and questions that schools can use to discuss their own approaches to digital learning.

Read Digital Learning: Insights from the Classroom