Research has proven that there are many positive effects of technology on our students. Traditionally, education looked at students as little blank slates, the old "tabula rasa" theory where the teacher should just be the dispenser of information, but we now know there are many other ways that people learn arguably better, when the teacher is more of a collaborator and facilitator of learning instead of the "know-it-all". Using technology in the classroom lets the teacher take on a different role, as a mentor to learning. Students become active in the learning process, therefore they have higher motivation to learn. This prompts them to actually work harder and they end up thinking on a higher and more complex level. Students involved in project-based learning where they must use technology have voluntarily worked on their project in their own free time, such as their lunch break or recess. The benefits of collaboration that technology brings to the classroom in an undeniable benefit.
Of course there are always two sides to every coin so along with the good, we have to accept some of the bad that comes along with technology in the classroom. Students can be distracted by it; this is one of the main arguments against cell phones in the classroom. Students can also spend more time creating amazing presentations, with all the bells and whistles of video and audio, than time and effort into researching the actual subject and learning about it. Safety when online is always an issue, not only of predators trying to talk to students but also the inappropriate content for children that can be accessed. Lastly, the cost and availability of technology is a major downside. Laptops for every student are usually not available and some schools may be in remote areas where high-speed internet is not accessible. Some districts are actually doing away with music and art programs in order to divert that money into technology instead.
Despite these downsides, technology should be embraced in the classroom. It can be used to research, publish, collaborate, organize, and most importantly learn. Students want to use technology for all of those reasons and they want computers and technology to have a larger role in the classroom. Take the New Tech Academy in Zanesville, for instance; it is a high school within the regular public high school funded by a grant from the Bill Gates Foundation. Every student is provided with a laptop instead of textbooks, and it is focused on project-based learning. When I did my observation field work there, I could see how beneficial the laptops with high-speed internet were in the learning process. None of those students would want to go back to books and hand-writing assignments. The teacher did not really lecture, but had a group activity focused around a few websites that she prescreened as resources for the students. Again, ask any student and I think they preferred this to just lecture. The students still had questions for the teacher and they still needed her to help guide them. I don't think students would want to be in an environment where it was all online. They needed the interaction with the teacher and their peers and it contributed to their learning. Computers will never replace teachers, but they can aid teachers and students in the learning process.
