The Results Are In: How Technology Affects

Student Learning
Many of us take technology for granted, whipping out a tablet to write a quick email or
pulling out a smartphone to look up driving directions. Even in the classroom, technology is
more and more common: many rooms have LED projectors and document cameras, and an
increasing number of schools give teachers the option of a SMART Board or personal student
devices.
With the push to get computers in the classroom, its wise to stop for a moment and assess
the effects of this technology. There are certainly downsides, such as potentially shorter
attention spans and a huge rise in cyber-bullying. On the other hand, if we look at the
academic realm, students are making significant gains as a result of computers and mobile
devices. The following are some of the key advantages technology imparts to 21 st century
learners.

Increased Motivation and Engagement

The U.S. Department of Education reported that numerous teachers saw a jump in students
classroom engagement when using technology. Some students who had previously been
non-participatory members of the class were willing to participate when presented with a
tablet or computer to express knowledge.
Other teachers talked about how students were motivated to learn computational skills
because they saw they as applicable to life outside of school; regardless of the fact that they
were still doing math or English, students wanted to use the computer. CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the IT industry, also reported that 65 percent of educators saw a rise in
student productivity.
More Willingness to Participate
Technology can often bring shy learners out of their shells. Instead of sharing out loud, a
quiet student can post a thought in an online discussion or a shared document, which both
allows other students to get that persons input as well as slowly boosting the learners
confidence in his or her own ideas.
Especially in middle school, computers can also make collaboration easier. Though it might
seem silly, preteens social development means that communication between boys and girls
can be difficult, and technology can ease that tension. When doing peer editing on an essay,
for example, having a tool like Google Docs makes it easer for different genders, or peers
from different social groups, to interact.
Closing the Learning Gap
Technology also has the power to close the learning gap. A good example of this was seen in
an east Texas school district in which science classrooms were outfitted with high-tech
document cameras. The cameras, which connected to the computer, could take time-lapse
video and pictures, capabilities used in a biology unit on life cycles.
As reported by district teachers, students with limited English proficiency saw particularly
large gains as a result of using the new technology. The visuals provided by the cameras, as

well as the increased engagement as students operated the technology, meant that both
LEP students and native English speakers achieved higher scores on the district science
assessment.
Individualized Learning
Technology often gives educators the option of further differentiating their teaching, allowing
students to work at their own pace. An app that helps students practice math skills in an
elementary classroom, for instance, means that students to progress as they are able; they
wont have to sit through a lesson that they already understand. Alternatively, if students
are conducting online research, they have a wealth of resources to use, from the simplistic
to the complicated. Teachers can adjust requirements and recommendations based on
students abilities.
Technology also gives teachers tools with which to track student growth, meaning they can
furtherpersonalize education. By having students submit work online or take formative
assessments that provide an instant spreadsheet of responses, teachers can quickly adjust
lessons to student needs.
Confidence Boosters: From Learner to Teacher
Lastly, technology can benefit students by boosting their confidence. Many students come
into school already well-versed in technology; sometimes, students are more knowledgeable
than their teachers. Again looking to the report from the DOE, teachers stated that many
students were aware of the value placed upon technology within our culture, leading them
to increased levels of self-esteem when they showed mastery of that technology. That
confidence with the tool often translates into more confidence with the academic task set,
resulting in increased student learning.
Though not every school has the resources to provide students with personal tablets or
computers yet, its worth knowing that technology can have a serious impact on your
students achievements. Whatever the amount of technology in your classroom, make the
best of it by empowering students and personalizing their learning as much as possible.
By Danielle Restuccia
http://www.teacherinformation.org/the-results-are-in-how-technology-affects-studentlearning/

How does technology affect education?

A:

QUICK ANSWER

Technology affects education through providing students with more information, supporting an
active role in the classroom for students, increasing student motivation and providing new tools
to use in the production of information. Computers, the Web and related technologies have not
only changed everyday life and work immeasurably, they have also altered the way in which
students are educated.

In contrast to the days in which students had to go to a library to look up information in dusty
reference books, today's students can access almost any type of needed information
instantaneously at any time. This alters the need, for example, for students to memorize things
that can be looked up; instead this time would be better spent on helping students to discern
good information from bad. Technology also changes what students do in the classroom.
"Flipped" classrooms in which students study information that used to be in lecture format as
homework and then use class time to understand and apply that information, move students
from passively listening to lectures and into teaching themselves and actively applying what
they learn. Technology also increases student motivation for learning in part because of the
"cool" factor inherent to using computers, the Web and other digital tools for learning and also
because students generally appreciate having a more active role in what they learn. Finally,
technology makes a lot of new tools available to students and their teachers. For example, in
the past, to make a video required an expensive camera and film. Now, many students can
make videos using their cellphones. Technology has had a positive effect on student learning
and it also changes how teachers conceptualize teaching.
Sources:
education.com
ed.gov
https://www.reference.com/education/technology-affect-education-5b5c6bbb187d71c6#full-answer

Technology is the future, so schools should get more electronics into schools. Sounds
like a logical argument, but when budgets are tight, it can be a choice between bringing
technology into the classroom and hiring more teachers or organizing more
extracurricular activities. Understanding both facts and fiction about the effects of
electronics in the classroom can help us to make informed decisions about incorporating
technology into our schools.

The Effects of Electronics in Schools

by Carrie Perles

Academic Effects
The effects that classroom electronics have on academic achievement is under debate.
Some studies show that using technology can help improve anything from reading
comprehension skills to content-area learning. Others have found no effect, or even a
negative effect. For example, although schools in the Kyrene School District of Arizona
have been introducing large amounts of technology into the classroom since 2005, their
reading and math scores have plateaued. According to Tom Vander Ark, former
executive director for education at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, data
supporting the effectiveness of technology in the classroom is "pretty weak."

Effects on the Role of the Teacher

Students learn actively when they are engaged with technology in the classroom, rather
than passively listening to a lecture or reading a textbook. Although classrooms without
technology also encourage a "guide on the side" rather than a "sage on the stage" style
of teaching, in a technology-driven classroom a teacher is able to play the role of
facilitator rather than information dispenser. Students can learn information or practice
skills on their own or in small groups, while a teacher circulates and assists those who
may need it.

Effects on Student Motivation

Because electronics allow students to make their own choices about what they will learn
and how they will learn it, students are more motivated to learn. Students also enjoy the
fact they often get immediate feedback from a computer, that they can connect what
they're learning to everyday technology, and that technology can have more engaging
"bells and whistles" than a teacher can produce. Students who have shown little
initiative with pen-and-paper work can often succeed much more easily when
completing that same work on the computer, a fact that increases their confidence and
motivation to succeed.

Effects on Technical Skills

Technology is here to stay, and students who use electronics in the classroom on a
regular basis are able to master technology while they learn. Besides learning actual
computer-related skills -- which will likely evolve before they enter adulthood or the
workplace -- they also gain confidence around computers. Students with skilled,
technical know-how can go on to use this knowledge outside of class as well.

http://education.seattlepi.com/effects-electronics-schools-3591.html

Change in Student and Teacher Roles

When students are using technology as a tool or a support for communicating with
others, they are in an active role rather than the passive role of recipient of
information transmitted by a teacher, textbook, or broadcast. The student is actively
making choices about how to generate, obtain, manipulate, or display information.
Technology use allows many more students to be actively thinking about information,
making choices, and executing skills than is typical in teacher-led lessons. Moreover,
when technology is used as a tool to support students in performing authentic tasks,
the students are in the position of defining their goals, making design decisions, and
evaluating their progress.

The teacher's role changes as well. The teacher is no longer the center of attention as
the dispenser of information, but rather plays the role of facilitator, setting project
goals and providing guidelines and resources, moving from student to student or
group to group, providing suggestions and support for student activity. As students
work on their technology-supported products, the teacher rotates through the room,
looking over shoulders, asking about the reasons for various design choices, and
suggesting resources that might be used. (See example of teacher as coach.)
Project-based work (such as the City Building Project and the Student-Run
Manufacturing Company) and cooperative learning approaches prompt this change in
roles, whether technology is used or not. However, tool uses of technology are highly
compatible with this new teacher role, since they stimulate so much active mental
work on the part of students. Moreover, when the venue for work is technology, the
teacher often finds him or herself joined by many peer coaches--students who are
technology savvy and eager to share their knowledge with others.

Increased Motivation and Self Esteem

The most common--and in fact, nearly universal--teacher-reported effect on students
was an increase in motivation. Teachers and students are sometimes surprised at the
level of technology-based accomplishment displayed by students who have shown
much less initiative or facility with more conventional academic tasks:

The kids that don't necessarily star can become the stars. [with
technology]. My favorite is this boy . . . who had major

problems at home. He figured out a way to make music by

getting the computer to play certain letters by certain powers
and it changed the musical tone of the note and he actually
wrote a piece. He stayed in every recess. . . . When I asked
him what he was working on, he wouldn't tell me. Then he
asked if he could put his HyperCard stack on my computer
because it was hooked up to speakers. I said "sure" and at
recess. . . he put it on my computer and played his music and
literally stopped the room. And for months he had kids begging
him at recess, every recess, to teach them how to make music.
And for that particular kid it was the world because he really
was not successful academically and was having lots of
problems. . . . This really changed him for that school year. Elementary school teacher
Teachers talked about motivation from a number of different perspectives. Some
mentioned motivation with respect to working in a specific subject area, for example,
a greater willingness to write or to work on computational skills. Others spoke in
terms of more general motivational effects--student satisfaction with the immediate
feedback provided by the computer and the sense of accomplishment and power
gained in working with technology:
Kids like the immediate results. It's not a result that you can
get anywhere else except on the computer. . . . For them it
really is a big deal. Much more so than I ever though it was
going to be.--Elementary school teacher
Technology is the ultimate carrot for students. It's something
they want to master. Learning to use it enhances their selfesteem and makes them excited about coming to school. -Fifth grade teacher
The computer has been an empowering tool to the students.
They have a voice and it's not in any way secondary to
anybody else's voice. It's an equal voice. So that's incredibly
positive. Motivation to use technology is very high. -Elementary school teacher

In many of these classes, students choose to work on their technology-based projects

during recess or lunch periods. Teachers also frequently cite technology's motivational
advantages in providing a venue in which a wider range of students can excel.
Compared to conventional classrooms with their stress on verbal knowledge and
multiple-choice test performance, technology provides a very different set of
challenges and different ways in which students can demonstrate what they
understand (e.g., by programming a simulation to demonstrate a concept rather than
trying to explain it verbally).
A related technology effect stressed by many teachers was enhancement of student
self esteem. Both the increased competence they feel after mastering technology-based
tasks and their awareness of the value placed upon technology within our culture, led
to increases in students' (and often teachers') sense of self worth.
I see more confidence in the kids here. . . . I think it's not just
computers, it's a multitude of things, but they can do things on
the computers that most of their parents can't do and that's
very empowering and exciting for them. It's "I can sit down and
make this machine pretty much do what I want to," and there's
something about that that gives them an extra little boost of,
"Wow, I'm a pretty special person." --Elementary school
teacher
Students clearly take pride in being able to use the same computer-based tools
employed by professionals. As one teacher expressed it, "Students gain a sense of
empowerment from learning to control the computer and to use it in ways they
associate with the real world." Technology is valued within our culture. It is
something that costs money and that bestows the power to add value. By giving
students technology tools, we are implicitly giving weight to their school activities.
Students are very sensitive to this message that they, and their work, are important.

Technical Skills
Students, even at the elementary school level, are able to acquire an impressive level
of skill with a broad range of computer software (see examples). Although the specific
software tools in use will likely change before these students enter the world of work,
the students acquire a basic understanding of how various classes of computer tools

behave and a confidence about being able to learn to use new tools that will support
their learning of new software applications.

Accomplishment of More Complex Tasks

Teachers for the observed classes and activities at the case study sites were nearly
unanimous also in reporting that students were able to handle more complex
assignments and do more with higher-order skills (see examples) because of the
supports and capabilities provided by technology.

More Collaboration with Peers

Another effect of technology cited by a great majority of teachers is an increased
inclination on the part of students to work cooperatively and to provide peer tutoring.
While many of the classrooms we observed assigned technology-based projects to
small groups of students, as discussed above, there was also considerable tutoring
going on around the use of technology itself. Collaboration is fostered for obvious
reasons when students are assigned to work in pairs or small groups for work at a
limited number of computers. But even when each student has a computer, teachers
note an increased frequency of students helping each other. Technology-based tasks
involve many subtasks (e.g., creating a button for a HyperCard stacks or making
columns with word processing software), leading to situations where students need
help and find their neighbor a convenient source of assistance. Students who have
mastered specific computer skills generally derive pride and enjoyment from helping
others.

In addition, the public display and greater legibility of student work creates an
invitation to comment. Students often look over each others' shoulders, commenting
on each others' work, offering assistance, and discussing what they are doing.
I've also seen kids helping each other a lot at the computer.
The ones that pick it up faster, they love teaching it to
someone that doesn't know it yet. --Fifth-grade teacher
The ones who have used it from the beginning have become
peer coaches. --Fifth-grade teacher

Students' ability to collaborate on substantive content can be further enhanced through

the use of software applications specifically designed for this purpose. Students in
several classes at one of our case study sites used a research package
called CSILE (Computer Supported Intentional Learning Environment), for building a
communal database and exchanging comments about each others' ideas.
One of our teacher informants made the point that the technology invites peer
coaching and that once established, this habit carries over into other classroom
activities:
It's a much more facilitating atmosphere because the kids help
each other so much on the computer. It changes the style and
the tone of the classroom a lot. --Elementary school teacher
Though the use of technology often promoted collaboration and cooperation among
students at these case study sites, there were still concerns about appropriate student
conduct. Many schools implement acceptable use policies, especially if they offer
students access to the Internet. (See examples of Sharenet's formal technology use
agreement or other acceptable use policies.)

Increased Use of Outside Resources

Teachers from 10 out of 17 classrooms observed at length cited increased use of
outside resources as a benefit of using technology. This effect was most obvious in
classrooms that had incorporated telecommunications activities (see examples), but
other classes used technologies such as satellite broadcasts, telefacsimiles, and the
telephone to help bring in outside resources.

Improved Design Skills/Attention to Audience

Experiences in developing the kinds of rich, multimedia products that can be
produced with technology, particularly when the design is done collaboratively so that
students experience their peers' reactions to their presentations, appear to support a
greater awareness of audience needs and perspectives. Multiple media give students
choices about how best to convey a given idea (e.g., through text, video, animation).
In part because they have the capability to produce more professional-looking
products and the tools to manipulate the way information is presented, students in

many technology-using classes are reportedly spending more time on design and
audience presentation issues.
They also do more stylistic things in terms of how the paper
looks, and if there is something they want to emphasize, they'll
change the font . . . they're looking at the words they're writing
in a different way. They're not just thinking about writing a
sentence, they're doing that, but they are also thinking about,
"This is a really important word" or "This is something I want to
stand out." And they're thinking in another completely
different way about their audience. --Elementary school
teacher
While most teachers were positive about the design consciousness that technology
fosters, a potential downside was also noted by a few teachers. It is possible for
students to get so caught up in issues such as type font or audio clips that they
pay less attention to the substantive content of their product. We observed one
computer lab within which several students with a research paper assignment spent
the entire period coloring and editing the computer graphics for the covers of their asyet-unwritten reports, pixel by pixel. Teachers are developing strategies to make sure
that students do not get distracted by some of the more enticing but less substantive
features of technology, for example, by limiting the number of fonts and font sizes
available to their students.
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/effectsstudents.html
A very raw definition of productivity says, ratio of outputs to inputs. Now, education is a process
of using our time in learning, understanding and implementation of knowledge. The input and
output both being invaluable abstracts of time and knowledge

we can easily understand the importance of increasing productivity in this process.

However the main questions remain of what and how.
Tell me and I'll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I'll
understand."
The what part of the question can be easily understood by the above native saying.
The revolution brought about by technology in education was based on one simple
word, interaction. It interacts with students and teachers and gives them the personal

touch, creating interest which is missing in the traditional ways of learning. In the
process of making the teachers work easier, involving students can boost the
productivity and creativity of teachers and learners.
On any normal day there are numerous activities that consume an inordinate amount of
teacher time and productivity as, preparing resources, grading and returning the papers,
preparation of supplemental instructional material and the notification and posting of
assignments. The list goes on.
For students, compilation of notes, recovering lectures for absent days, etc. use the
precious time, which can be utilised for various productive purposes.
Technology is a boon for the above cause. Today, kindergarten students are practicing
their letter writing and letter-sounds relations. Basic math facts and numbers are
available for all students, which mean there is almost no need for flash cards. Science
labs can be conducted and analysed. Interactive books and videos are available in all
subject areas. The number and variety of uses for iPads and iPods in the classroom is
virtually endless.
Smart use of technology is not just about reducing wasted time, energy, and money. It
is also about creating accessible learning opportunities for all students, including lowincome students and students with disabilities. Today both Students and teachers use
technology inadvertently in their day-to-day lives. Combining these into the classrooms
will definitely give the process of learning a more familiar touch.
In a survey, school leaders reported they see technology as a tool to improve
productivity and efficiency: 71 per cent say it improves support staff efficiency; 71 per
cent say it increases administrators productivity; 70 per cent say it improves
communications among parents, teachers and the community; and 61 per cent say it
increases teacher productivity. (Digital Leadership Divide, 2004)
Technology and teacher productivity
Coming to the how part of the question, a very good example of one such software used
in the field isGroupware. It is designed for attacking productivity issues. Groupware is
defined as software used by an organizational group (teachers, parents, and students)
to collaborate and share. It allows the collection, organization, and retrieval of
instructional information. One can make calendar, notes, share folders, etc. on this
portal and can access them from anywhere.

Various cloud services like Drop box, Google Drive, Evernote, etc. these are some of
the tools which make the tedious works of filing, arranging and other stuffs, easy as a
click. Plus point they never get lost.
What is the most effective way to enhance learning, or precisely enhance knowledge
gain and personality boost for a student?
All the teachers whether tech-savvy or traditional will agree to this that reducing class
strength is the best way of enhancing performance for students. Reason is being, more
individual attention to each student. Welcome technology, this tool caters to the same. It
gives an equal platform for all the students in the form of internet, forums, various
software, apps and the individual guidance required.
Thus productivity a rather objective and relative term can be easily dealt with use of
technology. Of course the factor of proper and efficient usage plays an important role
but in general we can easily observe the significant change in interest, performance and
speed in the thinking procedure of teachers and students.
http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/476-technology-increasesproductivity-for-students-and-teachers