Today, with mobile devices in hand, the answers to almost any of life’s questions can be found within seconds by any student with a cell phone, laptop or tablet. Students must instead learn to analyze the broad scope of information at hand for credibility, relativity, accuracy and usefulness. Again, this is the new role of educators acting as the advisors to a student’s individual path to discovery. These skill sets can be practiced and perfected within the confines of the classroom, where discussion, debates and analysis take precedent over the actual intake of information.
One article found that low and medium uses of technology were more effective in classrooms than high use, and that technology was most effective when it was used as a cognitive tool rather than a presentation tool. That same study also found that students value computer use outside the classroom for activities such as career training and social interaction.3
The ideal learning situation comes into effect when technology is an extension of the natural student experience, without it being forced or demanded.