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Technology: Is it a learning device?

Every day people use devices to either help them get somewhere or to just pass the time.
But one of the biggest questions is: Should these devices be used to help students learn? The
answer should be yes because the technology improves the students learning ability and their
life outside of the classroom.
Schools should provide devices because studies show their test scores improve. The
scores improved because the computers and tablets showed them new ways to gain the
knowledge. These devices help the students become successful in life by opening doors and
increasing access to technology. On a computer designer website, Tracy Chambers, the editor for
the Intel articles, stated that schools with a properly implemented 1-to-1 model [a device for
every student] have seen significant increases in test scores and graduation rates, and dramatic
reductions in disciplinary actions and dropout rates (Intel.com). This statement proves that the
students are able to understand what they are taught fully, making them do well on tests. Also,
when they are studying their subject, they are less likely to get involved in delinquent activities.
Later in the article, it talks about how instead of being bored, the students become engaged and
eager to learn. However, some people are concerned about the cost of implementing these
devices, but the devices only get cheaper each year. Implemented devices could save up to $60
dollars per student annually which would save the education system $3 billion a year
(Intel.com). To put devices in a classroom it would cost a school about four-hundred thousand
dollars for the technology and to teach the teachers how to use them. This is a small fraction
compared to the cost of books and school supplies. With this money being saved, the education
system then could improve the classroom setting with simple things such as pencils, paper, and
staples, but this money could go towards something more beneficial in the classroom.

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Another benefit of using tablets or computers for learning is that it prepares the students
for 21st century jobs that use technology. If they were not taught these skills, the students would
be less likely to get a job after high school that involves technology; which includes almost every
job. Many of these jobs are just starting to use technology more often because technology helps
the company stimulate growth and improvement. If the students already have that knowledge of
the technology, the company does not have to spend time explaining the steps for the devices. As
Johanna Sorrentino mentions, the Chinese already value the cell phone as a professional tool
(Education.com). She also adds that now we need to teach the students how to use their devices
to prepare themselves for the future.
Some people believe that the students cannot be trusted with the power of the internet at
their fingertips. But, this power is seen as a right and that all students should receive this right.
As Tina Barseghian explains, The internet is about empowerment. If we take away this access
because we think certain people arent going to use it right, were no better than governments
who take away voting rights from minorities (KQED.org). While the schools without devices
for their students claim they will use them for bad, it is easy to get them on task and focused on
their task. The school can do this by blocking websites known to distract the students. This is
what SCHS does, they block websites such as Facebook and Twitter. As Rick Allen says, mobile
devices help the students extend learning beyond the wall (ASCD.org). This can make the
students find new information about their subject and find deeper meaning to it, but if they are
not allowed access to the devices, they lose that ability to learn further information.
This question of learning with devices has been a tough decision for many schools. There
seems to be more benefits than there are disadvantages. With the students being off task on the
devices being a disadvantage, this can be fixed by either blocking popular, distraction filled

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websites or by monitoring their activity on the computers. In the long run, devices and computers
will become the primary way to teach students.

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Works Cited
Allen, Rick. "Membership." Education Update:Make Parents Your Partners:Can Mobile
Devices Transform Education? N.p., Feb. 2011. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/educationupdate/feb11/vol53/num02/Can-Mobile-Devices-Transform-Education%C2%A2.aspx>.
Barseghian, Tina. "Access to Devices Could Be the Equalizer." MindShift. N.p., 13 Mar. 2013.
Web. 29 Mar. 2015. <http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/03/13/for-low-income-kidsaccess-to-devices-could-be-the-equalizer/>.
Chambers, Tracy. "Teaching with Tablets." IQ by Intel. N.p., 06 May 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.
<http://iq.intel.com/teaching-with-tablets-mobile-devices-transforming-the-classroom/>.
Sorrentino, Johanna. "Cell Phones: 21st Century Learning Tools?" Education.com. N.p., 2 Apr.
2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.education.com/magazine/article/cell_phone_learning/>.