Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students

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.

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 self-esteem 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 as-yet-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.

https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/effectsstudents.html

Reasons For Bringing Technology Into Schools

The teachers and administrators at our case study sites expressed different reasons for bringing technology into
their schools.

Support Thinking Processes

Many teachers at case study schools cited a belief that computer-based technologies could provide support for
thinking processes.

Many respondents stressed opportunities that technology provides for acquiring problem-solving skills - either
through instructional software designed to teach problem solving (including open-ended exploratory software
such as LOGO) or through the many requirements for solving problems that naturally emerge when one is
trying to use computer tools to accomplish a task (e.g., the selection of appropriate software, figuring out what
to do when the system doesn't behave as you expect it to).

Some described supports that technology can provide for acquiring complex concepts, for example by
graphically representing abstract concepts such as acceleration, or by providing scaffolding for thinking, such as
the cognitive prompts embedded in CSILE (Computer-Supported Intentional Learning Environments).

Stimulate Motivation and Self-Esteem

A second frequently cited rationale for introducing technology was to stimulate motivation and self-esteem.
Through either personal experience or a review of the literature, many innovators perceived the dramatic effects
that technology can have on students' interest in class activities and their sense of their own capabilities.
While these benefits are perceived as occurring across the board, our case study sites, most of whom serve
student bodies coming predominantly from low-SES homes, felt that these benefits would be particularly
important for their students. Thus, a related reason for using technology was the promotion of equity.

Promote Equity
In the case of ShareNet, the districts recognized the wide disparity in the resources available to them and felt
that a unifying network could promote a more equitable use of those resources.

In the case of several schools serving students from low-income homes, technology innovators stressed the
importance of giving these students the technology tools that would equip them to compete with children
coming from more affluent homes where technology is commonplace.

As soon as I heard that [the technology middle school] was opening up and it was going to be a
technology school with the majority of kids being minority kids and low SES kids, I wanted to come here.
. . .I came from a school where most of the families could afford a computer and the kids that didn't. .
.had the tendency to withdraw and put their heads down and not really want to be into anything
technology-based. . . - Middle school mathematics teacher

Prepare Students for the Future

The concern for equity is related to a fourth major motivation for introducing technology--to prepare students
for the future. Respondents at a number of sites foresaw a future in which both higher education and the world
of work would be infused with technology. These educators argue that schools have a responsibility to give
students--and especially students from low-income homes--the confidence and skills in using such technology
that they will need after graduation.

I don't care what field they're in, be it factory worker, office worker, medicine or whatever. [There is no
place where technology will not be used.] It's getting harder and harder to get jobs. You want your kids
to get a leg up. It's becoming a necessary ingredient. - Middle school principal

Support Changes in School Structure

Researchers have argued that technology has the potential to dramatically change the way in which our schools
are structured--providing pressure to do away with the division of instructional time into small blocks and
discrete disciplines and to rethink the way we use physical classrooms and teaching resources (Collins, 1990;
Newman, 1990). A number of our sites reported consciously deciding to use technology in order to support
changes in school structure. Several district administrators expected technology to free up teacher time by
taking over or supporting administrative and routine teaching tasks. The administrators setting up ShareNet
expected it to lower boundaries between schools, districts, and even states.

Explore Technology Capabilities

Finally, in several cases, there were individuals who were simply intrigued by new technologies and wanted to
explore what they could do. Not surprisingly, the desire to explore technology capabilities was most likely to be
a factor in cases where there was an external partner involved in the design, manufacture, or selling of
technology products. Although we felt that technology push was one motivation for some implementations, in
no case was it the sole motivation.

How technology can help improve education.

By Ragan Whiteside October 21, 2011 T&L Advisor Blog





By David Andrade

Improving education is a huge issue (and always has been). Test scores, our perceived performance against
other countries, and other factors have pushed education to the forefront of national politics, right behind
healthcare reform. Technology can be used to improve teaching and learning and help our students be
successful.

[A Teacher’s Guide to Surviving Fortnite]

While smaller schools and class sizes are always desired, technology can not do that physically. However,
technology can be a “force multiplier” for the teacher. Instead of the teacher being the only source of help in a
classroom, students can access web sites, online tutorials, and more to assist them. Education doesn’t stop at the
end of the school day because students have access to teachers, resources, and assignments via the web and
access these resources at any time. Students can also get help and tutoring at any time, whether from the teacher
via email or online collaboration, or from a help web site.

Parental involvement is another factor that can increase student achievement. Most parents these days have
extremely busy schedules, work different hours, and can’t always help their child with homework or come to
school for conferences. Technology can help. Parents can go to a class website and see what their child is
working on, they can contact teachers via email and web sites, and they can even check their child’s attendance
and grades through online systems. They can also talk to their children from work via email and instant
messaging.

[25 Ways to use Google Forms in the Classroom)]

Inquiry based projects are another way to get students to think rather than memorize. These group projects also
help students build important skills such as communications, team work, critical thinking and problem solving.
Technology can help with these projects and skills. Students can create things such as web sites, blogs, and
multimedia presentations as part of their project. They can use the web for research and as a resource. They can
connect with students at other schools and do collaborative work with them. They also learn technology skills
while doing these projects.

[Top 25 Sites & Apps of 2018]

Money is always an issue in education and technology can help. Virtual field trips, electronic forms instead of
paper, email instead of printed memo’s, virtual labs, electronic textbooks, and the thousands of free online
resources can all save schools money and give students excellent educational experiences.

Teachers can use technology to find resources and attend virtual professional development seminars and
conferences (most are free). They can also create personal learning networks (PLN) with Ning, Twitter, and
other resources to find and share ideas and resources, and get support from their colleagues.

Technology can give teachers and students great resources, new opportunities for learning, ways to collaborate
and create, and save money. Technology is a very powerful tool for education.

https://www.techlearning.com/tl-advisor-blog/261

They think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors. Given the proliferation
of technology, its integration into classrooms has drawn the attention of many scholars (Hussain, Niwaz,
Zaman, Dahar & Akhtar, 2010; Lavin, Korte & Davies, 2010; Mosenson & Johnson, 2008; Prensky, 2001a
Prensky, , 2001b Prensky, , 2010 Prensky, , 2012). A number of studies (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008; Tapscott,
2009; Zur & Zur, 2011) have been conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the use of technology and the
Internet on learning and teaching English as a Second Language. ...
... Other researchers have taken great interest in comparing teaching with and without technology (Sahin, 2003).
More recent studies (Kim, Jain, Westhoff & Rezabek, 2008; Lavin, Korte & Davies, 2010) suggest that in order
for teachers to appropriately and effectively integrate technology into classrooms, training pre-service teachers
in university courses is crucial to the future of their teaching behaviors, because simply " access to technology is
not enough today " (Mosenson & Johnson, 2008, p.17) to foster a meaningful learning experience. Furthermore,
Efe (2011) indicates that “teacher training is very important in the development of future teachers' knowledge
and skills regarding educational technology”.

According to the study, students were able to recall contents when technology was used since it incorporated the
use of concrete and real examples with which students easily identified. In a research conducted by Lavin et al
(2011), students whose instructors used technology moderately or extensively in class were asked how the
absence of technology would impact their learning on the course. Student responses indicated that the removal
of technology from the class would have a negative impact on content learned in class, their attentiveness in
class, their desire to take more lessons from that particular teacher, and their desire to take more lessons in the
subject area. ...
... This is possibly because of the advantages and promises that technology brings to the teaching of History.
This finding, therefore, falls in line with the observation made by Lavin et al (2011) who examined the impact
of classroom technology on student behaviour and suggested that courses that did not use technology could be
improved by the introduction of new technologies. ...

Assessing the Role of Educational Technology in the

Teaching and Learning Process: A Learner-
Centered Perspective
Article (PDF Available) with 228 Reads


 Barbara L. Mccombs
o 37.92
o University of Denver

Abstract
For over two decades, educational technology has been used to varying degrees in our nation's schools.
Numerous studies exist demonstrating that (a) educational technology appropriately applied can enhance
learning and achievement compared to traditional teaching methods and (b) the benefits of educational
technology cannot be adequately separated from other variables that impact learning in the larger instructional
context. In spite of these findings, however, many school systems are being asked to justify the use of
computer-based technologies to enhance learning in school settings (cf. McMillan-Culp, Hawkins, & Honey,
1999; McNabb, Hawkes, & Rouk, 1999). Much of the pressure to assess the benefits or "value added" by
technology are the costs associated with this medium and the concern about whether teachers are being
adequately trained to use technology effectively.

technologies, including simulation style games. Some of the important differences in digital
learners include:
•they are proactive, autonomous learners who seek needed information from the
environment to meet their own self-determined goals;
•they process information very quickly, deciding almost immediately whether or not
something is relevant and useful;
•they relate first to graphics, then to text;
•they solve complex problems in collaborative learning groups;
•they are active participants in their own learning, doing first and asking questions later ;
•they learn best through trial and error; and
•they are undeterred by failure and see it as a necessary learning experience that simply
leads to a “restart”.
We can see the power of creative capacity in students’ responses to technology. Technology is
clearly a tool of innovation that is underutilized and inequitably distributed in public schools. Most
educators and many parents are aware of the gap between students’ use and understanding of the
latest digital technologies and how these technologies are used/not used in the schools. Prensky
(2006) contends that schools are stuck in the 20th century while students have rushed into the 21st
century. Today’s students were born into the digital age and are fluent in the digital language of
computers, video games, and the Internet. Many even report learning to read from games rather
than from teachers and school. Because students are empowered by technology in so many ways
outside their schools, more than ever they need a meaningful voice in their own digital-age
education (McCombs & Vakili, 2005).

The integration of digital or computer technologies into school-based arts programs,

instructions, and assessments has significantly increased in the recent decades (Crow, 2006).
Webster (2007) reported that the practicalities of ICT in the creation of music (i.e., music
technology) has spurred the development of various music-related hardware and software
programs that enhance the quality of music learning and teaching, music composition and
performance, and music listening and appreciation skills. It has also been recognized that
access to computer programs enabling the user to control and manipulate frequencies and
tempos and add vocal and sound effects alters music to the extent that it becomes a ‘novel’
creation (Crow, 2006).
In the area of the visual arts, the advancement of graphic technology tools (e.g., Adobe
Photoshop, Macromedia Director, Macromedia Flash) not only enables students to
manipulate images but also communicates their art work in a more innovative and engaging
way by integrating images with texts, sounds, figures, animations, and films (Stokrocky,

Technology mediated arts engagement:

2007; Wang, 2002).

Theoretical views, empirical bases, and applied

implications
Chapter (PDF Available) · June 2016 with 72 Reads
In book: The arts, motivation and engagement: How the arts makes a difference, Publisher: Routledge, Editors:
J. Fleming, R Gibson, M Anderson, pp.205-224

 Gregory Arief D. Liem

 29
 Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria


 Andrew J Martin

 40.78
 UNSW Sydney


Robyn Gibson
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312446390_Technology_mediated_arts_engagement_Theoretical_vie
ws_empirical_bases_and_applied_implications

The integration of technologies into school-based arts classes has been positively seen
by students as promoting the development of their arts skills (Glenn & Fitzgerald, 2002; Ho,
2007; Webster, 2007). Not only is the ICT viewed by students as an important motivating
2
factor that facilitates the mastery of their arts competence, arts education using some forms of
technologies has also been effective in developing students’ ICT literacies (Bamford, 2006).
Further, arts activities (e.g., playing music, drawing, visiting museums, attending concerts)
are also associated with more intensive ICT activities (Robinson, 2011), further signaling that
engagement in the arts and technology as leisure activities can be mutually reinforcing and
enriching. Although reviewers (e.g., Parrish, 2007; Stokrocky, 2007; Webster, 2007) have
concurred that technologies are useful in promoting learning and mastery of students’ arts
skills and knowledge, there has now been a growing interest in better understanding the role
of arts-related uses of ICT in students’ cognitive development and academic attainment.
As mentioned earlier, the positive attitude that students have towards the use of ICT in
creating in the arts appears to be a motivational catalyst for the acquisition process of the
target arts skills and the enjoyment associated with this learning process. Further insights into
the potential benefits of arts-related ICT engagement can be drawn from research findings
showing the developmental outcomes of arts participation and of ICT engagement and the
various theoretical perspectives that have been used to explain their underlying mechanisms.
The Importance of Engagement in Arts Activities
Numerous reviewers (e.g., Aprill, 2001; Bamford, 2006; Deasy, 2002; Hunter, 2005)
have documented academic and cognitive benefits of arts engagement. Hattie’s (2009) meta-
analysis, for example, showed an effect size of d = 0.35 for the link between arts participation
and academic achievement. Based on an analysis of the National Education Longitudinal
Study (NELS:88), Catterall, Dumais, and Hampden-Thompsan (2012; see also Catterall,
2009) found that students with higher arts participation had significantly better achievements
in science, mathematics, reading, writing, and their overall academic performance (GPA)
than those with less arts participation. Further, research has shown the impacts of arts
participation on academic motivation and engagement, psychological well-being such as self-
esteem, meaning and purpose, and life satisfaction as well as on interpersonal relatedness that
is crucial for healthy academic functioning including positive peer relationships, empathetic
feelings towards peers (Martin, Mansour, Anderson, Gibson, Liem, & Sudmalis, 2013;
Nilson, Fetherston, & McMurray, 2013; Rose-Krasnor, Busseri, Willoughby, & Chalmers
2006).
Various theoretical models have been proposed to understand the positive academic
effects of arts participation. From an extra-curricular activity (ECA) perspective, Marsh and
Kleitman (2002) posited distinct models to explain how arts participation promotes academic
outcomes. One of such models, the developmental model, views the enhancement of students’
academic attainments as an indirect consequence of the students’ holistic development
attributed to arts participation, including heightened self-worth, clearer sense of life meaning
and purpose, and improved quality of interpersonal connectedness. These psycho-social
factors then function to be personal assets critical to better academic functioning.
Another ECA-based perspective, the identification/commitment model, proposes that as
a form of school-based activity arts participation “could improve school identification,
involvement, and commitment in a way that enhances narrowly defined academic outcomes
as well as the non-academic outcomes emphasized in the developmental model” (Marsh &
Kleitman, 2002, p. 471). In fact, research has supported this model by showing the positive
implications of arts participation for school belongingness and connectedness (Fredricks &
Eccles, 2008; Hunter, 2005) that are important for students’ school motivation, engagement,
and performance (Liem & Martin, 2011).
Marsh and Kleitman (2002) also considered the zero-sum model of ECA participation.
This model suggests that the time that students spend on ECAs (including the arts) potentially
reduces the time they spend on academic learning. As reported previously, however, the bulk