Review:
This research was very interesting because I got to see the impact of technology in classrooms that currently have it, don’t have it, and what would happen if we were to remove technology from classrooms that do and do not have it. Some of the students responses at the end of the study was surprising but it did allow me to see a different perspective on technology in the classroom.
Summary:
We live in the computer era. Technology is everywhere. We have computers, laptops, tablets, cellphones, etc. The amount of information we have at our fingertips is incredible. The majority of people need technology to function in their lives. This use of technology is moving into the classroom and if not all classrooms should have it by now, well at least some form of it. But it isn’t a matter of using technology in the classroom, it is a matter of how effectively it is being used. Students in a university were invited to participate in a study that studied the effects of technology in the classroom. Some students would answer a survey on how technology would affect their learning if the instructor explicitly said they did not use technology in the classroom; and some students would answer a survey on how the absence of technology would impact them.
The results of this study concluded that technology in the classroom has a positive impact on students’ behavior. Interestingly enough, removing technology from a course have different impacts. Some students say it has a positive impact on the amount of study time they receive and some students say that it can decrease their attentiveness in the classroom and the amount they learn. But technology does have an impact for “- student preparation for class, attentiveness, quality of notes taken, student participation in class –“ (Angeline M. Lavin, Leon Korte, Thomas L. Davies).
Opinion:
Although this isn’t an article, I agree with the results from the study. In my opinion technology in the classroom does improve students’ participation, and the quality of the notes they take. The results from the study proved that to be true even though it was a study done on one university and not many. If a student is in a class where the instructor is just lecturing, expect the student to fall asleep or forget what is happening. Technology does increase attentiveness.
Sounds like an interesting article, Josiel. The focus on “attentiveness” is certainly key–technology can be something to engage with for learning or something to engage with for distraction. The note-taking issue is interesting. You might like to read the article that Majid reviewed; it discusses the quality of notes taken on the computer versus by hand.