According to The Conversation, "35% of students were more interested in lessons because they got to be more involved in the class." Using technology for learning, a new positive in the society will significantly improve student's performance because students can study at his or her own pace; they can carry their device instead of the bulky textbook, and it is very portable, so the work done at school will be available for them at home.
First, having the ability to study at one's own pace is unlimited. Students who tend to catch on to topics slowly can take their personal time, so the students who tend to catch on quickly do not distract them. For example, my friend catches on to topics on math very quickly, where I, on the other hand, have to work on a few examples to get there. I hate it when she distracts me because I lose my focus. In 2010, a study was done by the Pew Research Center, it stated that "PBS Kids, in partnership with the US Department of Education, found that the vocabulary of kids ages three to seven who played its Martha Speaks mobile app improved up to 31%".
In this study, all the students were going at their own pace and that caused such a high jump in the percentage. Then, on the other hand, teachers using technology to help with learning can be considered a bit bizarre because people think it is for students to avoid being in study groups or help sessions, but using technology in class is a way to teach students to be independent. Many students like having the option of learning on their own because it shows them techniques to memorize and learn better.
Another reason technology is needed is textbooks. Textbooks are something that every school wastes money and paper on, and they are usually outdated. Such as, if students had a research paper on Barack Obama none of the textbooks provided to the students will have information on it, so we would need to use technology. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said himself, "As a nation," he said, "We spend $7 to $9 billion a year on textbooks that, by the time you receive them, are out of date. It doesn't make sense to me." Although some would argue saying that technology is not always accurate, students can choose accurate websites. Many Education Professionals believe that having textbooks are useless, and I bet many students would agree, it is just extra weight and space taken up in one's locker.
Lastly, the ability to manage and complete the work at home is a blessing in disguise. The devices now days are so portable. Also according to the New Scientist article, "Today 2000 students, aged between 11 and 18, use Google Chromebooks, which are cheaper and easier to set up than a conventional laptop because most of the software runs in the cloud." However, most people would still consider having technology in the classroom a bad idea because even a computer as easily useable as a Google Chrome book can be unpredictable; certain things may not even save. Many teachers appreciate the technology as a helping hand that lets students continue to work at home, so they do not forget what the assignment is the next day.
In the end, I believe technology improves learning. This is because it is like a constructive upgrade in society because it allows students to go at their own pace, it allows students to use digital textbooks instead of outdated books, and it allows students to finish what they started at school.
