Many believe technology in schools has revolutionized the way children learn in and out of the classroom.
However, it appears that when students are provided with individual laptops, many become distracted from their school work. That’s according to a recent Real Clear investigation into Google Chromebooks in schools.
In this digital age where children have access to all sorts of electronics in and out of school, it makes sense to bring laptops into the classroom – but they don’t come without some consequences, according to Real Clear.
Some educators reportedly say providing laptops to kids in public schools hasn’t done anything positive for the kids:
Students who use computers very frequently at school do a lot worse in most learning outcomes, even after accounting for social background and student demographics… The results show no appreciable improvements in student achievement in reading, mathematics or science in the countries that had invested heavily in information and communications technologies for education.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development study conclusions
But on the other hand, some insist that computers provide benefits to the students, and should be used when appropriate:
If the computer is the right tool for a lesson, the student should be on the computer… If it’s not the right tool for that lesson, the student shouldn’t be on the computer. An iPad or Chromebook takes the place of a number of really heavy textbooks.
Valerie Truesdale, assistant executive director of American Association of School Administrators to Real Clear Investigations
Find out more about Real Clear’s look into the classroom Chromebooks here: Classroom Chromebooks.
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Chromebooks have absolutely been a distraction for my son. He, along with so many other students these days, has a very hard time focusing at school as it is, and the Chromebook just makes matters worse. I HATE them.
I work in a library and have seen the way students with laptops have had reduced skills. They resort to using them to “google” everything, and no instruction apparently is given regarding the appropriateness of the sites they use as sources. Also the kind of work has fallen, from writing reports to making projects where little is written and pictures and packaged sites provide the content.
How did some of the brilliant minds of years past make it without laptops or PCs? They studied books, encyclopedias, and they did experiments by hand and made notes.
Kids today aren’t even being taught penmanship or cursive, or as we called it, longhand.
I call it the “dumbing down of America.”
A class on computers, yes. The whole day on computers, no….Emphatic NO!
When my daughter was in high school, she used to tell me of how the students would find ways to get past the firewall and watch movies, check their soical media sites, music etc. rather than pay attention in class.
Common Core laptops – sending all data of the student to a central base. cradle to grave monitoring and psych profiles. Bill Ayers and The Obama OFA asre heavily involved – building a data base of the population. evil.
Aren’t they also a health hazard?
35 laptops all plugged in, charging, WiFi enabled, all in their cabinet….. times how many carts full of machines in the school building. One in each classroom? Wow. Would hate to be a kid or teacher sensitive to these frequencies….