In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores
N.Y.Times

As we are learning about all of the new advances in technology, it is hard not to question whether or not it is actually improving school achievement.  Our MD 400 professor De Abreu told us a story about a school that was given a grant for students to have ipads.  As exciting as this concept may seem, it turns out the students felt that they would rather have learned without ipads.  I found it very interesting that students felt that the ipads were not helping their success.  I looked into the idea of technology and achievement and came across a New York Times article titled "In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores" by Matt Richtel.  What I found in this article was quite interesting.  In a school in Arizona, students had a vast amount of technological resources to help improve their learning and success.  Each classroom in the school had everything from laptops to smart boards and teachers that are willing to use technology everyday.  The problem though, is that students success rates have not gone us since getting the new technology in the classrooms.  The article goes on to further explain that their is a enormous push for technology in the classroom without any research to back up whether or not it is actually working.  If I was to give my two cents on all of this I would say a few things.  1. Technology makes learning fun.  When students can use there creativity in new and interesting ways, they actually enjoy learning.  That is the most important thing students should be getting out of their education.  They should want to go to school everyday and they should come home everyday with new knowledge that they want to retain and expand upon.  Furthermore, I believe that this article might be overstating.  By using the title, "In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores," it leads the reader to believe that the students are not learning, but that is not what the article is saying.  In fact, I bet that the students are learning more then they have every learned with all of the new technology.  The difference though, is that their scores are not improving.  That is because the teacher is no longer "teaching to the test."  The teacher is not teaching so students merely pass but instead teaching students in an enriching environment in which they actually want to learn.  To me, that is more rewarding then anything.  Instead of looking at the advancements of technology in the classroom and questioning whether or not it is affecting our students scores, we should be looking at the standardized tests they are taking. 

Richtel, M. (2011, September 03). In classroom of future, stagnant scores . The New York Times . Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/technology/technology-in-schools-faces-questions-on-value.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0