School technology: Pros outweigh cons?

By Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum

Even from a young age I remember technology always playing a part in the classroom setting. Often there was at least one or two computers in the room and there was always a computer lab dedicated to teaching students about those clunky boxes and other areas of education such as science and dissecting virtual frogs instead of getting our hands dirty.

Times have changed considerably since my time in elementary school but the constant has always been technology. The computers have slimmed down, newer and better computers are being placed in school computer labs and libraries and newer applications have been made to accommodate a learning environment. So why not add in something like, say, an iPad?

In LA the Los Angeles Unified School District has begun an experiment in their schools that puts iPads in the hands of it’s students to find out if using them will be a benefit to the learning environment or a problem.

Joel Klein, CEO of Amplify, an education division, believes that the use of tablets in the classroom setting is beneficial for not only students but for teachers as well. The tablets would serve as a teachers assistant in some ways and would act as a tutor for students who may be ahead, in the middle, or lagging behind in their learning experience.

Some might argue that handing a child a tablet breaks that very important personal connection that is key in stimulating and teaching children but perhaps they might strengthen that connection when executed in the right ways. Some of the problems that arise with students is that they aren’t being stimulated intellectually anywhere else but school but hand a child a tablet and suddenly a direct path to their teachers has appeared and it has enabled them to be in touch with the teachers and promotes learning not just during the school day or even the school year but all the time. Learning should never stop.

NPR interviewed Joel Klein on this very subject. To listen to the interview you can click on the audio at the top of this blog post.

We want to hear from you. What do you think about more technology in the classroom such as iPads/tablets? Do you think they are detriment to student learning or a positive stepping stone? If you are a parent or student living in LA and have had experience with this study what are your thoughts on it? What problems do you see arising from the usage of iPads in classrooms?

This article was first published in

Even from a young age I remember technology always playing a part in the classroom setting. Often there was at least one or two computers in the room and there was always a computer lab dedicated to teaching students about those clunky boxes and other areas of education such as science and dissecting virtual frogs instead of getting our hands dirty.

Times have changed considerably since my time in elementary school but the constant has always been technology. The computers have slimmed down, newer and better computers are being placed in school computer labs and libraries and newer applications have been made to accommodate a learning environment. So why not add in something like, say, an iPad?

In LA the Los Angeles Unified School District has begun an experiment in their schools that puts iPads in the hands of it’s students to find out if using them will be a benefit to the learning environment or a problem.

Joel Klein, CEO of Amplify, an education division, believes that the use of tablets in the classroom setting is beneficial for not only students but for teachers as well. The tablets would serve as a teachers assistant in some ways and would act as a tutor for students who may be ahead, in the middle, or lagging behind in their learning experience.

Some might argue that handing a child a tablet breaks that very important personal connection that is key in stimulating and teaching children but perhaps they might strengthen that connection when executed in the right ways. Some of the problems that arise with students is that they aren’t being stimulated intellectually anywhere else but school but hand a child a tablet and suddenly a direct path to their teachers has appeared and it has enabled them to be in touch with the teachers and promotes learning not just during the school day or even the school year but all the time. Learning should never stop.

NPR interviewed Joel Klein on this very subject. To listen to the interview you can click on the audio at the top of this blog post.

We want to hear from you. What do you think about more technology in the classroom such as iPads/tablets? Do you think they are detriment to student learning or a positive stepping stone? If you are a parent or student living in LA and have had experience with this study what are your thoughts on it? What problems do you see arising from the usage of iPads in classrooms?

This article was first published in Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum.