Wasting Valuable Resources: Technology Alone is Not the Answer

According to a recent article in the New York Times, many schools that at one time embraced the idea of supplying all students with laptops are now finding little advantage to this one-to-one relationship between students and computers. When schools jumped on board the technology bandwagon and began handing out laptops to their students, it was thought of as a way to reach out to low-income students who might not have access to such technology. Educators believed that if low-income students didn’t have access to the same technology their peers did, they would be at an educational disadvantage. This effort to bridge the “digital divide” has shown little success in the past decade.

So if technology supplies such powerful learning opportunities, why haven’t educators seen a tremendous change after laptops were distributed? I believe many educators left the change up to the technology. Technology was seen as a solution rather than a tool to help get to the solution. Laptop programs have a place in the education system, but are not the end all be all. We must be prepared to educate our students and especially our teachers on how to use this powerful instructional tool. Otherwise we’re wasting valuable resources.

Introducing a new technology without revamping the pedagogy is not likely to lead to success. Purchasing laptops does not constitute educational change. By examining the students learning needs and the curriculum first, educators and administrators can expect a much more powerful integration of technology.

To look at the article from the New York Times, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/education/04laptop.html?_r=1&oref=slogin