There are many schools all over the nation that have policies on the use of technology such as laptops and tablets in the classroom. Some professors and students claim that having this kind of technology is distracting, while others say that it is extremely beneficial and is to be expected in this day and age.
I personally think that technology proves to be more beneficial than distracting in a classroom setting. There are many of my classes to where we have to turn in our assignments online and professors often provide feedback on those assignments online as well. One positive thing about having technology as a prominent factor in classrooms is that the amount of paper that is used goes down significantly.
Secondly, technology can significantly decrease the amount of time that professors spend grading tedious assignments such as homework. Some of my professors have online homework in which the program grades homework for the professor, so the professor only has to upload a numerical score into the grade book. This allows the professors to have more time to do things such as create interesting lesson plans that will truly benefit the students in the long run.
Thirdly, it is a lot cheaper to purchase an online textbook than it is to purchase a hard copy of a textbook. Students also get these books a lot faster than when students order textbooks and they have to wait to receive them in the mail. With online textbooks, the student just has to enter a pin and they have access to all of the course materials right away.
Fourthly, since the students have the internet at their fingertips, it is easy to look up any information that they may not know, which to a student is extremely beneficial. This can be useful when the student needs some background information about what is going on - sometimes students have a fear of speaking out in class because they do not want their peers to judge them for not understanding the material.
Lastly, when technology is integrated into the classroom, students stay engaged with the material longer than if technology was not present. I know that this is true for me and many of my peers at least. When my phone and laptop are these things that I am not allowed to have, I want to be on it more. Instead of making it this thing that students are not allowed to have, professors should simply have a policy against using technology in a disruptive manner.
We live in a digital world. Everyone is always using their laptops and phones, so it is a smart thing to incorporate this kind of technology into the classrooms. When this kind of technology is present, both professors and students benefit.
