Solution+Action+ Team+America


 * Team America - Solution Action**

Throughout the past few years, there has been contentious debate regarding the effects of technology in the classroom. Now as technology such as laptops and the internet have become commonplace, one must ask, what role does technology play in the classroom? This is the decisive question we set out to answer. To gather the definitive answer to our question, we began with a Quia survey of the student body. Being a school that provides laptops to every student, the student body provides the optimal audience to gauge the effectiveness of technology in the classroom. The survey consisted of 4 questions regarding their opinion of laptop usage. Out of the 349 respondents, 314 (89.97%) reported positive effects from the use of laptops in the classroom. Although our survey found that a vast amount of students feel the use of laptops in class is beneficial, 78.22% reported extreme to mild distractions from using the laptop in class. The ease of distraction seems to be one of the most visible downsides to employing technology in the classroom, although the positives outweigh the negatives. The effectiveness of employing technology in the classroom has also been extensively studied. Studies by the University of Michigan and non-profit EduCause found various beneficial aspects such as improved motivation, communication between students and teachers, and helping students learn content better through engaging them with problem-solving and games, among others. EduCause found that 72% of college students prefer classes with use of Information Technology in the classroom. The most popular reasoning for technology was for convenience and management. While both studies found various cons to technology use, they both concluded the pros outweighed the cons considerably. The last step for gathering appropriate evidence was to survey the opinions of teachers in the school, as the use of technology is ultimately in the hands of the teacher and their preference. Teachers from several different departments were surveyed to compare the results to our Quia survey. All departments agreed that technology has brought positive effects on our schools today when compared to schools 25 years ago. The Library department had the best outlook on the use of technology, which most likely stems from the fact that there is a wealth of knowledge in the Library, be it through books or on the internet. The math department had one of the most negative views, which is probably due to the fact that math equations are difficult to work out on a laptop. The teachers views on distractions matched that of the students, with 75% believing there is a high potential for distractions to occur. The teachers responses closely matched that of the students, th both agreeing with the high beneficial factors, as well as the potential for distractions. From gathering data on both students and teachers in the school, the results have shown that it is generally accepted that the use of laptops in the school are beneficial. Although most also agree on the possibilities of distractions, it has shown that the benefits of using laptops are much greater than the perceived risk. There is also an apparent connection between the opinions of teachers and students. Math had one of the most negative views on technology when surveyed, and when students were asked what class implemented technology use the best, math came in last place with a mere 2% of the vote. It is undeniable that the use of technology in school has brought with it many benefits, such as better communication between students and teachers, better time management, more ability to practice new content, the list goes on and on. With the technological world expanding everyday, and the growing popularity of online courses, it leaves one to wonder what role technology will play in education 20 years from now. Although it is clear that education in the classroom has already been profoundly changed in various positive ways due to the employment of information technology such as laptops.