My high-school was heavily based on using technology to help you learn. One of the first assignments they gave us was to pair off and write a report on an environmental issue (just to ward off the inevitable, we weren't told what side to take). We had all the tools on the computer to work with and were encouraged to use the Internet to find information. Every other pair of students ended up with well done powerpoint presentations (or as good as one of them can be) that had maybe 2 paragraphs worth of information in them. Me and my partner ended up using the computer for information gathering purposes only and ended up with a full 5 paragraph essay written on actual paper. It was the best received report in the class.
As long as teachers set clear boundaries between when it's OK to be using the computer and when it's not OK, and use the computers as tools to gather and structure information and not as tools to do the equivalent of pushing your food around your plate, then they can be used quite effectively.
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My high-school was heavily based on using technology to help you learn. One of the first assignments they gave us was to pair off and write a report on an environmental issue (just to ward off the inevitable, we weren't told what side to take). We had all the tools on the computer to work with and were encouraged to use the Internet to find information. Every other pair of students ended up with well done powerpoint presentations (or as good as one of them can be) that had maybe 2 paragraphs worth of information in them. Me and my partner ended up using the computer for information gathering purposes only and ended up with a full 5 paragraph essay written on actual paper. It was the best received report in the class.
As long as teachers set clear boundaries between when it's OK to be using the computer and when it's not OK, and use the computers as tools to gather and structure information and not as tools to do the equivalent of pushing your food around your plate, then they can be used quite effectively.