Technology is just a tool. I think that many folks forget that by getting caught up in the excitement of the technology purchase.
In 2001, the schools of Henrico County, Virginia purchased laptop computers for every high school student. The thought was that they could become “paperless”. From the laptops, students would be able to take notes in class, complete homework assignment, access notes from teachers, research topics on-line, etc., etc., etc. The school system purchased 23,000 iBooks for every high school student, middle school student and teacher in the district.
What actually occurred was less than satisfactory: laptops were dropped, broken, internal school systems were hacked for grades, and so on. But did it lead to higher test scores, higher IQ, smarter students? Where are the studies that show the bottom-line benefit for the technology?
The same is true for the technology used in corporate training. There has to be an end to the means. The ones that benefit the most from the technology have a plan to measure the results. And the results have to benefit the overall organization, not just the training department. What are some of the goals that you have for technology in the classroom?
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