Literature+Review

Beairsto, Bruce. “Technology and Student Achievement” __CEA Blog__ 11 January 2011. Web. 4 May 2012.

@http://www.cea-ace.ca/blog/bruce-beairsto/2011/01/2/technology-and-student-engagement

From the Canadian Education Association, this article suggests that technology cannot replace, but can enhance, skillful teaching. He explains how technology can lead to genuine student engagement by using it as a tool to support other strong teaching practices. Rather than just being a form of external motivation, the author demonstrates how technology can lead to internal (and thus more meaningful) motivation for students.

Berger, Pam. “Learning, Literacy, and Web 2.0” __Choosing Web 2.0 Tools for Learning and Teaching in a Digital World__ Santa Barbara: Libraries Unlimited, 2010.

A fantastic overview of why and how to use web 2.0 tools in education. Offers a unique and useful perspective by referencing a 2005 report that focussed on students’ attitudes on the use of technology in school. Also includes specific suggestions about technology resources that can be used for each phase of inquiry.

Fijor, Mark. “Defining Student Engagement with Technology” __New School Technology__ 10 April 2010. Web. 5 May 2012.

@http://www.newschooltechnology.org/2010/04/defining-student-engagement-with-technology/

Insightful article that addresses the difficult question of how to measure student engagement with technology. Explains the difference between transitional use of technology, in which students are learning how to use digital technology, and transformational use, in which the technology actually changes the students’ learning and encourages higher order thinking. Gives great examples of how to use technology at every level of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

"How Can Technology Benefit Our Students?" __Hawaii Public School System__ 1999. Web. 7 May. 2012.

@http://www.k12.hi.us/~teono/teri/benefits_of_technology.htm

This article looks at how technology has become a large part of our society and how it can have a positive impact on students and teachers. A few questions this article addresses are: What is the importance of integrating technology into a student’s curriculum? What benefits do our students receive from technology? The article identifies six ways that technology can impact schools positively.

Resnick, M. "Rethinking Learning in the Digital Age" __The Media Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology__ 2012. Web. 7 May. 2012.

@http://lllk.media.mit.edu/papers/mres-wef.pdf

This article speaks about how new digital technologies make a learning revolution possible but they do not guarantee it. It states that in order take advantage of the new technologies; we need to rethink our approaches to learning and education. Often when people think about education and computers they think about information. If we want to become better thinkers and learners, we will need to move beyond these information-centric views of computing and learning. Computers are for more than just transmitting and accessing information, they are also for people to create and express. He suggests we think of a computer as ‘finger paint rather than a television.

Schacter, J. "The Impact of Education Technology on Student Achievement" __Milken Exchange on Education Technology__ 1999. Web. 7 May. 2012.

@http://www.mff.org/pubs/ME161.pdf

This article summarizes some of the positive and negative impacts that various technology studies had on student achievement. It focuses on five specific research studies. In all of the studies the findings show that the use of technology had a positive impact on students overall attitudes surrounding technology, and that when students are apart of a technology rich environment they show an increase in their achievement. Throughout some of the studies teachers found that using technology had a positive impact on their overall teaching practices. There was evidence in some of the studies that learning technology can be less effective or ineffective when the learning objectives are unclear and the focus of the technology use is diffuse.