Im an engineering teacher. For us, in many cases is very difficult to explain some things, for example, the work principle of airplane turbine. In this sense there are videos in youtube than could help the student to understand this principle.

In internet there are many information. Good information and bad information. In my case, I design a virtual classroom for the students, where I put selected information, for example, about leaders machine tools manufacturers. If the teacher filter information, only good information the students receive.

Daniel, thank you - this helps confirm that technology can help - provided the tutor uses them wisely.

Another interesant idea is the following. My daughter is a student of architecture. A short time ago she had to take a structure test and asked me to help her. I did not remember the subject. I told her, is not there any free software we can work with? We found it and everything was solved.

I have no doubt that computing technology help student learning.

Technology will no doubt contribute to, aswell as hinder, learning in various ways. One area that has been studied in particular is the effect of handwriting on learning performance. Beyond the obvious increase in both reading and spelling scores, handwriting seemed to involve improved general learning for the studied individuals. Handwriting apparently activates certain neural circuits automatically; circuits which may be underdeveloped, once relying on technology (as in digital technology) too much.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4274624/

Computer technology does help individuals with their learning perhaps more than realised.  It could for example be used to access and retrieve research articles within minutes instead of having to go into a library and to a shelve in the library to look for and print out the article. There is also now the use of crossref.org which one can use to access not only research articles but their digital identifier numbers in seconds!. There is also spell check for those who need it and indeed software such as word, notepad, excel, publisher etc used for production of assignments dissertations and thesis and so on. You can cut and paste as necessary and this can save time but this technique is not feasible when writing by hand. The above are just a few examples of how computer could be used to support learning. We should however not put all our eggs in one basket as the computer could breakdown at any time

Computer technology does, I think, enable more effective student learning via for instance, easier and wider access to information, immediate hyperlink association, almost unlimited and even real-time communication etc.. While of course, plagiarism for instance, is easier in this context; but tutors are wise to this, such, that only the deluded actually think that they'll get away with it.

If you want the qualifications, you still need to put the work in.

Yes, Technology CAN help. But we know that meta-analysis on the impact of technology on learning outcome only has a moderate to low effect size (Ref. John Hattie).

My research findings for the past four years show a double-edge sword situation. See:

Article Digital Equity and Students’ Home Computing: A Hong Kong Study

Article The significance of cultural capital and parental mediation ...

Article Digital Equity in Cultural Context: Exploring the Influence ...

You may like to read the article by Trilby Beresford, a freelance writer from Australia. The article brings in a fresh perspective.

https://amysmartgirls.com/does-technology-in-the-classroom-help-or-hinder-71bdc3cb0555#.6psewjhph

Bejon, an interesting observation, but with additional regulation comes additional bureaucratic problems and in your field the pace of change appears to be faster than our ability to deal with the complexities.  How is your field learning from the difficulties in keeping up with the pace of change?

I think there are problems when people are misusing and abusing technologies. When properly used computing technology helps in many ways. They help in getting new information, communicate with persons far away, sharing your knowledge in different medias accessible through computing technologies, etc. We all have some kind of responsibility to work against abuse of technology in the learning process.

According to my teaching experience, IT mostly help students. The common ways of student cheating have not changed at least last 20 years, the IT just made it easier. The problem with teaching in modern IT-crazy world is not in cheating. The problem is that students do not have an opportunity to concentrate on tasks, because of frequent notifications from social nets.

Mikhail,  Thank you - I have noticed that social IT has invaded even management situations where leaders work on their devices although being 'present' at meetings.  I can't believe that anyone can concentrate on both things at once and in the case of a classroom keeping the balance of access to  devices for learning with IT etiquette is proving difficult. 

Some schools in Russia (at least in Moscow) prohibit the pupils to use of cell phones in school regulations. Actually, I've asked my students directly, do and how they can work during the lecture and chat in WhatsUp in the same time. They answer, that it is not a problem for them to think on different things in the same time. Some call it "clip thinking".

Mikhail, Thank you - "clip thinking" is an interesting concept that I had not heard of.  I can confirm is that students can work with various activities on screen at one time and pick up to four different things ongoing simultaneously whilst I, a somewhat less technology savvy person, can only focus on the one task at a time.  Perhaps there is a generational issue in terms of technology maturity in people and the skills to use technology and learn are inculcated within those that engage more readily with technology or  grow up being able to use technology for so many things on a daily basis - or that some people more readily adapt and multi-task than I can.  However, I can observe much more demand for surface learning and information taken at face value rather than deeper thinking.

The helping or hindering is not the result of the computer technology, but how the technology is used. In  other words, how does the technology design support the instructional design, and how do both of them support the learning outcome objectives?

The way the technology is used has the potential to interest and motivate students, resulting in better outcomes...or to frustrate, bore, or demotivate students, resulting in failure to achieve learning outcomes.

it is not just a question of black and white, but the pallet of colours in between. What is the context in which the computer is used and to what end? That surely has to be the start to this question. Then the subject matter comes into play. Assessment and how the assessment is positioned and what question types are used. What is the learner doing? Applying or discovery? Technology has merit in all these things, it also can be an issue. Fact is it is there and digital literacy is a major topic and area that needs to be addressed in this context, as only then will appropriate answers start to emerge, a lot of considerations between the 'binary' polarities of the question.

IT is key to the principles of flipped learning.

In my current research, I see (the process of) emerging technology as a contributing barrier to learning (Sealana, 2014). The learning curve is great. And in the absence of mastery, learners default to convenience over in-depth study. A well-informed meta analysis is entitled "What Forty Years of Research Says About the Impact of Technology on Learning" (Rana, Bernard, Borokhovski, Abrami and Schmid, 2011).  Although that meta-analysis is now a little old, I believe their conclusions are still relevant, that "Its (technology) effectiveness,  depends on how well it helps teachers and students achieve the desired instructional goals” (p.17).

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/richard/sealana

Article What Forty Years of Research Says About the Impact of Techno...

It seems as though Technology is a misguided focus. It is too isolated; too Newtonian, If we can use a Goethean approach then we should not leave out the connection with the students? If there is any information that can be gleaned from Technology or its connections (internet et al) then are we not focusing on curriculum that is real or authentic.

I assume that you would include mobile devices (e.g., cellphones) in your definition of computing technology. If so, then I recommend this article for your consideration: The Impact of Mobile Dictionary Use on Language Learning. It can be found here:

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences

Volume 98, 6 May 2014, Pages 1469-1474

DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.03.567

Donna, thank you, very useful article and another area for me to explore.

It all depends on how the technology is managed.   Technology should never be introduced in any classroom unless it is there to enhance what it being taught.   Anything less than that is really a waste of time.   When technology is used in the classroom it must be monitored well or it defeats the purpose.   Technology is an excellent tool to aid in teaching as long as all stake holders understand the pros and cons involved.

Mardene, I agree, but do you think some people monitoring create the belief it works finding what they are looking for without acknowledging issues? I have found evaluations are not always reliable especially where innovative technology is being used where few independent critiques are available.

Please take a look on my publications. You may find some answers.

Kind regards,

NP

 This is a very broad question and the answer will relate to the context and the way technology is deployed. We know schools use technologies in different ways some positive and some negative. We also know that social class impacts of the way pupils apply digital technologies in an educational context.

Between 1997 and 2007 the UK invested £4bn to "transform learning".....the story is told here:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279927229_E-Learning_policy_and_the_transformation_of_schooling_a_UK_case_study

I suspect that the real problem rests with the mismatch between two specific technologies. The first being the increasingly complex and powerful network of devices, connections and human actors which we call the 'network society' which are profoundly challenging our notion of knowledge, it's structure and worth.

Secondly we have the technology of the school with its physical and conceptual structures, roles, explicit and implicit purposes.

T2 (the school) has great social and cultural inertia and it responds to technology by absorbing it on its own terms, turning it to its own purposes and using it to reinforce the status quo. T1 (digital technologies) are changing and recombining rapidly and in a manner which is not controlled or controllable.

When T1 and T2 are forced together they are like two cogs of differing tooth sizes grinding together......like a 1930's motorcar gearbox :-)

Article E-Learning policy and the “transformation” of schooling: a U...

Adrian, thank you for this useful insight as it provides an indication of further issues for tertiary education.

I will give a definite YES answer, with the rider that students need a lot of guidance to make it effective. Without guidance, technology use hinders learning. For example, in synchronous and asynchronous use of discussion boards to teach a topic, students learn from their peers and the teacher moderates the list effectively to bring out the essential keywords of the topic. Without guidance, there is little gained by way of learning.

Kwashiorkor, do you find the use of discussion boards more helpful to student learning than tutorial seminars? Do you think students willing to engage in tutorial discussions are different to the majority that engage in online discussions?

Edward:

When the discussion forum is used to debate topical issues of the day, students engage vibrantly in it and results is phenomenal. See attached conference paper in this regard.

Best regards,

Debra

Conference Paper Debating: A Dynamic Teaching Strategy for Motivating Student...