Five benefits and challenges of classroom technology

Listen to an audio version of this post:

Classrooms have come a long way since chalkboards, overhead projectors and film strips (remember those?). Today, technology is transforming the way students learn and teachers approach instruction, making the K-12 classroom more engaging and personalized than ever. Whether it’s a virtual field trip to the Smithsonian, gamified assessments that make learning fun, or tools that simplify an educator’s to-do list, classroom technology has a lot of benefits.

Of course, both the benefits and challenges of classroom technology are worth considering. This blog will give you new ideas for sparking learning engagement and empowering educators. We’ll also cover solutions to common arguments against classroom technology to help you support your school or district team.

Five benefits of technology in the classroom

1. Improved student engagement

Classroom technology allows students to learn how they want to learn, piquing their curiosity, boosting motivation and supporting deeper comprehension. Interactive tools like augmented reality and gamified learning apps capture students’ attention, turning passive learning into an engaging experience. For instance, instead of looking at a photocopy with a diagram, they could explore the layers of the Earth in a simulation or take a virtual field trip.

With solutions like Hāpara’s classroom management suite, educators can easily check in on learning engagement online. Hāpara allows educators to monitor progress and guide browsing and to ensure every learner stays engaged. 

2. Access to resources

Technology opens up a world of resources beyond textbooks. Learners can access endless articles, websites, research databases, educational videos and online tutorials anytime on any device. 

For example, Ms. Park is teaching a fifth-grade space science unit. She wants learners to perform research while collaborating on group projects about the solar system. By using their Chromebooks, learners can find information beyond the textbook and watch videos and try out simulations. 

Ms. Park also uses Hāpara to help groups explore three student-friendly websites. She knows these websites are trustworthy and will provide information at her learners’ reading levels. With Hāpara’s Share links feature, she opens the links directly onto their devices. 

Educators can even use Hāpara to share Google Classroom questions, assignments and materials directly onto learners’ devices or share Google Drive files. 

3. Differentiation and personalization

Not all students learn at the same pace or in the same way. Technology allows educators to differentiate instruction and create personalized learning experiences to meet individual student needs. 

Adaptive learning platforms, for example, adjust the difficulty of tasks based on performance, ensuring all students are appropriately challenged. There are also tools that help learners with IEPs and 504 plans access content. For example, Natasha Farrugia-Pavan, is an Assistive Technology Mentor for the Ottawa Catholic School Board. She recommends that learners use OrbitNote, an extension from the Texthelp Read and Write tool that reads PDFs.

Hāpara takes this further by allowing teachers to create personalized learning paths for their students. Educators can easily group learners based on their needs and send differentiated resources. 

With real-time visibility into digital learning activities, Hāpara also helps educators quickly identify learners who may need additional support or advanced challenges. Educators can see real-time progress online and quickly check in on Google Drive files.

4. Development of real-life skills

Another benefit of classroom technology is that it helps learners build real-life skills that they’ll need to succeed in life and ones that colleges and employers value. 

These essential skills include:

• Collaboration
• Communication
• Problem-solving
• Executive functioning

Dr. Hernández, a middle school principal, knows that learners in her school struggle with executive functioning at their age. She and her leadership team adopted Hāpara’s classroom management solution last year, and it has helped learners manage their tasks and make better decisions online. Educators in the school appreciate that they can give individual learners’ personalized feedback with the Hāpara Highlights Chat feature. It’s a great way to send reminders and provide support without interrupting the class. 

Educators also use the Guide browsing feature in Hāpara Highlights to focus learners’ or groups on specific websites or filter out websites that are distracting.

5. Streamlined workflows

Educational technology can make day-to-day tasks more efficient. Whether a tool or platform makes it easier to grade assessments, provide formative feedback, distribute materials or communicate with parents, it means less time spent on administrative work and more time instruction and learning.

Mr. Davis, a technology director, was previously a high school history teacher. He understands what educators need to accomplish day to day and is always looking for tools that make their lives easier, especially since they are a 1:1 district. That’s why the district continues to use Hāpara to simplify teaching workflows. Because learners use devices in most classrooms, Hāpara gives educators the real-time visibility they need to check if learners are on track. 

Five disadvantages of technology in the classroom and solutions

While the benefits are significant, it’s important to also acknowledge the challenges educators face when integrating technology. Luckily there are solutions that can help you support educators and digital learning.

1. Reduced face-to-face interactions

Overreliance on screens can reduce meaningful interaction between learners in the classroom. Collaborative activities and in-person discussions help them develop social-emotional skills. If learners are glued to their devices, they won’t get enough of these social interactions. 

Ms. Ali loves creating differentiated activities for her fourth-grade class and spending face to face time with learning groups. Today one of the groups is having a discussion about a story they read, while Ms. Ali moderates. At the same time, another group is working on a Google Slides project using their Chromebooks, while another group works on a spelling app. They will rotate after twenty minutes. While she is moderating the group discussion, she has Hāpara open on her laptop so that she can quickly check that the other groups are making progress.

2. Distractions

While technology enhances learning, it can also be a distraction for learners who are developing their executive functioning skills. Social media, games, sports scores and other non-academic content can divert learners’ attention. Educators need a way to balance access to technology while managing distractions.

Hāpara’s browser monitoring tool solves this problem for Mr. Graham, an instructional technology coach, and the educators he supports. Educators can instantly see when a learner is on an off-task website and send them a message with a reminder. If the learner continues to open the website, an educator can quickly block it for the remainder of the class period.

3. Safety concerns

By allowing learners to use the internet, schools and districts need safeguards in place as learners use the internet for class activities. Without proper safeguards, students can accidentally access harmful or inappropriate content. Implementing a web filter and teaching digital citizenship can help you protect learners online. 

That’s why Hāpara has partnered with Gaggle to offer schools and districts their DNS web filter. Ms. Braedon, a district technology director, appreciates that her district can adopt both a classroom management solution and a safety solution from one vendor. She also appreciates that educators can use Hāpara’s classroom management tools to make digital citizenship part of everyday learning.

4. Assessment security

Another challenge that educators face when using technology is ensuring assessment security. Learners are internet savvy, and while digital assessments are common, it’s difficult to maintain a secure assessment environment.

Hāpara’s “Guide browsing” feature allows educators to set up a Focus Session. This means that learners in the class are only able to visit the assessment link for a duration of time. 

Ana Demarco, a high school math educator explains, “Sometimes the students are looking for the answers on the test in another place. So in that case, I have them focus only on the test.” 

5. Teacher training and tech integration

For technology to be effective in the classroom, educators need to be properly trained on how to use it. While tools are hopefully easy to navigate, without professional development, some educators may become frustrated or decide not to use a tool. Providing ongoing support and training is crucial.

Ms. Chen is a professional learning coordinator for her district, where educators have access to Hāpara and other platforms and tools. She has worked with schools to allow for professional development time. Several school teams engaged in live virtual training with a Hāpara expert, and some schools allowed time for educators to take free Learning Bytes courses on Hāpara’s classroom management tools. 

Striking the right balance with classroom technology

Tips for K-12 school leaders and educators

✔️ Tap into screen monitoring tools: Use a solution like Hāpara to help educators manage distractions and keep learners focused in the digital environment.

✔️ Use tech to complement, not replace: Limit screen time and encourage activities that involve teamwork and collaborative learning.

✔️ Ensure classroom technology solves problems and makes educators’ lives easier.

✔️ Take advantage of an all-in-one classroom management and safety solution from one vendor.

✔️ Invest in training: Ensure teachers are confident in using and integrating technology into their lessons.

Making an informed decision

There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to using technology in education. Every school, classroom and leaner has unique needs. By exploring both the benefits and drawbacks of technology, your school team can make informed decisions that empower educators and learners.