Disadvantages Of Computer

Computer Usage Effects on Student Growth

Introduction

Does access to a computer or use of a computer in instructing students improve their academic achievement? Answering this question is especially critical today because politicians are proposing to spend billions of tax dollars on expanding access to computers in schools in order for American students who become globally competitive with 21st century skills. The use of computers is ever-present in the U.S. educational system. Nearly all instructional classrooms in U.S. public schools have computers with Internet access, with an average of more than one instructional computer for every four school children. (Fairlie, R. W., & London, R. A., 2012). This paper analyzes whether the availability and use of computers is related to students’ educational growth.

Pros

Flexibility An advantage of using computers in the classroom is its flexibility and adaptability to differentiated learning. Technologies such as podcasts and podcasts, for instance, provide students with the opportunity to learn at their own pace and the freedom to go back and relearn content. This could be especially important for English as a Second Language (ESL)

An example used by Monke, L. (2004) suggests that a microphone can amplify one’s voice, but in doing so reduces the speaker’s need to exercise his/her lung power. Thus creating an atrophic condition within the speaker’s body. Also, it stands to reason that a student that regularly use a calculator at an early age tends to lose basic manual arithmetic skills of multiplication and long division. This situation was a serious concern at the Watson Chapel School District in Pine Bluff, AR with lagging test scores in mathematics. Since the 2014-2015 the school district restricts the use of calculators for grades k-6 in hopes of increasing math literacy and state test