Nicholas Carr points to the second article in a series on technology in education, particularly whether “popular, expensive computer-aided instruction programs actually benefit students.” He ends his post with a good quote from Steve Jobs in 1996: “Historical precedent shows that we can turn out amazing human beings without technology. Precedent also shows that we can turn out very uninteresting human beings with technology.”
I suspect the problem is not the technology, but how it is applied. To properly apply technology to education is an art.
I mean that literally. It doesn’t work to just make every kid use the same technology, just as it doesn’t work to make every kid listen to the same lecture(1).
(1) Schools do it, because it is easy and economical. But that doesn’t make it good education.