Does Technology Hurt?

Opinion: Giving Students IPads Undermines Conversation Skills.

In an opinion article for the Washington Post (12/3, Hall)teacher Launa Hall writes that she regrets providing her third-grade class with iPads because the devices undermined the important process of socialization and learning communication skills in the classroom. Students “stopped talking and adopted the bent-neck, plugged-in posture of tap, tap, swipe.” Hall cites research by Sherry Turkle indicating that the presence of phones detracts from students’ conversation skills and a study by the OECD finding that, “Students who use computers very frequently at school do a lot worse in most learning outcomes.”