Tech in the Classroom: Helping or Hurting?

Are advancements in technology helping or hurting American schools? A new survey of more than 2,400 Advanced Placement and National Writing Project teachers found that digital technologies provide a boost to middle and high school learning, but the Internet, mobile phones, and social media also bring new challenges to educators.

More than 90 percent of teachers polled by the Pew Research Center said the Web has a "major impact" on their ability to access content, resources, and materials for teaching, and a majority admit the same thing about sharing ideas with other teachers and interacting with parents and students.

Meanwhile, 75 percent said digital tools add new, unwanted demands — specifically, providing additional technology for them to understand and use. About 41 percent also feel pressured to work harder to be an effective teacher.

"Digital technologies have become essential instructional tools for the vast majority of teachers in this study," Kristen Purcell, associate director for research at the Pew Internet Project, said in a statement. "Yet, not all teachers feel that they and their students have the access they need to these tools or the resources necessary to use them effectively."

That's especially true for those kids who grow up in lower-class areas, without the luxuries of home computers, mobile phones, and personal tablets. According to Pew, only 50 percent of teachers working in the lowest income areas agreed that their school does a good job of providing digital resources, compared to 70 percent of those in the highest income areas. A majority of those struggling educators called the lack of access to technology is a "major challenge."

"Teachers whose students are from the lowest income households feel they are at a disadvantage when it comes to using the internet and other digital tools such as cell phones, tablet computers and e-readers to enhance the learning process," Purcell said.

Other Pew Research findings include generational differences in how teachers experience the impact of technology in their professional lives (those under the age of 35 are more likely than teachers 55 and older to feel confident when it comes to using new digital tools) and concerns over the teacher's use of technology versus their students'.

Additionally, while the survey found that AP and NWP educators actually outpace the general adult population in almost all measures of personal tech use, 42 percent still feel like they are lagging behind their students' knowledge.

"The Internet is changing the very nature of how teachers engage in their profession and collaborate with one another," Judy Buchanan, deputy director of the National Writing Project and co-author of the report, said in a statement.

"Because of the internet, today's educators have access to a wealth of resources and material," she said. "The key moving forward is to ensure that all educators have equal access to the vast resources available online, and the encouragement and training to use them in groundbreaking ways."

The report comes the same day that Apple iTunes U, home to free educational content, topped one billion downloads.