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technology initiatives are implemented more frequently in schools. New technologies are often
lauded as the key to increased student engagement and achievement and are rolled out at the
district level without full consideration being given to the needs of students and teachers in
factors that must already be in place in a classroom in order for the technology to be effective:
the people and their intentions and needs. All technology, no matter how large or powerful, is
both created and used by people, and an educational technology initiative can only benefit
students if the human factors within the classroom the students, the teacher, and the student-
teacher relationship are the main consideration in developing curriculum and selecting
tools in the classroom should not be used simply for the purpose of using technology; rather,
technology should only be used when using technology serves the learning goal more effectively
the classroom. This study involved students and teachers at a middle school in the northwestern
United States. The school had a one-to-one laptop program for its 237 students in the 7th and 8th
grades. Lei used student surveys and interviews of both teachers and students in order to
examine the association between the amount and type of technology use and various student
outcomes, including GPA, technological proficiency, and student development. From the
analysis of 133 student surveys, 9 student interviews, and 9 teacher interviews, Lei found several
significant results. Most notably, there was no significant association with the quantity of
technology use and students GPA. This result is an important reminder to teachers,
administrators, and school district leaders that requiring students to spend more time using
HUMAN FACTORS IN THE CLASSROOM 3
technology does not automatically lead to higher student achievement. In the language of
Postman (1995), making technology our god of education is a mistake: although technology can
contribute greatly to student achievement when implemented appropriately and effectively, the
technology itself is not the cornerstone of student success. On the contrary, technology
initiatives that merely emphasize rolling out new technology as soon as it becomes available are
new technology does not merely add something; it changes everything (p.192). Bringing a new
technology into the classroom can completely alter the learning experience for students. This
transformation of the learning experience may be positive for all students in some cases, but
Postman emphasizes the idea that every change likely diminishes learning for at least one student
and perhaps for many students. For this reason, technology should only be selected and
implemented when it is the best choice to serve the learning goal, not when it is the appealing
new approach. Wagner (2012) argues unfettered access to technology doesnt cause learning
any more than does unfettered access to textbooks (p.12): in other words, providing students
with a plethora of technological tools does not on its own result in better learning, but many
schools make the mistake of equating time spent using technology with inherently better or
deeper learning. The quality of technology use is far more important than the number of tools
being used or the number of hours that students spend using them, so educators should always
between students GPA and technology use for entertainment and exploration purposes. When
students use of technology primarily served the purpose of play, their GPA tended to be lower.
Toyama (2015) introduces the Law of Amplification with regard to technology: technology will
HUMAN FACTORS IN THE CLASSROOM 4
amplify the human forces and intentions that are already present. If students existing goal is to
play, providing them with technology will amplify this goal and allow them to spend more time
doing so. As a result, the students will spend less time devoted to educational purposes (both out
of a lack of desire and a lack of time remaining after carrying out their entertainment goals). The
main implication for educators is the importance of establishing specific educational goals and
creating a culture in the classroom that supports those goals prior to providing students with
technology. Toyama asserts its the schools that work hard to maintain a strong learning culture,
whose faculty and parents make important decisions together, and that put their educational goals
first in making technology decisions exactly the schools with strong heart, mind, and will that
technologys power optimally amplifies (2015, p.121). The technology on its own cannot solve
the problems of a school; in fact, if a school is already struggling with student achievement or
disciplinary problems, bringing in a new technology will more likely compound the issues rather
than improve them. Schools must consider their pre-existing culture prior to implementing new
technology, as the new technology will amplify this culture whether it is positive or negative.
Because technology results in positive outcomes only where positive, capable human forces are
already in place (Toyama, 2015, p.54), improved student learning will result only from
technology implementations within schools and classrooms that have established specific
technology use which had a significantly negative association with students technological
proficiency. These results support Wagners (2012) claim that we have to produce more ideas
to solve more different kinds of problems (p.2). Spending disproportionate amounts of time on
individual subject-specific technologies allows students to become experts on specific tools, but
HUMAN FACTORS IN THE CLASSROOM 5
in the rapidly advancing world of technology, tools quickly become obsolete. What will never
become obsolete are critical thinking skills the higher-level skills that allow someone to
analyze a complex problem from multiple perspectives and to propose new solutions. When
teachers use technology in the classroom, it is more important to focus on transferrable skills that
students can apply to various technologies than it is to devote significant amounts of time to one
or two tools that likely will not stand the test of time. Toyama also advocates for educators
teaching critical thinking skills rather than teaching students to use digital tools (2015, p.13), as
critical thinking skills have enduring value for students in their future, whereas proficiency with
a particular technological tool might be useless after even a couple of years. This focus on
critical thinking does not preclude educators from implementing technology and doing so
thinking skills, but the technology must serve the larger educational goal of increasing students
Frenzel, Goetz, Ldtke, Pekrun, and Sutton (2009) propose that student-perceived teacher
enthusiasm is a mediating factor for teacher enjoyment of teaching mathematics and student
enjoyment of learning mathematics. Frenzel et al. (2009) examined 1,763 7th and 8th grade
students and 71 teachers in Germany in a longitudinal study that used two time points: at the end
of the students 7th and 8th grade years. The researchers found that teachers enthusiasm in the
classroom was positively linked to student enjoyment of learning, and they concluded that
teacher and student enjoyment deserve more attention in educational research because of their
contribution to the quality of learning. While student achievement provides a glimpse into
effective teaching practices, student enjoyment of learning is often overlooked by our obsession
HUMAN FACTORS IN THE CLASSROOM 6
with data. Toyama notes not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that
counts can be counted (p.92). It may be easier to measure student achievement than student
enjoyment, as the latter is largely a self-reported construct, but enjoyment of learning can lead to
passions that Wagner (2012) describes as evolving into purpose. The joy of learning that
students can discover in the classroom after finding inspiration in a passionate teacher can
ultimately lead students to discover a purpose to pursue in their lives. Wagner also believes that
the necessary skills and habits of mind for innovation including curiosity, imagination, and
perseverance, among many others can be nurtured, taught, and mentored (2012, p.16). If
teachers allow students to see their enthusiasm for teaching and learning, students can learn from
their teachers habits of mind and will intuitively incorporate them into their own habits of mind
students emotional experience in the classroom, and although it is not a direct result of their
study they hypothesize that emotionally positive classrooms are likely to be successful
classrooms. When teachers are excited about the material they are teaching, their enthusiasm can
be contagious. Frenzel et al. (2009) found that students noticed when teachers were enthusiastic
about the content and about teaching in general, and students enjoyment of learning
mathematics increased. Although these researchers did not examine the role of educational
technology in the classroom, Toyama (2015)s Law of Amplification would support the assertion
teacher whose students had latched onto that enthusiasm and passion for learning the
technology would amplify the enthusiasm and would lead to deeper student learning.
A critical prerequisite for the results of the Frenzel et al. (2009) study is the students
ability to recognize teachers enthusiasm. This study seems to take for granted students ability
HUMAN FACTORS IN THE CLASSROOM 7
to read the teachers emotions, but Turkle (2015) argues that we, as a society, are losing the
ability to understand others feelings because of our increased interactions with screens instead of
faces. Turkle contends that we are losing our capacity for empathy. The results of the Frenzel et
al. study illustrate the importance of students ability to recognize teacher enthusiasm: it is
directly linked to the students own enjoyment of learning mathematics. In order to ensure that
students are able to perceive their teachers enthusiasm, teachers must not only be enthusiastic
about teaching but also must provide students with opportunities to develop their capacity for
empathy. Especially with the growing prevalence of educational technology in the classroom,
teachers must strive to keep conversation and relationships at the heart of the classroom
experience. It is essential for students to have face-to-face conversations with their teachers and
their peers so they can learn to be vulnerable and to create bonds with other people (Turkle,
2015, p.9). While Turkle does not claim that we should eliminate technology in the classroom,
she would encourage teachers and other educators to use classroom technology in moderation
and to provide our students with opportunities to engage in deep conversation with the teacher
are the results of Putmans (2016) study examining the literacy achievement of students using
technology as opposed to traditional teacher instruction. Putman explored a literacy tool called
Istation that is used by over 4 million students in the United States. Putnam sought to determine
whether Istation promoted early literacy achievement and whether it could serve as a Vygotskian
students from 12 kindergarten classes in two districts in the southern United States. The first
district already required Istation as a component of its literacy instruction for students. The
second district integrated technology into the curriculum but primarily used a more traditional
HUMAN FACTORS IN THE CLASSROOM 8
literacy curriculum with its students. The results of the study showed that Istation had a
statistically significant effect in early students, benefitting students greatly in the areas of hearing
and recording sounds and of letter sound knowledge. Putman noted though that these skill areas
involved lower-level literacy skills and processing abilities. For the higher-level literacy skills
such as concepts about print, reading comprehension, and overall reading level, the students who
performed the highest were those whose teacher provided high-level literacy support. These
results indicate that Istation can be an effective technological tool for drill and practice purposes,
different learning experience than students who received instruction from teachers. Students
who used Istation learned in isolation with headphones and did not speak with other people.
Students who learned with teachers participated in many social interactions with both the teacher
and their peers. Turkle (2015) advocates for conversation and human interaction as essential
components to healthy development and would warn teachers against choosing technologies that
isolate students from one another. Although teachers are under pressure to differentiate
instruction to meet individual students needs and allow students to self-pace, Putmans results
and Turkles advocacy for conversation support the need for balanced use of technology and
face-to-face interactions in the classroom. Postman (1995) would also caution against the
Faustian bargain of using technology in isolation. Postman argues that all technological change
involves some level of disadvantage (1995, p.192), and in the case of the first school district in
the Putman study students who rely primarily on Istation for literacy instruction are being
deprived of the opportunity to discuss ideas with their teacher and peers in order to develop a
deeper understanding of the meaning of what they are reading. Teachers should not fear
HUMAN FACTORS IN THE CLASSROOM 9
technology and eliminate it entirely, but it is essential for students to have time to interact with
While the Istation program provided feedback to students and was adaptive to students needs
based on their responses, it could not provide the level of flexibility or responsiveness that the
teacher could provide. On the contrary, students who received direct teacher support benefitted
from teachers improvisational decisions about how to adapt the learning experience for the
students. The teachers were able to draw on their knowledge of their students needs
(collectively and individually) and tailor the lesson to those needs in the moment. The Istation
software was not able to provide students with the same experience.
The teachers in the Putman study were also able to vary the types of learning experiences
instruction about reading. The teachers often talked about their own reading strategies aloud,
which gave students a glimpse into the way they should think and the questions they should ask
themselves as they read. Turkle says conversations with a good teacher communicate that
learning isnt all about the answers. Its about what the answers mean (2015, p.8). She also
emphasizes the irreplaceable opportunity students are offered when they watch a teacher in front
of a classroom: the opportunity to watch something think, boring bits and all. That teacher is a
model for how thinking happens, including false starts and hindsight (2015, pp.48-49).
Students learn to think by observing how their teachers think. They also learn that mistakes are
expected and acceptable, and they can persevere through perceived failures. Although Istation
can let students know when their answers are correct, it cannot tell them why those answers
matter. The teacher is the key factor in students learning to draw meaning from what they read
Finally, Putmans results highlight the influence of the emotional bond and connection of
social interactions with teachers and peers while learning their literacy skills were observed to be
frequently smiling and laughing (Putman, 2016) and were likely enjoying the learning
experience with their teacher (Frenzel et al., 2009). The experience of interacting with the
teacher and peers in the classroom allows students to enjoy learning and to feel comfortable and
safe while doing so. The individual attention from the teacher also shows students that they are
noticed and cared for something that even a responsive software program cannot provide.
Children learn empathy by observing the efforts of others to be empathic toward them (Turkle,
2015, p.117), so students are learning to care for other people when their teachers take the time
to interact with them and help them to understand what they are learning. By developing
students capacity for empathy at a young age through the student-teacher relationship and peer-
to-peer relationships, students will have a more developed self-awareness that will allow them to
extend their desire to help others to their larger communities and ideally to the world.
Improvements in intention, discernment, and self-control allow a person to act not just in
pursuit of pressing, self-focused, short-term needs, but also toward longer-term outcomes that
may enhance others well-being (Toyama, 2015, p.165), so students who learn to care for others
are ultimately able to serve the world: they are able to develop a purpose.
The root of the desire to help others and to solve challenging problems may begin with
young students like the kindergarteners in Putmans study who either learn literacy skills in
isolation wearing headphones front of a screen or while experiencing rich social interaction with
their peers under the guidance of their teacher. The difference between the two extremes is not
HUMAN FACTORS IN THE CLASSROOM 11
in the presence or absence of technology, but rather in the appropriate balance of technology and
face-to-face interaction. There are some skills that students can learn more effectively with
technology and others that require empathy and in-person connections. Our task as educators
and especially as educational technology leaders is to choose technological tools that serve our
educational goals in effective ways. The quality of the technology use in the classroom should
always take priority over the quantity of tools or the time spent using them (Lei, 2010). We must
strive to nurture students growth in the areas of critical thinking and of empathy for others.
Technology can be a component in the curriculum that achieves these educational goals, but
technology in isolation cannot fully serve the needs of the human beings who enter our
classrooms. Our students need teachers to care for them, to be excited to see them every day, to
be enthusiastic about teaching, to show them that it is ok to fail, and to teach them how to
persevere through struggles. While teachers can and should use technology to enhance students
learning in many ways, technology cannot replace the critical role of the teacher in the
classroom.
HUMAN FACTORS IN THE CLASSROOM 12
References
Frenzel, A. C., Goetz, T., Ldtke, O., Pekrun, R., & Sutton, R. E. (2009). Emotional transmission
technology use and student outcomes. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(3),
455-472.
Postman, Neil. (1995). The end of education: Redefining the value of school. New York: Alfred
A. Knopf.
Putman, R.S. (2016). Technology versus teachers in the early literacy classroom: an investigation
York: PublicAffairs.
Turkle, Sherry (2015). Reclaiming conversation: The power of talk in the digital age. New York:
Penguin Press.
Wagner, Tony (2012). Creating innovators: The making of young people who will change the