- short-term, due to the shared nature of the room and school bell schedules;
- outside of the standard classroom setting, disrupting any continuation of learning;
- individual, usually with computers in rows on tables;
- often disconnected to other coursework in the class, due to the need to schedule computer time weeks in advance.
Every single one of these characteristics is exactly opposite of what we know about effective use of instructional technology. There is good research that shows that for educational technology to really be valuable in improving students' learning, it should be
- used regularly over a long period of time;
- embedded into students' regular class settings;
- part of students collaborating and working with each other;
- and integrated into the immediate context of the lesson or project.
For these reasons, among others, computer labs are going the way of the ditto machine and the chalk board. A much better model for integrating technology into instruction is a 1:1 or 2:1 adoption, with devices in student hands during most of the class day. Some districts are accomplishing this by purchasing devices for all students; others, including our district, have chosen the BYOD path, supplemented by Chromebooks. In either case, use of information technology should be embedded into every class period, instead of relegated to "special" days when we "go to the computer lab."
