Personal electronic devices such as smartphones and tablet computers can be easily hidden from teachers, enabling students to text and play games when they should be learning. Students using classroom electronics may also be distracted by games, social networking and online chatting. A 2012 Pew Research Center study found that the frequent use of electronics may be contributing to a culture of distraction. Eighty-seven percent of teachers say electronics are creating easily distracted students and may be undermining their ability to do research when they don't get instant answers.
Cyberbullying, texting during class and inappropriate social networking content can all create discipline problems. One student could bully another via text without a teacher even noticing. Further, classroom electronics require teachers to carefully monitor students to ensure they're not secretly using electronic devices when they should be doing something else. For this reason, many schools have banned personal electronic devices in the classroom.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, electronics in the classroom can increase student motivation and desire to learn. Rather than being passive recipients of information, students actively engage with and seek out information, which can make learning fun and education more effective. The Department of Education also reports that classroom electronics may improve student self-esteem, which can further propel the motivation to learn.
Electronic devices can make learning easier for students with a wide variety of learning styles. Auditory learners, for example, can listen to web-based lectures, while students who need to experience things firsthand to learn can watch videos of science experiments or research how to do the experiments themselves. Students who are adept with technology can direct their own learning, picking the learning modality that works best for them. Teachers may also gain more ideas for how to teach challenging subjects.