What Do Students Think About Technology in School?

How do students feel about having all of this technology at their disposal, but having restricted access to it in their classrooms?  I can only imagine being in their shoes how difficult it must be at times.  I can remember when calculators were considered "new technology" and I was not allowed to use a calculator in some of my classes.  I also remember being very confused as to why I could use a calculator some of the time, but some times calculators were restricted.  Usually, there was no explanation.  Now, I see why students need to develop some math skills without calculators.  Relying too much on technology could slow down our intellectual growth if we are not careful.  However, once students acquire certain skills, technology should be incorporated into our lessons as much as reasonably possible. 

Almost all businesses require the use of new technology and expect that their employees will have working knowledge of basic technology available today.  Why are students restricted to accessing technology such as iPods, iPhones, or laptops?  Will they be prepared for the future if we continue to limit their use of technology to the once a week computer lab or daily computer use for only one subject for a few minutes?  We must ask ourselves these questions because the future of our students depend on it. 

What will math class look like in our future?  I would hope that technology will be used to its fullest potential.  Students could have access to every calculator app available on their tablets.  Assignments could be downloaded to iPods saving a ton of trees to be used as worksheets.  Textbooks could be read online or offline saving the cost of textbooks and allowing students to have more reliable up-to-date information at all times.  Students could create their own personal database of information from every math class they have had since elementary school. 

No wonder most students are disappointed at the way they are being held back from the opportunity to use the technology available to them.  I am sure I would want to take advantage of this information age as much as possible if this were my generation in school.