Why would a K-8 student want to use technology for learning?

I sat down with 7 year old Sawyer, a first grader at St. Joseph Catholic School. I asked her how she felt about technology and how it could help her learn. 

"I love using my tablet for my homework. If I don't know how to spell a word, I speak into my tablet and ask it how to spell something. My mom always tells me to look it up in a dictionary, but if I don't know what letter it starts with, then I will never find it. I can also draw on my tablet and make art. Art class is my favorite. Sometimes my teacher assigns us homework to do on the computer and it's really fun. Its not boring and there's normally music that plays with it. During class time, my teacher will use this big white borad that is touch screen. We play fun games on there and I learn stuff too."

Sawyer is just learning how to read and she loves to read along with her tablet. She said that it feels like shes not even learning sometimes because its so fun. I wasn't shocked with anything she told me about how she learns because I know the way teachers teach is much more different than when I was in school. We didn't get smartboards until I entered high school. I can only imagine how much these kids are learning with technology. It allows them to open up different methods of learning and most of the students know how to use this technology better than the teachers. 

Technology is advancing so quickly it's impossible to imagine how this will change the classroom and the way we teach. It's still important for students to learn from textbooks, but those textbooks could be avaible online now. Some schools give each student a tablet or laptop and that's their textbook. They have their world of learning at their fingertips. Teachers can utilize all this technology in so many different ways. Students can conduct a lesson to their peers with this interactive technology. It allows for students to learn in a way they know best. We have to grow with the times and changing the ways in which we teach is crucial to helping these kids learn more effectively and efficiently.