Technology: A Help or a Handicap

Will increasing the usage of technology in the classroom be a help or handicap to students?

Technology is advancing rapidly. Almost every day there is a newer better improved version of some sort of technology being introduced. One problem facing technology in the classroom is the ignorance teacher may have on the technology and how to use it. Unless teachers are provided with professional development trainings on how to use the newest technology and incorporate it into the classroom, technology cannot begin to aid the students. Once everyone knows how to use the technology then, and only then, can it help and or handicap students. Technology is created to make things more efficient: faster, easier, and more widely accessible. Technology can act as much needed shortcuts to destinations. The con of these 'shortcuts' is when people cannot reach the destination without the shortcut. Take for example creating a works cited page. There are several programs on the internet that create citations in seconds for research papers for students which can be helpful if in a rush, but the handicapping part of that technology is when students cannot make a citation without the technology. Many students are quick to blame flaws of technology for shortcomings in the academic world. I ask you, do you think technology is helping you or handicapping you?