Concerns about the use of technology in math class are nothing new. Calculators, the internet, and smartphones have each raised alarms that they would short-circuit students’ math learning.
Who knows, maybe even teachers of yore fretted over the abacus making their students lazy.
But as tech use in schools accelerates and new tools—think of those powered by artificial intelligence—hit the market, this tension between technology and math instruction is only poised to tighten.
So, what have we learned thus far about the do’s and don’ts of using tech in the math classroom? In a national survey, the EdWeek Research Center recently asked teachers this open-ended question: “What are some examples of how technology is used poorly to teach math?”
More than 300 responded. Below is a sample of 25 answers that capture some of the biggest themes to emerge from the responses we received. Taken together, they serve as a cautionary note for how not to use technology to teach math.
— Elementary teacher, Illinois
— Teacher, Michigan
— Elementary teacher, Louisiana
— Elementary teacher, Indiana
— Elementary teacher, California
— Elementary teacher, North Carolina
— Elementary teacher, Pennsylvania
— Middle school teacher, New York
— High school teacher, Ohio
— Elementary teacher, California
— Elementary teacher, Kansas
— Middle school teacher, Kentucky
— High school teacher, Massachusetts
— Middle school teacher, Massachusetts
— Middle school teacher, Oklahoma
— Elementary teacher, California
— Elementary teacher, Illinois
— Elementary teacher, Kansas
— Middle school teacher, North Carolina
— Elementary teacher, Michigan
— Elementary teacher, Ohio
— Elementary school teacher, Tennessee
— Elementary teacher, Illinois
— High school teacher, Pennsylvania
— Middle school teacher, California