Listen to the discussion, featuring our Associate Director for Research Kristen Purcell, on All Things Considered

Classroom 2.0

Schools across the country are spending billions on various kinds of technology for the classroom. Kristen Purcell of the the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project recently co-authored a new study on technology in the classroom. She says schools aren't just investing in computer stations and keyboards.

"What did surprise us though was the extent to which mobile tools have become part of the learning process," Purcell says. "[We found that] 73 percent of teachers that we surveyed told us that cell phones are now either part of their classroom experience, or their students' classroom experience. Tablets and e-readers are being used by more than four in 10 of these teachers."

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