Despite what students may think, there are two different approaches to teaching. There is the teacher-centered classroom, in which the focus is on the teacher and his teaching, and there is the learner-centered classroom, where the focus is on the learner learning, i.e. the student participating more in the learning process. Students in a learner-centered classroom benefit when a teacher takes advantage of new technology.

Significance
In a learner-centered classroom, instead of the teacher focusing on getting through the curriculum, he focuses on whether or not the students are learning the curriculum. The teacher teaches at a pace commensurate with the students' ability to learn.

Expert Insight
The learner-centered classroom is all about the learning and not about the teaching. According to Dr. Michael Woods of Michigan State, "learner-centered approaches to teaching provide learners with an opportunity to think at higher levels of cognition and make learning a more transformative experience."

Importance of Technology
Because of technological advances, many schools are bringing technology into the classroom. Computers, touch-screen SMART Boards, projectors, closed-circuit television, special teaching software and online courses are being used to teach technologically-savvy kids.

When a teacher uses a Smart Board (or other technology) in a learner-centered classroom, students' eyes light up. A majority of today's children are visual learners, and Smart Boards take a flat, one-dimensional lesson and turn it into an interactive lesson the student can actually see with his eyes and touch with his hands.

Considerations
Computers and computer programs are made to be used by a single person. Word processing software does not rush the user through the program.

Effects
When a learner-centered classroom introduces an individually-focused piece of technology like a computer, it accelerates the learning process. The computer enables each student to process the information better. The reason many online classes are so successful is because students aren't rushed through the curriculum. Instead, they learn as they go. And at test time they are more confident in their ability to recall what they've learned.

Technology in learner-centered classrooms has given students more opportunities to succeed in an academic setting. By giving students the ability to interact with it, technology is providing a new generation with the keys to success.