It seams the research is in! Incorporating ICT into other Subjects has been found to be strong motivators for students and can help keep them on task (Becta 2003).  

Contrary to popular belief ICT was not found to prevent students working things out themselves  (Resnick, 2006) instead it was found to increase the time they spent on academic pursuits outside the classroom and to broaden their knowledge. Students were also found to take more care writing drafts and gained self-confidence from the higher quality of work produced with the aid of spell-check and publishing programs.  This provides more examples of the need to integrate subjects and to increase use of technology as a tool rather than a stand-alone subject.

What the research says about ICT and motivation
Becta (2003). What the research says about ICT and motivation
http://www.becta.org.uk/page_documents/research/wtrs_motivation.pdf

I have just finished reading Computer as a paintbrush(2006) and found it a very fascinating reading. Today in schools there is a lot of focus on computers as an exact method or as a branch of science, but this article inspired me to think about computer learning in a new light, as a creative endeavour almost like an art.

The author strongly believes in the use of technologies that can challenge children’s thinking and get them to work creatively in a fun and playful manner. It also looks at the negative technologies which are pre-programmed to elicit a certain response and require no (or little) interaction from children such as the TV. As I teacher I believe it is important to be able to recognize the difference to be able to get the most out of technology based learning.

I strongly agreed with any attempt to move computer based learning from the realms of simply publishing word documents and internet research to a creative and exploratory medium with a strong emphasis on fun and meaningful learning.

Published in:

Singer, D., Golikoff, R., and Hirsh-Pasek, K. (eds.), Play = Learning: How play motivates and enhances children’s cognitive and social-emotional growth. Oxford University Press. 2006. Computer as Paintbrush: Technology, Play, and the Creative Society. Mitchel Resnick. MIT Media Laboratory

In the article Listening to the Natives, (2005) Prensky Looks at the gap between students that are born in the digital age, who he calls digital natives (2001) and teachers (and parents)  who often are  ‘digital immigrants’ .  Part of the solution to bridging this gap includes collaborative learning on the teachers part and teachers changing their mindset about the purpose of education and how we learn.

Also we must listen to the students and teach in a way that caters to how they want to learn. I think we could take this further than just being about technology, if students interests and learning styles (including how they happily learn and explore out of school hours) were considered in all subject areas we would have students wanting to learn and readily engaged in school. That’s where schools need to be heading in the future.