My students love using tablets.

Almost every time I walk into the classroom, someone asks:

“Teacher, are we using tablets today?”

At first, I did not think much about it. Tablets were simply another tool I could use in class.

However, after hearing the question again and again—even from some of my higher-performing students—I started to feel a strange pressure.

I wondered if students would be disappointed when I said no.

The interesting part is that using tablets makes teaching easier sometimes.

Students become quiet. They are focused. The classroom feels much calmer.

Honestly, it can feel like a win-win situation.

But I still hesitate.

If students only come to English class because they can play a game on a tablet, then what exactly are they learning?

When Tablets Help Students Participate

One example still stays in my mind.

I remember a lower-performing student who usually did not even bring his English textbook to class.

During a Blooket activity, he wanted a higher score badly enough to borrow a textbook from another student and search for the vocabulary he needed.

Did he remember those words afterward?

I don’t know. Based on his later test results, probably not.

But that moment still mattered to me.

This was a student who usually did not even open his textbook. During that activity, he found a reason to participate in the same English activity as everyone else.

Even if the learning outcome was unclear, I could see that he was trying.

That is the part that makes tablets difficult for me to judge.

When Tablets Become a Distraction

The problem appears when I need students to stop using them.

When I ask students to put their hands away from the tablets and listen to an explanation, some students struggle to stop touching the screen.

Their eyes stay on the device. Some students continue clicking even when I am speaking.

Of course, I can stop and remind them.

But if I have to interrupt the lesson every time someone cannot leave the screen alone, the class becomes difficult to continue.

This is why I have mixed feelings about tablets.

They can create motivation, but they can also compete with my instruction.

Different Students, Different Relationships with Technology

I also had the opportunity to observe students at Taipei European School.

Their students used tablets frequently, but the classroom atmosphere was completely different.

Students were able to put their devices away when the teacher was explaining. They used technology as a tool to complete tasks, research information, and practice skills.

The technology itself was not the problem.

The difference was how students used it.

Seeing that made me think more carefully about when I should bring tablets into my own classroom.

My Current Answer

I still use tablets.

I think they can be helpful when the activity has a clear purpose and students are able to focus on the learning goal.

However, I do not want students to like English class only because they can play Blooket.

At the same time, I cannot ignore the student who normally avoided English but decided to borrow a textbook because a game gave him a reason to participate.

So I still do not have a perfect answer.

I am not sure how often is too often.

I just know that “students like it” is not enough reason for me to use technology.

The question I keep asking myself is:

Are students excited because they are learning, or are they excited because they are playing?

I am still trying to find the balance.