Too often when discussing the classroom, you hear phrases like "Technology motivates students" or "Students are motivated when using technology". Bill Ferriter with SmartBlogs on Educations explains that technology can not be used to motivate students, and here's why:
In his post "Are kids really motivated by technology?", Bill Ferriter explains that technology alone cannot motivate children in the classroom because technology alone is not motivating. He explains that what motivates children are social opportunities and the idea of working new and challenging tasks. Ferriter goes to say that technology's role in the classroom should not be to motivate, it should be used a source for opportunities. After express his main thought that "finding ways to motivate students in our classrooms shouldn't start with conversations about technology", instead he goes on to explain that these conversations should be about the students and what motivates them socially and cognitively. I encourage you to read the full post here.