TECHNOLOGY has helped students during their education for many years.

From pocket electronic calculators to computers and the internet, schoolchildren are now more advanced than ever before.

An East Lancashire college is taking technology even further by allowing students to use modern day iPads during lessons in a new iLearn lab.

IT experts at St Mary's College, Blackburn, believe the scheme will make lessons more fun and help improve their learning.

Students will be able to download ‘apps’ to gain access to a wealth of data at the touch of a screen.

It follows the move by some schools nationally who have started to phase out the use of writing materials in favour of computer learning.

But some critics fear technology is being overused by young people who already spend many hours on their games consoles and computers at home.

They are worried children are becoming over-reliant on tools such as spellchecker instead of looking up words themselves in a dictionary.

The use of technology in schools is a good thing if it can help students attain higher marks and progress into further education.

But basic skills such as handwriting and spelling must be taught in schools to enhance skills.