Parents recognise the benefits of using technology in the classroom, but many struggle to understand the devices themselves.
That's the findings of British research carried out by retailer John Lewis, which has held technology clinics with parents and teachers to bridge the digital divide between the younger generation who have grown up with smartphones and tablets, and those who didn't.
According to the survey, 41 per dent of parents admitted that they did not fully understand how technology is used in the classroom, but 69 per cent said they felt their children's progress at school had improved thanks to technology.
Drew Buddie, senior vice-chairman at Naace, the association for the UK's education technology community said: "The use of mobile digital technologies in the classroom might be largely unfamiliar to parents, but the benefits can be huge.
"It's not about just shifting traditional lessons onto screens - it's about allowing pupils to make use of their devices to truly enhance their learning while giving teachers better ways to track individual achievement and personalise lessons.
"It's certainly different from what today's mums and dads did in school, but it's also not as complicated as they might think.
"Children have always benefited from their parents' support on school work, so by learning about the technology involved in today's lessons they can help their child get even more out of it."
The aim of the classes, which involve a maths lesson using iPads, is to show parents how technology is being used in the classroom, so that they can make better decisions when it comes to buying devices for their children. One of the apps used in the clinics has also been developed by teachers.
Matt Leeser, head of buying for communications technology at John Lewis said: "The classroom of 2014 provides students with a very different experience to when I was at school.
"Whether it's studying maths using a tablet app or streaming videos to research a new assignment, innovative technology is giving pupils more interactive and engaging lessons that foster both independent and collaborative learning.
"The research shows that parents understand the benefits, but can struggle to relate to an experience that's so different from their own school days. They don't always know which products will be best, or where they can turn for advice."
"As the back-to-school season peaks during the two weeks around the Bank Holiday weekend, we're predicting that we'll sell a computing device every 20 seconds," he said.
According to statistics from industry experts CCS Insights, more than 14 million tablets will be sold in the UK in 2014.
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