The computer can also help students work more efficiently. It can help the students see the connections between real-world work and the content that they are learning. Before we had computers there were very few good points of contact between what is most fundamental and engaging in mathematics and anything firmly planted in everyday life. Computers can be used as a tool to make these connections, helping the students' capacity to capture, store, manipulate, manage, and reflect on the information in front of them. The computer can do some of the tedious things for the students, so that they are free to make higher-order conceptual connections within the content of their projects.
Students learn to use the tools which are most appropriate for the task they are doing.
Students learn that various tools give them more or less precision. Project-based learning environments can go a long way in helping students see the utility of tools, and learn to choose the right tool for the right job.