Education Gone Digital

Students on laptops in class using online resources.

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Students on laptops in class using online resources.

Nowadays, teachers have resources galore. They are able to use materials teachers did not have thirty years ago. For example, present-day teachers can Google search a worksheet then print it out for their class, or find enriching activities with the tap of a finger. Teachers before the 2000s had to teach students by using resources provided to them by the school and the school only. They had to create every worksheet given to students and grade every test by hand. Now, present-day teachers can get almost everything online. How does this affect schooling and the current status of education in public schools? There are a plentiful amount of positives that outweigh the negatives for online resources in schools.

Online resources are a huge time saver for most students. If a student is not able to make the commute to the class, the online resources can help them complete the work and stay on track academically. Additionally, online assistance in schools can help with the grading process. Since the student can hand assignments in faster, the teacher can return them faster.

“This ability in the modern day school to be able to look up a lesson from your phone and find other resources on the same topic… it’s incredible,” said freshman Julian Carosella.

Furthermore, Online resources in classes have helped with writing assignments, along with group projects, using the information available on the internet to create a factual product with ease. 

David Flowney
Adams students using online resources in class.

With any advancement to technology, unfortunately, there are ways people exploit and abuse it. This can relate to cheating on online assignments. In fact, between eighty to ninety-five percent of high school students have admitted to cheating. Due to the availability of modern day technologies, cheating in high school or college is much easier than it was fifteen years ago. The majority of present-day teens have smartphones, which allow them to cheat, looking up answers or using photos of previous tests. Along with that, teachers can print off copies of premade assignments from the internet, which students can find answer keys to without much trouble.

“I think that it is up to the person to have good judgment to not cheat. The fact that some students might cheat shouldn’t discourage teachers from using online resources for the convenience of it,” said sophomore Parker Vavrick.  

Overall, online resources are affecting public schooling in mostly positive ways. Access to more resources helps students in completing assignments, and helps teachers in speeding up the grading process. Additionally, the students can search online for help on school subjects they are struggling on. Therefore, online resources help students better understand material and has a positive outcome in their education.