Schools in 2025 are significantly different from the educational system back in the early 2000s. Not in just educational standards but in how we learn in of itself. Before we would use textbooks and notebooks, while we still do that there’s a shift taking place. Now there are online textbooks and digital note-taking apps. Instead of stacks of books on desks, chromebooks replace their spots.
Is the Digital Age something that belongs in classrooms? Unsurprisingly this topic is very heavily debated, as it directly affects the future of the nation. People against the technology in the classroom, at least to the extent that it seems to be heading in, say that technology almost dehumanizes students. The reason for this belief is that now students are electronic boxes to check off for attendance, progress metrics and to be tracked throughout the school (Stanford). Especially following the pandemic the reliance on technology has only deepened. It’s not only in education that it is being applied, but in the school itself, within the lunch lines and bathroom passes, more recently, technology has begun to the point where it’s only a matter of time before physical learn and documentation is obsolete.
Are these people right? In some ways yes they are, the parts of a school that make it great is the human to human learning. Many students agree that the learning with online and in-person is a completely different experience. When all of the students came back from quarantine is was strange to be learning with a teacher in front of you again, the major difference being you actually retained information and could learn, at least better than online.
Does this mean technology belongs in school? In the same way technology has helped streamline daily life it too helps with making education less difficult to manage. Many teachers used to have filing cabinets full of lesson plans and homework but now they have all that on the cloud. Nowadays with a few clicks an assignment can be assigned based on period and the type of class from AP, standard, and even totally different classes that teachers. With technology students can do an entires day of work by switching tabs and submitting assignments through school apps, with no need for teachers to wait to grading the next day. Some assignments can even self-grade making the school work experience better for teachers and students.
In the end, as with other things it seems that balance is the best choice for technology in schools moving forward. Rather than eliminate the need for schools by going online 100% or eliminating technology 100% going back to the old ways of teaching, the balance of having technology as a companion to the classroom experience will not only improve the quality of education but make it simpler for both teachers and students to participate in the school system.
