Abhinav Anthati

The laptop of a student at Pleasant Valley High School.

Technology gives students greater access to information and class resources, and it allows students to express their creativity. Additionally, technology benefits teachers by allowing them to maximize class productivity but poses an increased risk of plagiarism.

Many teachers post their assignments and materials with online platforms like Google Classroom and Canvas. With nearly constant internet access, students can complete their online assignments and check for upcoming assignments anywhere. “I prefer having assignments and resources posted online rather than carrying around loads of paper in folders,” said junior Vrayas Pila.

The power of modern technology flourishes with writing assignments. “I prefer online assignments, especially for assignments that require a lot of writing because it is easier to go back and change or correct parts of what I wrote,” said senior Himanshu Jangid. Not only are online assignments easier to edit, but students can type much faster than they can write allowing them to complete assignments quicker.

Additionally, students increase their creativity in their classwork with tools such as Google Slides and Canva. These resources encourage students to use different mediums to promote their extracurricular activities and aid in-class presentations.

Modern technology also augments teacher productivity. Using projectors in the classroom allows teachers to dedicate less instructional time to writing down information and spend more time working with their students. Many teachers opt to prewrite lessons and reuse slideshows from year to year with minor changes.

With many classes such as Calculus I and II requiring textbooks, teachers are opting to use online PDF versions of textbooks, saving students weight and space in their backpacks. Online textbooks also allow students to access materials anytime and anywhere.

However, despite these advancements in the classroom, detrimental consequences of technological abuse have emerged. Online assignments have opened the doors to cheating on assignments by plagiarizing answers from Google or generative AI tools. “As a hardworking student, I have no respect for those who decide to use AI for school assignments,” stated Jangid.

The use of AI tools by students lengthens the grading process for teachers as they must check for AI in student work. Also, these AI detectors are at times faulty and not as accurate as desired by teachers.

Implementing modern technology in school has proved advantageous for students and teachers alike. Nonetheless, there are still some ways students can exploit this technology, but with time and effort, these methods can be permanently eliminated. Technology overall succeeds in increasing the quality of education that students receive.