With American schools and education rapidly evolving, schools have been quickly adapting to these changes by focusing on educating students through technology.

Nowadays, laptops and smart boards are more frequently found in classrooms than pencils and papers. Especially since COVID-19, schools have found it much easier for students to learn electronically rather than through books and papers. When kids were sent home for the lockdown in 2020, they were expected to keep up with their school work through Canvas and other online platforms, and schools have not looked back since.

I personally think this change is great for students. The internet makes accessing information and researching so much easier and faster. Rather than searching through a seemingly endless book for one piece of information, students can easily search for what they need on Google and find countless resources to assist them in their work. Also, students can keep all of their work in one place online like Google Drive rather than storing hundreds of papers in folders and binders.

Online work is also much faster than working with a pencil and paper. Writing an essay on Google Docs or Microsoft Word takes a fraction of the time it would on paper. Typing makes it easier for students to write what they want and also to correct their mistakes and start over on ideas. If they were writing on paper, students would have to erase their work or grab a new piece of paper. 

One last reason online learning is beneficial is the built-in tools it has. Programs like Grammarly make it easy for students to write while also making sure they are not making any grammar or spelling mistakes, helping their grades. There are also resources like Quizlet, which makes studying for tests much easier than studying out of a book. Google Translate allows students in foreign language classes to learn words they are not familiar with. Turning things in on Canvas rather than in person gives students more time to work on their assignments and turn them in later in the night instead of turning them in to their teachers in person at school. These tools are all free and easy for students to access so that they can succeed in their school work.

Overall, online learning just offers more benefits and convenience to students. Pencil and paper learning has rightfully been left in the past as technology has proved to be superior.