The virtual experience has changed the high school experience, and not all of it has been for the good.

We have the option to take part in online school. It is not just credit recovery, but some students are taking their whole school experience to online learning. Online learning is the fastest-growing market in the education industry.

Learning at home instead of learning in-person is a lot different and not worth it. Online learning is not an effective way to learn because there are a lot more distractions when learning online like family and other electronics. Learning in a school is also better because when we are learning from teachers we have people to hold us accountable. In-person learning increases the learning process because teachers can teach subjects so much faster than the virtual experience — actually teach and not merely cover the information.

When learning in person, we also get to interact with people and learn people skills. High school is so much more than just classes. PowerHour, dances, sports and so much more make up our high school experience. Why would anyone want to miss that?

AI is another big change that the virtual experience has given to the high school experience. It has given us a distraction, and too many use it to do work for them. AI can also have a lot of bias when we are using it. AI can be good if used to critique something written or provide ideas, but using it to complete an entire assignment is not the way to go.

One of the ways that the virtual experience has changed high school is social media. Social media has become most of our main news source, which is dangerous with so many influencers offering mis-information to get us to buy things or to make us agree with them on topics. Social media is distracting, and we spend hours a day on it. Our time management is affected by the hours we spend.

A positive way that the virtual experience has changed the high school experience is by giving us new study strategies. Websites like Quizlet help us actually study with flashcards and practice tests. Also, we can use educational videos to help us when we are stuck.

Technology provides instant accessibility to information, which is why its presence in the classroom is so important.
Although there is some good and some bad, it is safe to say that it has changed the high school experience forever.