Ever since Covid-19, there have been more opportunities to use technology to enhance the way students learn, and the way that teachers are able to inform them. Still, some people wonder if electronics are truly beneficial to students or if it can cause more harm than good. At Greenwood High School, both teachers and students had opinions on this.
Most students love the idea of getting to work on electronics, and most teachers do as well. Some students, though, think that working on electronics has harmful effects as well. When students do work on chrome books there is more room for distraction while on paper there isn’t. Reese Noall said, “Yes, on a Chrome book you can switch tabs and become distracted, but you can’t just switch tabs on paper.” Some teachers also say that they think using electronics can be a distraction to kids. Mrs. Terry says, “Kids in 1st block come in and have to charge Chrome books,…” She says that this wastes time from her class having to wait for them to charge. While most say that this is the right way to think about electronics in classrooms, Owen Adams says, “I think if students have a certain level of self-control, then it’s not as much of a problem,” This is so true, and is so helpful to keep in mind when you are given the opportunity to use computers, or when you give certain kids the chance to use a chrome book responsibly.
Most teachers use both electronics and paper in their classrooms but prefer one or the other. For example, Mrs. Terry teaches a language class, Spanish, she says that for her using chrome books isn’t a must because they are mainly just learning to speak and write in that language. Other classes like English, Algebra, and Biology, are “easier” to do when done on computers. It also saves time for teachers to share the material with students, and doesn’t use as much paper.
Paper though has proven that it can be used in almost every situation. Many students like Maya Leedy, say, “I’ve just always learned better writing things down,” It has also been proven that when you write things down, you are able to process and remember it better than you could if you just typed it. The Learning Agency Lab says, “Psychology research and learning experts suggest writing things down leads to better learning. Notes are helpful, sure – but the act of writing makes information stick in your memory.” Teachers also think, especially for group projects, that doing it on paper instead of on computers is better because of the design aspect, grading is easier, and they feel like students get more out of the project when they do it hands-on.
Overall, there are many benefits to both using computers, and using paper, but they also both have their struggles. It just depends on who is teaching, what they are doing, and what that person prefers.