The Pros and Cons of Computers in the Classroom
By Beck Gozdenovich

As we all know, technology is advancing everyday and we are becoming more and more dependent on it in our everyday lives. The education foundations in Sparta are really trying to push the use of technology into the classroom. At Pope John, it is suggested that each student own an iPad just for school use. Here at Sparta High School, the majority of teachers have converted to Google Classroom completely. It is up for debate whether these changes are for the better or for the worse, and there are very convincing arguments on each side.

Pros

• It makes the classroom more compact and easier to access
• Student to teacher and student to student communications have never been better
• It is easier for students to reach tools such as Google or other educational sites
• There aren't any unorganized and messy binders or notebooks to keep track of
• The environment benefits from the decrease of paper production

Cons

• Students can be easily distracted by the temptation to browse the web
• If a test is done online a student can open a new tab and cheat by searching for answers
• Putting children's information on the internet can attract possible predators
• Corrupted files can ruin a student's entire assignment or project

It is inevitable that technology will soon engulf our entire lives and everything we do will be tech-related and the question is whether or not we should give in and forget our old ways, or resist technology for the value of tradition.