What comes to mind when someone says 21st century America? Most people would describe a society filled with rapid technological advancements and immense growth. Is this technology good for society? Is it really benefiting us? Education has been impacted drastically over the years by technology. New tools such as Google classroom, TestNav, and Google drive have changed how students learn. Although these new innovations seem helpful and beneficial to students, in reality, they are stunting their academic growth. Students would not benefit from being able to attend classes from home through online or video conferencing because it would be too expensive to implement, it takes away from the school experience, and it gives students less motivation to do schoolwork.

Every county in the country is not as rich as Generic_City. Approximately 54% of students studying in the US, don't have access to technology every day. Growing up in the richest county in the United States, I have seen first hand what technology has done to the education system. In areas of the nation where people can barely afford to have three meals a day and a roof over their head, how can we expect them to buy these expensive technologies? For them, just getting an education is an accomplishment. Those areas can't pay teachers and pay for technologies for students to use. Most of these new developments need connection in order to be effective. So with the addition of computers and other devices for video calls or online classrooms, comes the need for proper wifi and service. People in these impoverished areas are not going to prioritize fancy education over their general well being. In Generic_City, around 12,000 dollars is spent on each student, while other parts of the country barely get 2000 dollars. It is simply unfeasible to have new technologies put in place all over the country.

School is much more than just education. Social skills, learning how to be independent, and responsibility are all taught at school as well. By going digital, students are prohibited from socializing and learning other new skills. These new skills are needed when going to the workplace and pretty much in every day life. Having video calls and online lessons has a domino effect on other aspects of students lives. Students wont get to go see friends every day, it will be hard for them to form relationships, and limits physical exercise. At least when they are in school they have to walk around and do some exercise, but none of that gets done while sitting behind a screen. If students do really need help with schoolwork, there are free online tools such as Khan Academy that can assist them with their learning. Most students who excel in school put in extra time after school to study. So going to normal school and then having these online tools available would be beneficial for students. The implementation of online teaching and video calls has a far greater impact than just academics.

Technology is more of a distraction to students than anything. Students who are sitting in school forced to do work can barely concentrate and get all their work done. How is having a student at home with their computer going to be any more effective? It would be so easy to get distracted and not complete the work given. By just the click of a button a whole new world awaits. Not only is technology a distraction, but it makes cheating so easy for students. If students who are required to be at school and monitored by school staff skip school, how are people going to make sure students at home behind a screen are not skipping their school work? While at home, people also have so many better things they would rather be doing than study online. The high levels of distraction and immediate accessibility to outside sources lead to skewed academic results, and prove that the implementation of video calls and online learning are ineffective.

In order to fully understand the effects of students learning through online systems and video calls, we must look at the long run. Will the implementation of such technology really help the next generation? It it worth making such a large investment into our education system? Is it really necessary? Critics might say that using video calls and online teaching methods makes education more accessible, but they are wrong because everyone doesn't have access to these high levels of technology and it puts them at a disadvantage. The negatives far outweigh the positives for the use of online classrooms and video calls for education. It's time to stop looking at what makes education easier, and rather see how can we make the next generation smarter.