With technology improving as we speak, many classrooms are starting to abandon using traditional textbooks, and moving to technology for teaching. Technology can provide information that a regular textbook might not be able to provide. However, other students prefer using the traditional textbook.

Nonetheless, technology brings concerns with having to have a wifi connection at all times. “Technology can sometimes be unusable,” Seventh grader Trei L. said. “Many people don’t have the best wifi connection, so it can make using the internet textbooks almost impossible.”

Some people like seventh grader Anna B. find it much easier to use technology rather than the traditional textbooks books.

“Technology helps me as a student because I’m able to do more work efficiently, since it’s right there instead of having to search through all the pages in a textbook,” Anna said. “It is also a lot faster and less stressful to use.”

Sixth grade World Cultures teacher Lisa Mielke prefers using a combination of both in  her classroom. “Sometimes an assignment works better with a textbook and sometimes it works better with technology,” Mielke said. “I like having the option to do what is best for my students.”

Although many students prefer using technology to learn, studies have shown students remember more information from a textbook than from technology. “Using a textbook has helped me as a student because I have learned more information than just the straight answer which can help on a test,” Anna said.

Even though using technology to teach has its advantages, it also has risks with students. “Some students do not stay on task and try to use technology for things other than learning,” Mielke said. “Also, systems can sometimes go down and leave us stranded.”

Seventh grade Texas History teacher Javier Gutierrez believes that technology offers new information that’s not always found in a textbook. “I think using technology gives you a more diverse way of getting information,” Gutierrez said.

Anna believes that teachers can now assign more classwork and homework through technology. “A lot more people are up to date with the technology so teachers can rely on the fact that most students will have technology that they bring to school or have at home.”

With technology expanding, jobs are moving forward and incorporating it into them at a bigger scale. “This is how society is moving,” Gutierrez said. “Now the highest paying jobs at the moment are things like knowing how to code, or how to read Java, and becoming familiar with things like social media and social marketing.”