After walking into your first class of the year, you immediately scope out the room. There are no stacks of papers piled high; there are no bookshelves ready to give way under the stress of heavy books.

Though the walls are brightly laden with student artwork, the majority of the classroom is on your gleaming iPad. Yes, that’s right: every single note, lecture, book, and piece of homework that you could ever imagine is safely stored away on this useful device. Spanish and Religion teacher Mr. Kevin Dunn said, “I love the iPad for what it is: a tool. It helps me be organized in some regards and has provided more time away from copy machines.”

Most teachers from our school use the iPad as a learning device to help captivate the students and to inspire them to learn more. “If you’re not being creative, you won’t have creative results,” said History teacher Mr. Jeff Owen. “Without [technology], my lessons wouldn’t be as exciting, and the students wouldn’t remember as much.” Despite the fact that teachers find students to be more directly impacted by the use of iPads, faculty members, such as Religion teacher Mrs. Carmen Lonergan, still find that teaching would be significantly more difficult without these technological additives.

Freshman Sarah Greeven shared similar sentiments, saying that, “Technology helps us become better students overall. It makes education more understanding with the quick resources it offers us.” Technology, evidently, is a welcome addition amongst CCHS halls, as it gives students the opportunity to have the knowledge of the world at their fingertips. Senior Kendal Hightower said, “The best thing about technology has been the overall use of the Internet and how we are able to have access to so much more.”

What’s wrong with relying on technology in a school environment? Printing. Many teachers require students to turn-in hard copies of assignments. No exceptions. The problem? Our school no longer has any printers. Previously, printers were placed conveniently throughout our library, but since relying completely on Apple terms this grade-saving tool has been removed. Hightower said, “I think administrators should add printers to our library again. It helped us turn in papers on time, and without them, our grades drop.”

It may be argued that technology in a learning environment can become a distraction and an obstacle in learning. “Some students use their iPad for extra studying and other students use their iPads for March Madness updates,” said Mrs. Lonergan. Many students will be caught during a class discussion playing an intriguing game, watching the latest update on their sports team, tweeting out a bland update on their high school lives, or scrolling through photo after photo of artsy food blogs. Mr. Dunn said, “I do think that students need to understand how disrespectful it feels to have a student on their iPad when a teacher is talking.”

Spanish and History teacher Mr. Chad Colden added that, “There is definitely a distraction factor, but the good [benefits] out-weigh the bad.” Technology has evolved into something so much more than typing up an essay or researching information. Mrs. Lonergan said, “I found my best friend from high school on Facebook. After twenty years, we’d finally been able to see each other.”

Mr. Colden added and said, “It has been said that we are more connected than ever before, but students are the same, they just get info faster.”