I must begin this column with a confession: I am not a tech-savvy individual. I consider it to be a small miracle that I have managed to learn to complete simple tasks such sending emails and creating PowerPoint presentations. However, technology is a growing industry. (What is one of the few businesses that has actually soared in the past few economically depressed years? You guessed it: Apple.) With so many aspects of our everyday lives becoming digital, it is possible that I will not be able to simply throw up my hands and write my essays on paper due to my technological woes. My money-deprived high school has slowly but surely begun the process of using computers — and their countless applications — for almost everything. Plans are even being made so that every student at Brevard High School can have a Chromebook, which is a fast, inexpensive computer that uses Google Chrome OS as its operating system.

This year at BHS, one class from each core subject area was given a set of 30 HP Elitebooks. Luckily for me (or unluckily, depending on the circumstance), two of my teachers received these sets. Now in these two classes my classmates and I use the computers almost every day to communicate with our teachers, write essays, receive grades, and take tests. There are times when I can be found sitting in class with my mouth wide open, in awe of some new computer application that has the potential to make my life easy and joyous. There are other times, however, when I can be found with my jaw clenched tightly in frustration toward the device, wondering how I will ever be able to survive in this increasingly digital world.

My Algebra II class is one of the few in the school that is predominantly online. When I was first informed of this, I had to stifle a groan. Technology and math, coming together to create one horrible experience, I silently whined. I was proven wrong, however, because there are definitely some benefits to doing activities, reading notes, and completing assignments and tests online. Math has always been a weak subject area for me, and because of that I often work slower than my classmates. Doing activities online means that everyone can work at his or her own pace, which allows my speedier classmates to move on at no cost to me.

Online notes are another benefit to the computerized system. The format allows students to access the notes and assignments in their homes, which is convenient and timesaving. If a student forgets to copy down his or her homework for that night, or is absent from class, that person does not have to take a late grade and fall behind because it is all online.

Programs such as Google Docs open up endless possibilities of student/teacher collaboration. Partners can work together on a shared document that updates in real time and saves automatically, and teachers can make comments or edit their work. This means that countless projects that would have been tedious and complicated before these systems are now almost effortless (even to those like me who are not technologically sound).

Effort, however, is where online learning could become an issue. If a teacher thinks that his or her work is done once the material is online and expects students to suddenly begin learning independently, he or she will need to reevaluate their methods. Students still need guidance and support. For many highschoolers, independent learning is not a skill they have mastered, especially when it comes to concepts that often need more explanation such as math and science.

I hope that my teachers as well as those around the country see online applications as they should be: a tool. Nothing will ever replace a good teacher who can sit down with a student and help him or her truly understand complex material. Gifted teachers will always be needed, and far more important to their students, than computers and applications. Computers must be used as a tool instead of a substitute.