Over a year ago, the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm. Since then, life has become increasingly digital, especially for students. Work from home has become the new norm, and Zoom has taken over as the classroom for most students. This has led to an increase in using digital resources in the classroom for students of all ages, but particularly high school students. However, the use of digital resources has provided many benefits for high school students.
Easily Accessible Information
The days of having to rent out library books and articles for school projects are long gone. Now, students can easily access articles, movies, and books all online. Some of these even happen to be free. This allows for students to easily research and learn about any topic they like from anywhere in the world without having to rent out physical materials. Easily accessible information allows for students to learn more. They have access to a world of information at their fingertips with digital resources.
Flexibility
High school students are busy kids. They have school work, jobs, extracurricular activities, sports and are applying to colleges. Digital resources allow for students to have more time and flexibility in their schedules. Instead of walking to the library to rent a book, or staying after school at certain times to receive tutoring, this can now all be done online.
Students can create flexible schedules given the opportunity to use digital resources. They can watch videos or look up resources online when it is convenient for them. High school students can schedule tutoring sessions, or work on projects when they have the time due to digital resources.
New Opportunities
Suppose high school students were doing a unit on the Renaissance. Instead of looking at textbooks and photographs of the artwork, digital resources provide a better alternative. It would be impossible to bring students on a trip to tour the museums and artifacts left behind from the Renaissance.
Now, with digital resources, some websites offer virtual tours of museums and artifacts. Students can get a better understanding and visualization of the Renaissance through the digital tours and videos of the actual artifacts and museums. Textbook definitions and photographs can’t compare to this experience. Using these digital resources gives students opportunities to explore different topics and gain an in-depth understanding of what they are learning.
Developing 21st Century Skills
The world is becoming an increasingly digital society. High school students going off into the workforce or college will be asked to use digital resources in their careers. By incorporating them into their work now, students will develop the skills to be able to use these resources later on.
In college, high school students will need to know how to access digital resources for their papers and presentations. In the workforce, high school students will need to know how to communicate with their co-workers and bosses. Teaching students how to use these resources now will benefit them in the future. This will lead to them learning skills such as online etiquette, communication skills, and differentiating between reliable and unreliable sources.
Now that digital resources are the new norm, it is time to start incorporating them into high school students’ lives. They provide students with many benefits to their education and development of life skills. Especially in Zoom classrooms, it is important to have high school students using digital resources in their education. For more information on resources to help high school students, please visit our website.
Written by Meghan Latham
