By Lindsay Mestdagh ’13 | Staff Writer

Throughout her ten years involved in the school system as a teacher and librarian, Courtney McGuire has seen the evolution of technology in and out of the classroom.

“When I was a child, our neighborhood movie video store had the choice of VHS or BETA,” said McGuire. “I chuckle because South students probably have no idea what I am talking about.”

Knowledge is now instantaneously available anywhere, anytime at your fingertips, McGuire said.

“The benefits of technology are endless; from helping directionally challenged drivers, foodies in need of restaurant advice, to the ability of typing a paper on a road trip then submitting it to Turnitin.com” said McGuire.

Today everyone has access to the internet and email which can make it much easier for teachers and students to communicate with each other outside of the classroom, English teacher Danielle Peck said.

“There are so many avenues teachers can discover and use with technology,” said Peck. “I have used Twitter to open up class discussions and we end up in a great discussion with some very interesting responses from students.”

Advances in technology and ways of communication have broadened horizons, Peck said. Teens are able to talk to more people and different types of people in an easier way.

Social networks have also expanded the way teens are able to communicate with each other, Peck said. Facebook used to just be a social network for mostly college students, but it is popular enough now that just about every high school student has one.

“New technology has definitely made life more convenient and easier,” said Meghan Shook ‘14. “Cell phones make talking with friends and family incredibly easy; I can’t imagine not having that ability.”

Shook said technology has an overall positive effect on the lives of teens. It has enabled people to have all the information they want right when they want it.

As a great way of helping stay connected with school, sports and extracurricular activities, social networking sites have served as a simple way to communicate and connect, Samantha Campau ’13 said. Nearly every high school sports team she has been on has used a group message over Facebook to communicate.

“Cell phones especially have been an advantage to me because I moved from Ann Arbor and it allows me to stay in touch with all of my friends from there,” said Campau.

Technology has opened up a whole new virtual world, Campau said. Some people can argue it is hurting the new generations just as much as it is benefitting them.

“Today I see families eat at restaurants with their heads down with faces and fingers glued to their gadget,” said McGuire. “There’s truly a disconnect, no dialogue, joking, or sharing; it’s sad.”

The attention span of teens is much lower too, Peck said. The classroom is a sacred space; it would be nice if students could spend the class period paying attention on the subject instead of checking their Facebook or texting, she said.

“Teens are definitely distracted by their phones,” said Shook. “Many seem to be addicted to pulling their phones out and checking them every couple minutes.”

Also, text lingo has affected teens to an extent, Peck said. They tend to use more slang, but still know the difference and the appropriate time to use it.

“I make it clear to my students that they are in a formal setting,” said Peck. “Students know how to code switch and what type of language is acceptable in the classroom.”

Teachers have told McGuire that in-class impromptu writing is better than at-home assignments because TV, Facebook, Twitter and cutting and pasting from the Internet are eliminated.

However, students expect teachers to have handwritten assignments, whether tests or papers, to be checked within an hour of their submittal, McGuire said. This instant gratification of wanting and knowing everything immediately is strange, but serves as a consequence of using modern day technology.

Without social networks or technological devices that teens have access to, this generation would be completely different, Campau said. It has really opened up a new world that is a different aspect than what our parents were used to.

“This generation is more vulnerable and much more personal,” said Campau.

Having knowledge readily ability is not harmful if the user knows how to sift through the blogs and biased information out there, McGuire said. But there is fear that future generations will lose the ability to advocate for themselves.

Students need to mindful of picking a career path that cannot be outsourced overseas via technology, McGuire said.

“I joke future heart surgeons will be on the golf course using an app to control the robot in the operating room,” said McGuire.

Overall, technology has seemed to be an advantage to teens, it is just a matter of moderation, Peck said. Teachers at South now have the ability to use more technology in the classroom to go along with the lessons in a more efficient way.

“It’s a whole new world that’s continuing to progress,” said McGuire. “We all greatly benefit from the technology advances, but living behind the screen may damage the qualities of face-to-face communication.”