It’s the 21st century, technology is advancing at an astonishing rate, even allowing people to read books over the internet, yet many schools still hold on to the 15 or 20 pound textbooks. Schools need to ditch the hard copies, and head to the internet for a solution.

Although many people argue that the switch to digital can be detrimental to student’s work, there are many reasons why it is beneficial to them.

Jared Matejicka, junior, estimates that, “[his] backpack feels almost two times heavier,” when he has to haul a single textbook to and from his home. Making the switch to digital textbooks can make student’s lives easier by reducing the total amount of weight by approximately 20 pounds in their backpacks.

The most advantageous part of the switch to digital for school districts is the cost reduction. Schools pay hundreds of dollars less to put a textbook online than to order hundreds of textbooks.

Students are also faced with the conflict of not being able to access schoolwork when absent. With sites such as Moodle, or Google Classroom, students can work on and submit schoolwork from the convenience of their home.

However, there are several issues with going digital. Not all students have access to the internet at home.

The internet is also not a stable platform. Technical glitches can happen every once in a while.

The largest concern with going digital would be the fact that students can be irresponsible with technology. Not all students can be trusted to use the technology how it was intended.

With the cons of digital classrooms in mind, there are ways to counteract these issues. Students with no internet access can still check out a hard copy of the textbook, as most schools still have them on hand. Technical glitches happen with almost any digital program, so they are inevitable.