Schools once staunchly resisted the digital trends creeping into every aspect of life. Now they have realized that Internet-based learning is here to stay. After many years, it would seem education is catching up to the digital new world order. After all, technology now permeates school life to the point where students and teachers alike cannot imagine life before it.

It would seem there’s an app or site for everything. Kahoot covers reviewing topics, with an engaging pace that simple flash cards can’t match. Socrative lets teachers see all academic data and hone in on specifically what students are struggling with. Quizlet helps with quick, solo review, especially when a student needs to cram in a few extra facts. Remind makes sure everyone knows about homework assignments and that no one is caught off guard by surprises. ManageBac stores anything IB-related. These are just several in a long litany of technological platforms that now typify the modern high school learning experience. “It’s extremely useful to have everything all in one place, digitally, and that’s what these programs help us do,” said junior Gwyneth Smith.

Perhaps the most useful of all tools is the entire Google palette. The technology push continues unabated at North Atlanta and more than ever teachers are integrating Google Classroom and its family of related apps into their teaching methods and assignment management systems.

Some teachers have installed Google Classroom and are sending out assignments or prompts through it. Plenty of teachers are taking advantage of Google Docs’s handy online sharing platform. Even Google affiliate YouTube has its uses when a particular video needs to be shown, although the site has already been in use by teachers for quite some time. “We had a few options but the students are responding really well to Google classroom,” said IB Theory of Knowledge teacher Amy Shilling.

What’s the lesson here? Our school is a physical institution but within our building, school is evolving into an expanding series of cyberspace-based teaching platforms. It would seem the digital generation finally has a school that’s catching up with its expanding digital worldview.