Technology has spread throughout America  and is in most people’s day-to-day life, even in public schools.

Business Information Manager teacher Ladonna Handcox has recently put her classes online, supporting the idea that technology can contribute to education instead of hinder it. She did not start the online classes because she need drastic improvement; rather, she expected it was simply best for her students.

“The courses went online so that students would receive real-life experience in the subjects,” Handcox said. “Students leave these classes fully prepared for an office job and/or college.”

Overall, the students agree with Handcox that the untraditional course works just as well as traditional classes, if not more in some regards.

Senior Claire Rhine agrees with her teacher about the course’s efficiency.

“I like doing stuff on the computer more than paperwork,” Rhine said.

Sophomore Skyler Daly agrees with his teacher that one of the course’s main highlights is its efficiency.

“I feel like I am being prepared for certain jobs in the office through this class,” Daly said. “This class is very efficient.”

While the courses may use online instruction, Handcox is still the classes’ teacher.

“The courses are fully integrated; that is, the instruction, the practice, and the grading are all done online,” Handcox said. “As the teacher I am still teaching the subjects as I did previously, but my teaching is enhanced and supported by the online instruction.”

While traditional classrooms are more common, Handcox is not the only supporter of the online classes; the school district is beginning to see the benefits of working online, and demonstrates its support through funding.

“Each online course uses a specific program purchased by the school district for our use,” Handcox said. “There is no cost to the student.”

In addition to being good preparation for the future, online courses are overall more efficient, according to Handcox.

“The efficiency of online courses is the best feature,” Handcox said. “Students no longer have to wait for a teacher to evaluate their work and find their problem areas; the online program provides immediate feedback and grading, allowing the student to know right away if they have made a mistake and how to correct it.”

Overall, Handcox asserts that the online courses so far have demonstrated the ability to help students succeed.

“I definitely prefer [them]; I have seen that the students are learning more information in a shorter amount of time, and even making better grades,” Handcox said. “While I am sure that there are some classes that would not work well online, I feel that this is the wave of the future.”