Technology has changed my job so much that it almost feels like teaching today and teaching twenty years ago belong in different worlds.
Some of the changes are clearly positive. I can put material in front of students instantly. A passage, a video clip, a quiz, a writing prompt, an article for journalism, a grammar exercise—none of that requires standing at a copier hoping the machine works and that nobody ahead of me is making 400 packets five minutes before class.
Testing and assignments are different too. Platforms like Teams, Focus, and Forms mean students can submit work electronically, I can review it more quickly, and in some cases I can see patterns in understanding almost immediately. If half the class misses the same question, I know right away where the confusion is.
For journalism, technology changed everything. A school newspaper used to mean ink, layout sheets, deadlines built around printing, and physically handing out papers. Now stories can go live the moment they’re ready, photos can be uploaded instantly, and students are writing for an actual website instead of waiting weeks to see their work in print.
But technology also creates challenges that didn’t exist before. Students now have access to endless distractions sitting right in front of them. The same device that can pull up a research article can also pull up games, messages, videos, or AI-generated shortcuts that bypass real thinking if they’re not careful.
And honestly, one of the biggest changes is that teachers are expected to master new systems constantly. Just when you get comfortable with one platform, someone introduces another login, another dashboard, another required program, another training video.
So technology has absolutely made parts of my job more efficient—but it has also made classroom management, attention, and even genuine student effort more complicated than ever.
In the end, it’s like most tools: incredibly useful when used well, but never a substitute for what still matters most—good teaching, real thinking, and human connection.
Copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.
