Since the COVID-19 Pandemic and the 1-month or more lockdown that students had, there has been a large debate on where students and teachers should continue doing assignments online like when they were in lockdown, or if they should go back to paper assignments and grades. In some cases, it just depends on the teacher and the student. Some teachers do not understand Teams, Google Classroom, or other platforms for online teaching. Some students cannot focus when they have a bunch of papers just for one unit. My position on this topic is that all assignments should be electronic, and this essay will support my position. 
     Electronic assignments are mostly done on websites and platforms such as Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams. In these platforms a teacher adds an assignment to the online classroom and each student can turn in any form of online document and then turn it in. This gives the students a wider choice because they can do a physical assignment then scan it and turn it in online, or they can do an online version and turn it in directly. Giving students the choice for assignments will help them turn it in on time. Another good feature is that on the assignment there is a due date displayed so you cannot forget when the assignment is due. 
     For tests or exams, doing it online can be a little tricky. The problem with doing it online is that students can leave the page, go on the internet and search for the answers. But there are some security measures teachers can take to ensure that this cannot happen. For example, they can open a Teams meeting and ask all the students to share their screens and open their cameras. This way no student can go away from the Teams tab or use unauthorized help such as phones or other people. Another good thing about test-taking online is that students can prove that they are responsible by proving they can take a test online and not cheat.  
     Doing assignments on paper makes it harder for students who are not very good at managing a lot of papers. In a Harvard study, the results came back as, “The overall homework turn-in rates for each unit were compared, and results indicated that a small group of students who struggled heavily with paper organization did turn in significantly more homework. However, there was a larger group of students who unexpectedly turned in significantly more homework on paper” (Reiner). What the study result says is that students who struggle with paper organization turn in a lot of things online. But there was a larger number of students who turned in more homework on paper. This proves that it all depends on the teacher and the student. But this is the good thing about online assignments. Students have a choice as they can either turn them in on an online document or use a physical paper, scan it, and turn it in. So, the students who have a tough time organizing papers can just use an online document, and the students who need a piece of physical paper can do that assignment on the paper and turn it in.  
     By using online platforms for assignments, teachers can give students a choice and this makes studying easier and better for the students. There are different people in every classroom and each student has his own idea on which way is better. So, if teachers can give students the choice, why shouldn’t they?  
                                                  Works Cited: 
Ferrari, Luisa. “Is There Any Difference in the Effectiveness between Online and Paper Based Homework?” RSS, 15 July 2020, new.assistments.org/blog-posts/is there-any-difference-in-the-effectiveness-between-online-and-paper-based-homework. 

Reiner, Naomi. “Online vs. Paper: How Medium Affects Homework Completion Rate.” Student Research Conference, 2020, projects.iq.harvard.edu/gse-src/online-vs-paper-how-medium-affects-homework-completion-rate.