Relieved after their fourth-period final exams on Dec. 20, most students streamed into the hallways and looked forward to enjoying their lunches. But students from teacher Margarita Morelle’s AP US History class remained in the classroom and looked on as first their teacher and then assistant principal Kevin Mount searched each backpack for a missing test copy.

Sophomore Henry Ling glances at his Facebook home page. Without scrolling down, a quick count reveals around 80 links, but he quickly ignores them and switches to another tab.

Our generation is unlike any previous. We have grown up in a time of relative world stability in a country that is alone in the world as power. We have grown up in a region of the world that relies dominantly on white collar jobs. We are the first to grow up in a world with computers and more importantly, the first to grow up with a device that puts the entire world at our fingertips.

In past decades, bookstores were a popular place to visit or shop. They were a place to sit back, open up a fresh new book and enjoy a steaming cup of coffee. However, technology has changed drastically, and books in recent years have gone from the original paper form that had been used for centuries to a new digital format. Now, in the palm of one’s hand lies a whole bookstore waiting to be explored.

“Go fish!” junior Miguel Bismonte shouted.

Saratoga High’s technology has not always been the way students and teachers know it today. Ten years ago, SHS had a spotty e-mail system, only some teachers had computers in their classrooms and there was no wireless Internet. This is why the school hired Julie Grenier in 2001. Her mission: Bring the school’s technology to the 21st century.

When it comes time for student council elections, it’s not surprising to see countless students gathering signatures for application packets and flashy campaign posters taped around the campus. While this publicity may be necessary to ensure a candidate’s success it does not guarantee that a worthy candidate be elected. Fortunately, a simple solution exists: using the MAP program’s technology to revive campaign speeches.

Children are growing up today in a world where the pen is mightier than the sword, but the keyboard trumps all. With few apparent and easily punishable consequences for students’ actions online, the web has become a breeding ground for bullying. Throw on top of that the option of anonymity found in many social networking sites and the cyberbullying epidemic explodes.

Thursday night has arrived again, and senior Evan Ye is quickly running to his computer. Nothing needs to be typed or printed. Instead, he logs into his Facebook account, seeing dozens of notifications from the school AP Biology group: students asking for the date of the next exam, for the definition of an allosteric enzyme and if they need to print out the Chapter 6 lecture notes before next class. Ye is one of the administrators of a user-made AP Bio group on Facebook, which was created during the summer.