As a high school student, I can confirm that teachers always tell us that answers are just a quick search away. And they're right- a simple Google search just provided about 2,050,000,000 results for “learning” in only 0.62 seconds.

In the last week, I have used computers to reinforce AP Physics C lectures on circuits, research and teach myself to use a new platform to build a video, send questions via email to teachers about assignments, and understand and test the strength of linear regressions in AP Statistics.

So, in a world that has become completely dependent on computers, it is difficult to separate computers from learning. Computers hum with music that helps one kid to focus on their study and another to fall asleep to calming white noise. They are the constant companion of New York Times best-selling authors who have to type 50,000 words for their next novel. They are the devices that contain essentially everything if you only know what to search for.

But this is the easy answer. I’ve found that learning through computers does not only have to be the result of trillions of search results at your fingertips. Instead, computers showcase our ability to adapt to the world around us and represent our ability as humans to create creative solutions to our problems. In other words, learning how to use computers (not only in the technical sense) is also learning.

During COVID, computers allowed my friends to join a weekly Zoom call that we lovingly called our "Lunchtime." Every Wednesday, I would host a call that 3-8 people would join. We would talk about our weeks, daydream about our elaborate plans after the pandemic ended, and even sing karaoke together, albeit quite badly.

But, how is this learning? Through these short calls, I learned the value of adapting to circumstances that you cannot change. Computers allowed me to take advantage of a method to connect with my friends in a way that helped alleviate the emotional and physical isolation that many of us felt. It taught me the importance of communication and connection. And ultimately, it taught me that computers offer solutions to many of our problems, if you’re willing to continuously learn and adapt to the new technology.

Learning can occur in small moments too. Living in a world full of computers means taking a second to reflect on your words before posting something potentially hurtful. (Learning to be kind, instead of hiding behind anonymity.) It means putting your phone away when you do homework so that you are not so easily distracted. (Learning to make responsible decisions). It also means taking advantage of the information available to you to become educated.

So, what have computers taught me? That V = IR and that the computers and learning are quite intertwined.