Courtesy of SparkNotes

As technology advances and the world continues to modernize, society is faced with everyday adjustments. Furthermore, teachers are tasked with finding the proper divide between the use of technology and falling back to the old pen-and-paper. Many teachers find technology to be harmful to learning while others claim it improves it. But what do the students think? SparkNotes, Cliff Notes, and other similar online resources are the base of many academic successes throughout the years.
SparkNotes, an online database created by Harvard students that contains study guides, text analysis, and summaries of all areas of literature, is the main platform used by East students. The complex phrases and terminology of one senior class novel, in particular, Beowulf, led many confused students to turn to SparkNotes for help. Even with the novel already being translated from Old English, it was still difficult to fully register the meaning and deeper analysis of the text.
By simply typing the title of the novel into the Sparknotes search bar, students were able to access numerous chapter summaries, a full book quiz and study guide, and chapter and character analysis, all within the tabs of the website. In mere minutes, confusion is replaced with understanding. The concise way that SparkNotes writes summaries and analyses makes it easy for students to understand the story’s more complex themes and hidden nuances
“[Students] can only have adequate conversations and opinions on a text if we fully understand the plot, language, and intention of the author. I would encourage [students] to read the text first and try to understand it but they can use online resources as a tool to strengthen their comprehension, “ said Aviv Haroz (‘24).
These online resources give students a chance to further grasp the concepts that they are unable to grasp on their own. If nothing else, it is something students can use to confirm that their information and notes are accurate. Additionally, it shows the reader which passages are the most important and require the proper attention, and which can be overlooked.
“SparkNotes has allowed me to focus on the important parts of the reading and gather a further understanding of the text. I have used it to expand my reading and understanding and I have seen an immense increase in my grades,” said Logan Armstrong (‘24).
On the contrary, many teachers tend to have a more negative outlook on resources like Sparknotes. Teachers believe that when offered resources like this, students take it upon themselves to skip doing the work for themselves, and instead replace it with the work of SparkNotes. Instead of using it as a tool to enforce their understanding of the book, they use the website to replace reading the book as a whole. However, these claims should not worry the teachers as there are many pieces put in place to stop these actions. For example, when submitting any document on Google Classroom, an originality report will expose any plagiarized words or ideas. Therefore, teachers will know if a student uses these websites as more than a helping hand. Furthermore, high school students are at an age where they should be accountable for their work and actions. If they take advantage of this resource, it will reflect in their grade and personal knowledge. It is not the teacher’s job to prohibit these resources.
Online resources such as SparkNotes are a great resource for students to use to further their education and level of understanding of the texts that they are reading in school. It has proven to be a strong resource for deepening analysis and understanding of texts, while also boosting test scores and the overall growth in reading comprehension.