A Farewell to The Beacon’s Printed Newspaper

To those of page-flipping, paper-passionate lovers of books and newspaper, the Beacon’s print edition saying a farewell may be a tremendous loss to the readers of the school publication. Although I have personally centered my focus to mainly the founding and development of the digital Beacon, I have always had a soft spot within myself of enjoying the delight of going through the smooth textured, well printed black-and-white (or faded grey) pages of the original print Beacon. However, as time has allowed technology to dominate our lives, and under the consideration of environment protection, the shift from print to digital will become the boldest, yet most efficient move for the school’s publication.

A few months back, I published an article on the Digital Beacon comparing the strengths and weaknesses between the use of paper and laptop in education. Both have their own benefits and shortcomings, while the advancement of technology has gradually begun to invade our lives, demolishing our pasts of relying on paper and pen.

To many, the reliance on new technology may be a loss, even to the extent to be judged as ignorance in recognition towards humanity’s traditions. Despite such negative views, the miracle workers behind technology’s development are working towards not only a more advanced future, but a safer, more efficient, and more environmental friendly path ahead of present day. Modern day technology implemented into the process of learning and media is no different, as the shift to a Digital Beacon may mark the turning point of dependency on wasteful paper, slow publishing dates, and frustration of layout editing. All these factors have the potential to be removed through the transition to the use of digital technology, while some issues have already been solved in less than half of year of beginning the site. The readers of the Beacon have constant access to the site, besides the temporary maintenance times, wherever, and whenever there is a connection to the Internet around. Our reporters have also been able to put effort in quantity over quality, with the capability to simply post an article on the Beacon instantly on completion. Other than the mere mentions of the possibilities the Digital Beacon could bring to the AISG community, there is much more room for improvements in the upcoming school years.

It is always hard to move on from something that we have bonded with for long, but sometimes the future may be the better option. Surely, the process of leaving our beloved, traditional, and long lasting print Beacon may be heartbreaking and filled with sorrowful tears (maybe a little too exaggerated); but in the long term, a stable and consistent publication online will benefit the student body and school community in tremendous ways. The Beacon will have the potential to not only be known as AISG’s Digital Beacon by AISG students, but also the digital publication of AISG beyond the gates of the international school.

 

Note: The print version of the Beacon will be back for one last edition in the form of a magazine, available to the school community sometime next year.