Out with the old, in with the new. From writing passes on pieces of paper, to digital passes that can be accessed right on your cellular device. Digital passes have quickly been discovered by teachers across the country and have quickly been becoming more popular by the day . Just make sure you get back to class on time cause time might run out.

Digital pass apps like “SmartPass” and “5-Star” have taken over schools and are growing throughout districts. Whenever a student wants to leave the classroom for any reason such as, using the bathroom, going to the nurse, getting a drink of water, etc, they can use their digital pass app to sign out for that reason.

Unlike paper passes, digital passes have a time limit on them. Teachers can set passes to be as long as they want and see what time you signed out right from their own digital device. If a student is out for a longer period of time than the pass was set to then there could be further consequences.

There are some concerns about the new digital passes as well as there are benefits. Some students don’t always have their cellular devices with them at all times, especially during class or even the whole school day. Students also feel pressured to get back to class in time and some think that the digital passes need to be set to a longer period of time. This is why paper passes would come in handy sometimes over the digital passes.

Digital passes are still a great way for students to sign out of their classroom in an easy and accessible way if all the materials are there for them!