Ever since quarantine, schools have been using school given devices for students to access class material. Marriotts Ridge, and Howard County in general, has been using chromebooks since around 2021. Chromebooks are great, but after using the internet for so long, many students have other viable devices. Should students use them, and should they be allowed to? Or are chromebooks easier to manage and keep an eye on?
“I think it’s great that the school provides chromebooks, because not everyone can get personal devices,” sophomore Elle Hagan said.
A big benefit of chromebooks is that they are provided by the school, making it possible for students to have a decent device to work on school related tasks. The impact of covid pushing most assignments online also made it essential for students to own a device, and for schools to offer good quality laptops for students to use both in and out of school makes schools more inclusive.
Another positive of using chromebooks over personal devices are that everything is already set up, making it easier to start and finish work without breaking momentum.
“I use a chromebook for my school work at home because it’s easier for me. I have everything pulled up already. And in my personal device I have to log back into the HCPSS and do all that. But once I have it pulled up, it’s easier to do schoolwork on the personal device,” sophomore Graham Stinebaugh said.
However, this is where the most liked aspects of the chromebooks end.
Some places in the school receive slower wifi, and at these times–as reported by students–chromebooks connect to the wifi better than personal devices.
“I use chromebooks because I find it easier to access the school wifi. But I would like to use a personal device because they are not as slow and they block less things. I can use images for slideshows,” shared Stinebaugh.
Just like Stinebaugh, most students dislike the amount of websites that are blocked on the chromebook. It either hinders researching, finding images, watching youtube videos for an assignment or it hinders websites they shouldn’t be on anyway. Because of this, voices repeatedly opt for using the personal device.
“I use a personal device because it’s more comfortable and faster. And I’m more familiar with the apps on there. And everything is on my personal device, so I don’t need to use separate devices for personal needs and schoolwork. It’s all one thing,” said senior Sandrine Roh.
Because of unlimited access to the internet, personal devices are certainly easier to work in, however, that limitless ability can cause some off track studying or working. Even students recognize this consequential aspect of personal devices.
“You have more freedom with a personal device, which is a pro and a con in a personal school,” Hagan admitted.
Not only could it have the possibility of hindering the student’s progress, it can also affect the teachers who are doing their best to keep the students on track.
“I trust my students. If they’re off task, whether it’s using the phone or just off task, I just need to redirect them and we move on,” Mr. Minard, a social studies teacher, explained.
While it can be upsetting for some teachers to constantly catch their students off task, it’s usually just as easy to bring them back to the lesson, so it can’t be seen as too problematic. And much like the grievances students had with the chromebooks, Mr. Minard is just as aware and therefore had no issues with students using personal devices in his class.
“I think we’d had issues with chromebooks. I don’t know that much but they’re not that reliable and they break down. One of the issues that I encounter is chromebook charging. Students with personal devices might have a better job keeping them charged. Students also say personal devices are faster,” Mr. Minard explained.
With the onslaught of AI, new social media content and new devices, it may be hard to keep focused in school. Overall, both chromebooks and personal devices have benefits, and allowing students to use what they are comfortable with will help with productivity, and even teachers understand this perspective.