This year, LNE had the honor of being one of the three pilot schools for a new system of Chromebooks. With these Chromebooks, a new age of technology has been brought forth into our education system. But how well were these Chromebooks actually accepted by the student body? Well that is a topic still up to debate, as some upperclassmen will argue that they dislike them, while many other students, especially underclassmen, have expressed a deep appreciation for these helpful devices.

There could be several reasons for these mixed feelings students have for these mini computers. One of the main ones being how students learn. Older students seem to have an affinity for learning kinesthetically, or by writing things down by hand. So, when students are forced to use Chromebooks in class, animosity will arise as they don’t feel like they could learn as well while using them. Whether it’s because they like to write more or they simply feel like they are a distraction in class from what the teacher is saying. Although most teachers have worked this problem out by giving students the option to choose between paper and pencil and Chromebooks, that’s not always a possibility as much of the learning has transferred onto the screen with the use of Google Classrooms.

Yet, other students don’t mind this at all, as they have found it to be easier and faster to type notes up rather than writing them down. Still, in the end, students don’t learn as much from this that if they were to write things out. Teachers have expressed a similar concern as Mrs. Thorpe, a music teacher, felt that “Computers take away from the human touch.” While other teachers have mentioned that not having these personal, face-to-face interactions with students could harm how well they learn because even though things look neater on screen, the student does not understand that information as well as if they were to see a teacher write it out and explain it.

Nonetheless, these Chromebooks are not all bad, for there is still a lot of good use for them. One of the main reasons being is something that was mentioned earlier, which is the use of Google Classrooms. Students and teachers have found this new system to be very helpful this year. For students, they mainly use it when they are absent or missed something in class. They have valued the ability to see their class’s materials, such as notes and assignments, all on one screen. For teachers, they too have found it useful for posting announcements, notes, and assignments, and they can worry a little less about students who have missed the day because the material will be available to them instantly.

Although not all students like them, there is no doubt that they are still helpful to a lot of students, as many have found it easier to do their homework at home when they have their own “portable work station” as senior Nathan Johnson called it. Teachers and students alike have also expressed that these Chromebooks are pretty easy to use, but unfortunately students do not know about all of the features available as there was no student training available to teach them about the Chromebooks. For the teachers who did have an opportunity to be a part of the teacher training this summer, they also wish they would have had a little bit more training to prepare to use these devices with students in class rather than just knowing all the features.

One thing many students and teachers have expressed alike is the need for having Youtube unblocked for educational purposes. For teachers, it can be used to show students informative or valuable videos. For students, there are many videos online, whether it’s for math or history, that have helped them learn things better that they couldn’t understand in class or from the teacher. Another valuable tool is the use of the offline option. While conducting these interviews, many students in fact did not know that this existed. This is highly unfortunate as it is an important aspect for these students because it gives students the ability to use their Chromebooks to access school material without needing internet access, especially those that don’t have wifi at home or any other way to access it.

Yet, this is isn’t the only thing students, and even teachers, have yet to figure out how to use on these Chromebooks. Despite all of that, these Chromebooks are certainly new, but will hopefully continue to be helpful towards the advancements of bettering our education systems. One thing can be assured though, and it’s that, as Mrs. Thorpe said,  “They’re a great investment in the future of our education.”