Dirty, old, and slow are just a few adjectives students at Fallon have used to describe our school’s Chromebooks. Students and staff have been disappointed by the way these computers function. They’re time-consuming to use, and the characters on the Chromebooks are small, which makes it hard for students to read. Our school needs better equipment to make students’ access to education easier.
Students are awaiting the arrival of new Chromebooks. The current Chromebooks are years old and just aren’t practical, as some might say. According to Fallon’s technical manager, Bryan Trevor, some have been replaced. “A good chunk of them we replaced last year. We are still waiting on the other batch.” He continues to explain that they have been anticipating the new batch of Chromebooks since COVID-19 started. Bryan resumes to clarify that they expect to receive the shipment soon, as they have been waiting for a long time. Once they do, our school will have new, easier Chromebooks to work with.
The new batch of Chromebooks will enable the start of a new plan. When they arrive, the board plans to assign specific Chromebooks to every student. The tech worker says, “There is a plan for it, yes, but we have not finalized it.” Students will have their own Chromebooks assigned to them to carry them to each class. This could prevent the district from losing money because people violate the Chromebooks. If Chromebooks are damaged, they must be repaired, or parents must pay a considerable fine.
Several people wonder if they could bring their equipment to school. The answer is no. As Ms. Causapin, the 6th-grade vice principal, says, “We can’t necessarily monitor everything… If we let kids bring their own personal computers, that can do even more harm.” The students cannot bring their computers because GoGuardian cannot be applied on their computers for privacy reasons. In the future, if they find a solution to this problem, students will be allowed to bring their personal computers to school.
According to Mr. Trevor, Chromebooks at Fallon will be replaced soon, which would significantly improve the education of our students. Brand-new Chromebooks mean easier access to online assignments. In addition to this, Chromebooks may also be assigned to each student. This way, each person is responsible for one computer, and it would be easier to keep track of the Chromebooks while saving money. Though Fallon students cannot bring their own work equipment to the school, this plan will severely improve their tech problems.
