MK Chromebook Initiative

Laura SanRoman, Staff Writer

The Chromebook Initiative is a program that has been implemented with the freshmen class this year in which each student was issued a Chromebook.. The Chromebooks were distributed to Knolls and Hills freshmen on September 26th and 27th of 2017 during gym classes.  To obtain their Chromebooks, freshmen were required to sign and agree to the Acceptable Use Policy, sign the Anti-Big Brother Act Annual Notification Form, and pay the $25 maintenance/insurance fee. The maintenance fee covers any damage a student may causes to their personal Chromebook.

According to the Morris Hills Regional District email detailing the program, it was implemented to enhance the students’ educational experiences and give them resources and daily access to 21st century applications. Teachers  worked with a pilot program over the summer that provided them with a way to incorporate the Chromebook technology into their everyday lessons.

Overall, freshmen seem to enjoy having their own Chromebooks. Freshman, Mackenzie Robbins, said, “Having a Chromebook comes with both positive and negative features. It is great to have because it makes it easier to do work at lunch or in the classroom, since doing work on phones or communal laptops can be difficult. It can also be negative as sometimes connecting to the WiFi is difficult, as well as connecting to printers.”

There are also some upperclassmen who have concerns about the fact that only the freshmen were offered Chromebooks. “I feel that it’s great that they’re offering freshmen Chromebooks, but I also feel that us sophomores and upperclassmen deserve to get them,” said Victoria Hendricks, a sophomore. Another sophomore, Rachel Stadtlander, disagrees, “I think the school could be buying better things with the money.”

Walking into a freshman class this year is definitely a new sight because everyone has their own laptops. The Chromebook initiative was a major event for the Knolls and Hills technology departments. The program will hopefully improve the students’ classroom experience and will help them incorporate technology into their daily lessons. While only the freshmen have received the Chromebooks from this program, the goal is for it to eventually impacted the entire school.  By the time the current freshmen are seniors, the hope is that all students will have their own school issued chromebooks.