chromebooks for all

Chromebooks for All

by Rachel Chen

Technology has always been vital to the development of the current generation, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of the 2020-2021 school year, every Woodmere Middle School student is in possession of a Chromebook. With this new device, students are able to log on to Google Meets, access extensions such as Kami, and be monitored by teachers with DyKnow.

Due to the coronavirus, it is important that social distancing is maintained for safety reasons, and using Chromebooks limits teacher-student contact when it comes to giving and receiving tests, quizzes, and homework. According to Darsh Chavre, a 7th grader, Chromebooks have also helped students to store the information that they need. “Since it’s easier to compile our notes in something so small, there’s no need for folders, which can easily get damaged.”

The Hewlett-Woodmere school district distributed the Chromebooks to students throughout grades 1-5, as well as grade 8, during the last week of summer vacation. However, excluding those that are new to the district, students currently in 6th and 7th grade have already received Chromebooks at the start of 5th grade. Additionally, the 2020-2021 school year is the first in WMS history that 7th and 8th grade teachers are teaching students with Chromebooks, except for the case of double accelerated math students who are currently taking Algebra. “Initially, I thought it was going to be a positive experience and a good way of keeping things organized, but in truth, the kids told me it was harder to study on the chromebook, and [when I took a survey,] they voted for paper, so I’m not sure of it’s effectiveness,” said Ms. Durney, an 8th grade Social Studies teacher.

This new piece of technology in WMS has also brought about some discussion within the students and staff. When asked, Maeve Williams, 8th grader, said, “Honestly, I think it’s [been] a mix of both good and bad because I feel like the Chromebooks prepare us for tasks like homework, since we always know what the upcoming work is, but taking notes on paper helps me memorize things more. Overall, I think the Chromebooks were an improvement.”

Meanwhile, Ms. Little, 8th grade Chorus, Select Choir, and General Music teacher, has said, “In some ways the Chromebooks have helped to teach better because it’s forced me to think of new ways to differentiate the way I teach and focus on different material. Especially for us as music teachers, we have not had to teach for a concert, so we’ve been able to teach more theory stuff, which allows us to use more technology, but I think the challenge lies within self-discipline with the students because there’s a lot of temptation when they have the computer in front of them to not be focused and to use the computer for things other than work… For me, I think I’ve been much better with technology and this has forced me to learn a lot, which I like, but like I said, it’s on the students’ side where they have to be more self-disciplined than they normally would have to be because they have the Internet and all kinds of distractions at their fingertips.”