Graphic by: Zainie Qureshi

I recently read the article “Students receive Chromebooks that already display major issues” on Metea Media. As the Instructional Technology Coordinator at Metea Valley, I would like to address the issues that you brought up in your article.

LAST YEAR’S CHROMEBOOK PILOT

Last year, the three high schools took part in a Chromebook pilot. At Metea, we had nine teachers and about 300 students in this pilot. The pilot was created to provides some teachers and students with the opportunity to use the Chromebooks in classes and at home. For the pilot, many of the Chromebooks that we received were previously used in the middle school’s pilot that they had from the year before. This accounted for much of the hardware issues that students may have had last year. This year, however, all students have received Chromebooks and all of these Chromebooks are brand new.

WIFI

We are aware that the first few days were rough with WiFi. Okay, the first week. But, as with any new large scale technology integration projects, sometimes it is hard to anticipate technical issues until you are actually put in the situation. The tech department worked hard to resolve those issues and, hopefully, students are now experiencing a much more reliable WiFi.

Also, when we are dealing with a building this size, where students are moving from one side of the building to another, it is common for devices to lose their connection to the WiFi. The best remedy for this issue is to get in the habit of shutting down and restarting your Chromebook after every class.

LOGIN ISSUES

Most of the login issues experienced by students in the beginning of the year were due to student’s not remembering the password that they had set last year. In the spring, we allowed students to take control of their password and create a password that they would like as long as it met the set criteria. Some students simply forgot their password over the summer and once they were able to access their password, they were logging into their Chromebook without any issues. Password management is a reality of our life now!

CHARGING

As a general guideline, students are expected to bring their Chromebook to school fully charged. While some teachers allowed or may allow students to charge their Chromebooks during class, the expectation still stands: Students are responsible for bringing their Chromebooks fully charged to class. We view Chromebooks as a tool to use in class. Just like it is the student’s responsibility to bring their textbook and other materials to class, it is the student’s responsibility to bring their Chromebook to school fully charged. We have also provided eight charging stations in the library to give students another opportunity to charge their Chromebooks during their lunch or access.

LEARNING

As I mentioned earlier, Chromebooks should be viewed as a tool and a resource that can help students with their learning. Chromebooks can make lessons more interactive, open up the opportunity to connect to the outside world, and prepare students for an increasingly digital collegial experience and workforce. While technology glitches and problems may still happen on occasion, I hope that students will begin to see how the Chromebooks can enhance their learning experiences.

Tania Moneim
Instructional Technology Coordinator, Metea Valley High School