Starting Jan 1, SD308 students were denied access to their personal Gmail accounts on school-provided Chromebooks. In an emailed notification from SD308 Executive Director of Schools John Francis, students and parents were informed that this ban was for student safety and intent on encouraging students to focus more in class.
“We could monitor and support students when they are doing their work on the Chromebook and you know… people are going to think that this is like the district… hovering and monitoring and watching all that that kids are doing, but it’s not that at all,” said Francis.
Many students expressed worry about using their Chromebooks for activities that they have to use personal information on, however, Francis ensures any other accounts besides Gmail are allowed.
“[Students] could still go to the website to work on [their] application[s], logging into that website with a personal email would still work. [They] just can’t log into a personal Gmail in the Google Seat,” said OH Instructional Technology Coach Jaclyn King.
Students worry about their ability to do college applications or any other personal activities that they may unable to do without some sort of computer.
“Some people don’t have other computers, [and] they need to use their personal accounts,” said junior Katelyn Hyer.
Through many conversations and considerations, the district has ultimately decided this is a good opportunity for classroom education. Teachers who may need students to use their personal email can resolve any email-related problems through advocacy.
For example, Career and Technical Education Department teacher Nancy Wyatt had trouble with a website that was needed for her class, but she was able to fix the problem similarly to how other teachers would be able to do so if needed.
“I had to submit a report and then explain how we use it and why we use it….Then they reached out to the company and then they came up with some agreement,” said Wyatt.
One main factor the district is worried about is parents’ and students’ reactions to this change: some people will see this as the district trying to watch everything and restrict anything they can.
During an interview this January, Francis reassured students and parents that all decisions are made for student safety.
“[The email removal] allows us to be more diligent and consistent with our support of students as we are really in charge of the educational advancement of our students and the tools that we provide them to use,” said Francis.
Hello! My name is Kayla Goddard and I'm a Senior at Oswego high school, this is my second year on the 42Fifty staff, now a news and social media editor. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
Great information
So well articulated! I love this piece!
Impressive photo and great focus on the article!