On Jan 6, at the beginning of second semester, OH implemented a new Chromebook policy that had been underway since August. The main difference is that Chromebook chargers are no longer available to be borrowed by students. The new policy aims to solve one of the main problems the tech hub has seen.
“Since we can’t track chargers, we decided to try something new,” said OH Instructional Technology Coach Jaclyn King. “Instead of loaning chargers, we charge devices and provide a loaner device to students.”
If a student brings an uncharged Chromebook to school, they just need to trade it in for the day, and will swap the loaner for their (now) charged Chromebook later in the day.
The tech department already has methods of tracking loaner Chromebooks, so they are a simpler alternative. The tech hub also has procedures in place for taking care of Chromebooks, be they loaners or student Chromebooks.
“The tech department [both] supplies and takes care of loaners,” said OH Technology Specialist Robert Shaw.
With the primary Tech Hub issue at OH being untrackable chargers, it stands to reason that a policy to cut chargers out of the equation is a decent compromise.
“Each building can create its own policies surrounding loaners, so each building’s policies and how they handle the loaners can be different based on the situations the schools see,” said Shaw.
Some students have concerns about how well the policy will work, since they now have to go to the LRC for a charge than just to an outlet in their classroom.
“It causes more of a distraction to have to leave class and go to the library rather than just having to move seats to an outlet,” said OH senior Laurel Lenke.
However, the loaner should last until the exchange, meaning only one disruption is needed. Additionally, a trip to get a charger would also likely happen during class, resulting in a disruption. Ensuring that seating arrangements don’t have to change for students to use loaner chargers can solve some other issues for teachers.
“The tech interns during 6th, 7th, and 8th handle the exchanges, which saves students an extra trip to the Tech Hub,” said King.
Overall, this new policy is a way to make sure students do not need to leave class as often, simplify the process for the tech department, and minimize how often classes will have to move to allow outlet access.
My name is Monaco Tiffany. I am a senior at Oswego High School and Oswego East High School. This is my second year as part of 42Fifty. I am serving as one of the Managing Editors for 42Fifty. I am involved in the frc robotics team 2338 Gear It Forward.
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
