Thoughts on New School Laptops
Ruthi Hayes March 22, 2021
Students at Scott High School give their opinions on the new school laptops they were given for classwork.
The new laptops the students at Scott High school received this January have been a hot topic since the moment they were given out.
Opinions on the laptops are varied throughout the whole school, with most of them not being too positive. It appears one of the most popular comments has originated because of the internet connection issues within the school.
When asked if she had any technical problems with her new laptop, senior Makenzie Cook mentioned this issue to be her only problem, saying.
“A lot of the time I have trouble connecting to the internet, but overall, it’s been pretty good. I haven’t had any issues out of it,” said Cook.
School officials are currently working to the best of their ability to make sure that the connection issues are no longer a problem and students can use their laptops to their full potential.
Thankfully for the students, there has been an obvious improvement already. This improvement has been thanks to the ban on personal laptops and hotspots, which was apparently the cause to the issues.
The internet issues have not been the only problem that has arose with the laptops though. Students have also been having problems with some websites and features being blocked.
Sophomore Alena Richardson mentioned this issue when asked about any technical problems she had with her laptop.
“Sometimes it doesn’t let me watch videos, and sometimes it doesn’t let me certain websites that I need to be on. Today in Spanish I, needed to watch a video, and it wouldn’t let me watch it,” Richardson said.
An issue like this can make it difficult for students to finish their work in class. There is a solution though. The problem can be reported to the teacher and then that teacher can report to school officials so they can help fix the problem as fast as possible.
Videos being blocked is only one example of problems some students are experiencing. Another problem with things being blocked was mentioned by Cook when she was asked what things she liked and or disliked about the laptops.
Cook said, “I don’t like how a lot of things are blocked on there. Like I can’t access my thumb drive or anything like that.”
For instance, the touch screen feature is a popular and well-liked feature among students. And, for many, the laptops are much easier to haul to and from class compared to bulky textbooks.
When asked what she liked about the laptops, Cook said, “I like that they are smaller and more portable.”
Though opinions on the new laptops are varied, one thing that is for certain: they are necessary during remote learning.
Students who may not have had their own laptops before, now get to use a reliable laptop for the remainder of their high school careers.
If there has been one thing good that has come from COVID-19, it has been Scott High School students getting new laptops.