Chromebooks: 1:1 devices an asset to education

Alison Pichney | Raider Staff

On August 23, Chromebooks were distributed to all students in Loudoun County High School as part of Loudoun County Public School’s 1:1 initative. The goal of this initiative is to supply each student with a learning device. Though questions initially swarmed about whether our infrastructure could handle the technology, after the first few months of school, the Chromebooks seem to be a success.

Abigail Sauro and Abigail Berard, both sophomores at Loudoun County High School, view the technology favorably. “I like my Chromebook because it helps you have more access to school and some kids that don’t have computers at home can now do their homework at home,” Sauro said.

According to the 2016 Loudoun County Survey of Residents, a striking 2.8% of residents have no access to Internet at home. As stated by the Administration of Loudoun County Public Schools, the initivitave of the Chromebooks was to give all students an ability to use technology. This is essential to the participation of students in school because now everyone is equal when it comes to their access to homework online. “I think it definitely helps with making all students feel included,” Berard said.

Jim Noland, a teacher and long-term substitute in Loudoun County, thinks that LCPS is trying to expand its use of technology and learning, and the Chromebooks are intended to level the playing field so everyone can have access to technology, so there’s better communication with teachers and students.

“It makes it easier to text and contact teachers, and it allows teachers to post reminders,” Noland said about the universality of the Chromebooks. Giving students reminders alerts them to do their assignments, ultimately instilling the fact that they should get on with their assignments. According to scholarshipzone.com, studies show that homework improves standardized test scores. These alerts on the Chromebooks may help improve the test scores of most students in Loudoun County.

The availability of Chromebooks also makes it easier for students to turn things in. The turn-in feature on Google Classroom makes it possible for students to deliver their assignments to their teachers digitally and with the simple click of a button.

“I think the Chromebooks have definitely improved my grades because with Google classroom and the turn in option, I don’t have to trek all the way to school to turn in assignment. Now if I’m sick and as soon as I’m finished with an assignment, I can get feedback on it quickly,” sophomore Belle Colon said.

The Chromebooks have also enhanced student life. English teacher Katie Daniel said that she can now see a connection between every student in the school.

Anyone could type something up anywhere in school. WiFi is available anywhere, anytime. All students can now use technology, increasing the threshold to a higher level of sophistication for all LCPS students.

The Chromebooks have made it easier to turn things into teachers, improving grades because of immediate feedback instead of waiting for the grade to show online. It also links classmates, improving everyone’s school spirit.

Students Neglecting Responsibilities in Cafeteria

Sally Stimpson | Raider Staff

For most students, summer is a time to relax and enjoy their freedom from the responsibilities that come along with attending high school. These summer habits make returning to school in the fall that much more difficult, and this year is no different. Some students seem to have forgotten how to act responsibly and ethically after eating their lunch in the cafeteria, and neglect cleaning up after themselves.

When students purposefully leave a mess in the cafeteria, they push their duties onto someone else and force them to clean up a mess that they did not make. Mark Patterson spoke about this issue and whose responsibility it becomes when a mess is left behind, “The responsibility to clean up the trash is that of the individual who made it. Unfortunately, there is a small handful who consistently leave a mess behind. We understand that accidents happen and sometime people just forget something, but the messes that are purposefully left behind with the idea the that the custodians can just clean it up is ethically wrong.  I find it very disappointing that some people think this way,” said Patterson, who often has lunch duty.

Sophomore Amy Fehr also expressed that when she goes to lunch and sees trash left behind, she feels like the students who left their mess behind should have been more respectful. “When trash is left in the cafeteria where I eat, it makes my lunch less enjoyable and instead of focusing on my lunch I focus on the mess left on my table,” said Fehr.

It can be difficult for custodians to clean up the trash that is left behind in the nutrition center as Loudoun County High School operates on a back-to-back lunch schedule. With only a few minutes between each shift, custodians have a big job trying to wipe down the tables, pick up any trash left behind, and replace the trash cans in a limited time frame.

The students who do choose to leave behind a mess for the custodians to clean up only make their job increasingly difficult. Additionally, they increase the likelihood that the nutrition center will not be clean in time for the next shift, and students will not have a clean environment to eat their lunch in.

In order to fix this issue, the few students who do choose to leave their mess behind need to recognize that it is disrespectful and rude to expect others to clean up after them. Patterson realizes that the vast majority of our students show pride in our school and do a great job at keeping it clean, but to eliminate the messes left behind, everyone needs to adopt an ethical norm that we are responsible for our own messes.

If all students do this, the nutrition center will be cleaner and students will have a much more enjoyable environment to eat their lunch in. Most importantly, if everyone cleaned up after themselves this would greatly reduce the amount of work expected of the custodians.