According to this article in the Patch this morning, NPS will roll out the 1:1 Chromebook Initiative providing every student with an assigned chromebook. ” Parents and guardians will be required to sign an agreement that states students are responsible for the care and proper usage of the computer, and that the computer is subject to inspection at any time without notice. The agreement provides guidelines if a computer is lost, stolen, damaged or malfunctions.” Cost for the program? $250,000 per grade. Thoughts?
NPS to offer 1:1 Chromebook Initiative for Newton North and Newton South students
by Amy Sangiolo | Aug 7, 2019 | Newton | 12 comments
Chromebooks are great tools, and I can see a case for using them in the classroom as opposed to more expensive, less stable, less secure devices. $250k sounds like a lot, but if that is per grade not classroom (how many students in the average Newton grade?) and it’s good for students’ four-year tenure…
On the other hand, though I’m not an educator I’m cautious about over-reliance of computers in education. I think the best learning happens when teachers and pupils interact directly without screens between them. But maybe that’s outdated thinking.
About 10-15 years ago, I was on a committee that looked at OLPC (one laptop per child) targeted primarily at the middle school years. We visited schools which made the laptop the center of their curriculum. As a technologist, even as an Apple fan, I had an allergic reaction to this on several levels: the overpriced Apple equipment, the fear that some corporate agenda was being forced on our kids (whether Apple’s iMovie, Google suite or MS Office) and the idea that teachers should go out of their way to teach with technology — not only is there a skills mismatch to overcome, the exercises sometimes felt awkward in our site visits. Every student lesson culminated with an iMovie presentation. I’m still a fan of personal interaction, and kids have enough screen time and computer skills already.
Fast forward to 2019 and my child recently received a Chromebook. I have no complaints yet. I think the origins of this had to do with online standardized testing mandated by the state. I’ve got issues with that as well, but so long as they had to do it, I think the logic was that it was not that expensive to just to give out the laptops. Chromebooks are really cheap, reasonably resilient, and almost all applications are web-based now. As far as I know, the laptops are being used as a tool to eliminate paper and hopefully textbooks too, and for that alone it may be worthwhile. I had shoulder surgery I blame on shlepping my high school books around. I haven’t seen any evidence yet that teachers are being forced to rethink their curriculum to use laptops or new media.
I asked one high school student about chrome books.
He quickly answered that they were a waste of time.
For a city like Newton most high school students use their own personal device. Many do not want to use an additional one and fear losing the chromebook..
Newton schools spend money extravagantly because there is no
accountability.
With teacher contracts looming I would think these devices are an
unnecessary luxury.
I could understand supplying a computer to the few who can not afford one. This widespread use of chrome books is wasteful.
Before spending this money I would want to know how students
feel about them. Would they be willing to pay half the cost?
@Colleen Minaker my son has his own laptop so he asked if he could not accept the chrome book and he was told that he had to take one. He would definitely prefer to use his own laptop. We have had chrome books in the past (different brands) and I found they did not last long. I really was not impressed by them. It is suggested by NPS that you purchase insurance on the device. 3 yrs is $78 for $275 in coverage. It was offered by year however the multi year deal was slightly cheaper.
Testing is a likely one of the drivers this initiative. The current rising juniors were the first class to receive the chrome books. Interestingly enough on the days that they took MCAS last year all other students had shortened days at South so that the other students were not on the network during testing.
I believe that there are quite a few benefits in the use of technology in learning. I think in particular many of the elementary teachers use it in exciting and innovative ways. It allows quite a bit creativity and also allows differentiated learning. That said clearly I am not enamored with the chrome books.
This is still one of the few tools that I can recommend all high school students have.
https://www.pacifict.com/
I was shocked that none of the math teachers knew that it came bundled for free on their macs ( at the time, when my daughter was in high school).
It’s hands down the best graphing calculator available, and I say this as an owner / user of such expensive tools as Mathematica etc.
It doesn’t run on chrome books, alas.
Has an iPad version though, and a backstory that became an NPR story as well.
As for chrome books, I suppose using a Google Docs is becoming more popular but getting some solid MS Word skills is still needed in the workplace ( and Excel).
We have had Chromebooks my house for quite a few years and we love them – they are cheap, they last forever, they don’t slow down over time like every single PC or Apple product I’ve ever owned, and most things that a student needs nowadays are web-based. That said, I think people should be able to opt out of this if they have their own device. It will get wasteful really fast if kids are given computers when they have their own.
Also I’m told that Chromebooks don’t work well for those with accessibility needs so NPS should provide laptops with better accessibility for those particular students.
Hi Colleen,
I also thought long & hard about whether opt-in / opt-out options would be better for NPS, for the same reasons you note — most students probably already have thousand-dollar laptops and a $250 Chromebook is redundant. The Chrome browser is ported to all major operating systems, so students could bring their own devices and use G.Suite (Google Docs) and other browser-based school tools just fine.
On the other hand, there are benefits to having the whole student body on a low-priced, standardized device that is secure and centrally administered. Thousand-dollar laptops support high-end video games that can be a distraction for students. They can be infected by viruses and other malware, and if a student-owned device breaks down the school can’t fix it. Also there may be set volume discounts in the Chromebook contract. If NPS gets Chromebooks one here & there, that may drive up price per unit substantially.
But I don’t disagree with you, either. I hate wasteful spending. I think the calculation is complicated. I trust NPS IT administrators believe this is the best course based on long-running experiences with kids & computers in school.
Hi,
I have two kids in NPS, and all of their homework for the past several years has been online. No one uses notebooks and physical books. Recently I started to read eBooks and listen to audiobooks offered by Newton’s free library app, and this is a big development for me. I can read a lot more books and I don’t have to carry these books with me. I think technology is moving in the right direction. Same wise, I think the kids are all ready for this change and this has started several years ago when NPS moved to google docs and when NPS schools start using ASPEN, etc to communicate with students and parents. If you are not in favor of this change, think when was last time you bought a textbook for your child, and is there a shop selling books in Newton?
By standardizing equipment all kids are on the same plane. It is like school uniforms, regardless of your opinion on uniforms. METCO and the well heeled child have the same tools, and the materials are delivered equally. No “I couldn’t do my homework because my “insert software/hardware/app” wasn’t compatible or missing or outdated.” Yeah, every kid or parent will have thoughts and beliefs of wanting or already having provided better, but from a delivery platform perspective, this is a simple, unifying and inexpensive way of easing the burden on everyone.
Great points, Lee.
This sounds like a wonderful program and for all the reasons already stated, I support doing this.
But I have to wonder how this would feel if you were a teacher who still didn’t have a contract and the district just spent $1 million on a new initiative.
I would like to hear more from the students. I do know some
do not want to use chrome books. Not only because he/she might
lose or damage them; but theft is common place for expensive items at high school.
This past 2 years the sophomore class were given chrome books.
Now administrators believe all grades ought to use them.
This cost could escalate substantially over the coming years.
Just this past year the school committee approved the spending
of new funds to develop a pre school program in the once elementary school of Horace Mann. I asked the question, what will this new expenditure add to next year’s budget? No answer as yet.
In past years the pre school was housed in portable classrooms behind the Ed. Center.
Prior to year 2000 the school budget was 50% of total city spending. Today it is beyond 60%. There is no end to all the money schools need today. Too bad no one holds them accountable.
This is why there is a push for excessive new housing development. The schools spend far too much. The more they spend the more they need.