With the new school year now past its beginning stages, the Senior Class at Wayne Hills has been equipped with new personal chromebooks for their academic use.

The district’s Technology Director Joseph Borchard said the district wanted to create a “learning environment where technology is not an obstacle in instruction, but rather a catalyst for learning.” “The catalyst for e-learning includes a personalized approach to learning which includes a personal device,” he adds.  

While this idea sounds great on paper, many Seniors have mixed reviews on these chromebooks.

Marcello Bussanich had positive thoughts about his chromebook. He was gifted a new chromebook from Wayne Hills, and has said that he feels “pretty good” about his chromebook. However, Marcello was quick to acknowledge that he “hears other people complain about the older ones.”

Natalia Dominguez, another senior student, had similar views. While she did mention that they were a little slow, she agreed that they served a valid purpose in her academic classes and study period.

The classes of 2018 and 2019 did not have personal computers while the classes of 2020 and 2021 were provided with personal computers as of last year. Therefore, the current senior class, the class of 2019, relied on functioning without the consistent use of personal computers. With the class of 2019 graduating in nine months, many feel that these chromebooks were not necessary.

Sabrina Coniglio, grade 12,  shared her negative input on the distribution of the new devices. “It’s just an extra thing that I don’t need to carry; I would rather write with a pencil and paper.” Sabrina is not alone in her views, as many seniors feel the same way.