Freshman year as I went through the school day I would walk into a class and see a chromebook cart in only one or two out of my seven academic classes. Walking through the school my senior year it is clear that almost every classroom has their own chromebook cart. In most classes I even see students pull chromebooks out of their backpacks that they had received to keep for the duration of their blended class.

Chromebooks or other devices are becoming more prominent in schools as well as becoming necessary for students to excel. 

Blended classes have been implemented in Wheaton Warrenville South and many other highschools nationwide. These classes are a fusion of online and in class time to allow students to experience the classroom environment and have a teacher while still having designated days to work online throughout the school or from home.

In recent news, the Wheaton Warrenville South administration has said that next year each student will receive a personal chromebook to keep through the school year. This will allow students to always have full access to technology. Going one to one with chromebooks will help integrate technology into education.

In a survey taken by over 50 Wheaton Warrenville South students, 91.9 percent of those said that they would benefit from receiving a personal chromebook from the school. When asked to rank on a scale from one to ten on how much they would benefit from having a chromebook, 77.8 percent of people said eight or above; only 3.8 percent of students ranked the benefit of chromebooks as a five or below. Furthermore, 79.6 percent of those surveyed said that they would be interested in taking a blended class if it meant they would receive a personal chromebook for the semester. 

When asked to give a brief description on how a chromebook would enrich the highschool experience, student Corrin Bottom said, “There’s so much to do online now and having a Chromebook would make it easier to complete homework assignments and would allow us to carry less books and paper in our backpacks.” Bottom brings up the fact that chromebooks can help schools transition away from using so much paper as well as keep student’s backpacks lighter.

“You can do so much school work. It is way more organized. If I had the option to take away all worksheets and put it all in my Chromebook, I would! I feel more secure, and organized. I also feel like I get homework done so much faster and I forget less homework that is on my Chromebook,” said blended student Annie Wagner. Having been given a chromebook to use during her blended course at Wheaton Warrenville South, Wagner feels that her education and organization have been positively benefited. 

Additionally, it has been shown in recent years that technology has benefited the entirety of students and the progress of education. An article from Purdue University says, “Students can collaborate on group projects using technology-based tools such as wikis and Google docs. The walls of the classrooms are no longer a barrier as technology enables new ways of learning, communicating, and working collaboratively.” Even Wheaton Warrenville South students have noticed this change in learning. 

Not only has technology and the use of devices in school benefited students and their access to education, it has also changed the way that students learn and adapt. Matthew Lynch from “The Tech Advocate” said, “Technology-focused activities mostly require critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Teachers work as facilitators, providing constant feedback, enabling students to achieve deeper levels of understanding.” Student, Leo Riani also noticed a shift towards technology because of the increased use of google drive. Riani said, “If I got my own chrome book it would make work such as writing papers and different assignments on google classroom much more accessible.”