Since the implementation of the cellphone ban, students have had to find a creative way to talk to each other during the school day and they have successfully.

Google Hangouts is a communication platform created by Google that is used by students to communicate.  Although this form of communication is effective to speak to students that might not be in that class that same hour, it does not mean what students are saying isn’t seen by administration.

“We have the ability to watch you live on your chromebooks, so whatever you’re doing on it we should be able to see it,” stated Mrs. Gina Williamson, Tech Services Director.

Certain phrases that students should refrain from saying on the chromebooks such as curse words, threatening to fight someone, or any form of bullying.

Mrs. Williamson said if you wouldn’t say it to your mom or grandma, don’t say it on the chromebooks.

“Right now, we’re looking at it to come up with a policy for that because I know nowadays students will use like foul language as a part of their [vocabulary] and it doesn’t necessarily mean their trying to be disrespectful,” said Mrs. Williamson.

Games are strictly prohibited any time during school except for educational games, such as Cool Math Games. All game websites should be blocked. However if a teacher catches a student on a website/ application they’re not supposed to be on teachers have the ability to block those websites for that class period.

“Games are blocked and should be blocked for everybody, in the AUP [acceptable use policy] it does say no games. Educational games, like Cool Math Games, [are] unblocked,” stated Mrs. Williamson.

Oftentimes, students don’t think of school as their “job.” However, school is essentially eight hours a day, just like a typical job would be. A student’s main responsibility while at school is to engage in learning.

“You may be a student, but this is your job, so would you play games while you are working at McDonald’s or working as an attorney? It’s the same thing. That’s how I looked at it when figuring out what to block with games. You’re here to learn, that’s your job. If you’re too busy playing games, you’re not going to focus on doing your job,” said Mrs. Williamson.

Mrs. Williamson said that the chromebooks are helping to prepare students for college. Taking notes on a laptop is an essential part of college, and she smiles every time she walks into a room and students are taking notes.

However, there are ways students can misuse chromebooks, such as using it at inappropriate times, cursing excessively, or even damaging the chromebooks on purpose.

“I think overall [the chromebooks] have been a success, but we have a few bad apples and I don’t want a few bad apples to ruin it for everybody so we try to work with that,” said Mrs. Williamson.

Student’s chromebooks are not invincible and need to be treated as such.

“If [students are] putting [the chromebook]  in the very back and your books are in the very front and it keeps banging against [the chromebook] it’s going to break the screen, so for me [I ask that students] use care with their chromebooks, be responsible with their chromebooks and if you have any problems or issues with them, come see me,” Mrs. Williamson suggested