Technology advances education
The school should continue to lend students school laptops for the entire year
As the school year ends, the personal school laptops continue to help students receive their education. “I really like the personal laptops. They help keep me organized and I can communicate with my teachers easier,” junior Lilliana Rosol said. The school board did not announce their decision on the plan for laptops next year.
The educational system scrambled to pull together a successful year due to the pandemic, but by approaching education differently and making changes, the school year prepared students to continue their education and personal school laptops made it possible.
The adjustments made to the school year were not all great, like the switching back and forth between hybrid and virtual learning, but the decision at the beginning of the year to give students laptops was correct —not only for a year in a pandemic, but for every year moving forward, this decision should be permanent.
First of all, not every student has access to a device; sure, it is mostly a middle class area in the Eisenhower community, but at the state level thousands of students live without a device. Roughly 302,160 students out of 1.5 million or 31.2%, lack access to a device, according to the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators. It is only right to give every single student the same opportunities, even if it requires a budget cut somewhere else.
Not only is it fair for each student to receive a laptop at the beginning of the year, but it’s so much more than that. It is a gateway to a greater education and a way for students to access more learning platforms. A school laptop allows for students to learn outside of school hours and reach out to peers for extra help. On top of that, it gives teachers the opportunity to share learning resources with their students.
Some may say personal school laptops aren’t necessary because school laptops are available in the building, but those take a long time to distribute and log on. It is far more efficient for students to carry their own laptop with them at home and at school. Their files are easily accessible and their login information is saved which utilizes time properly.
Asking students to purchase their own laptop is unreasonable due to Ike being a public school, but a personal school laptop should be prioritized by the administration. It is, without a doubt, an essential tool for learning and this school year would have been doomed for failure without access to technology.
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