Students will be receiving brand new Dell Latitude 3120 chromebooks this upcoming school year. These devices will run on ChromeOS, an operating system based on Linux that directly integrates Google’s web-based G Suite.
“[ChromeOS] is a lightweight operating system that prioritizes online work,” Tim Gunier, coordinator of technology, said.
Although these chromebooks will require an internet connection to function, since the majority of applications will run on Google’s web servers, the chromebooks are predicted to run both faster and cooler than students’ current laptops.
“Due to fewer processes [running] in the background… apps are much more stable,” Gunier said.
Students will turn in their current school-issued laptops to the library, and receive new chromebooks by the beginning of the next school year.
“Most [laptops] will be recycled” Gunier said, “[but] some may be used in upcoming classes for instruction.”
These chromebooks will also come equipped with rugged cases to mitigate potential damages, but accidents will happen, and laptops will be broken.
Lisa Marcum, librarian, noted that these laptops have a warranty system where broken laptops are sent back to Dell to be refurbished or replaced — and the student is temporarily given a new device.
The student body’s reaction to this change so far has been mixed.
Junior Logan Uzelac expresses excitement over receiving new chromebooks, noting several recurring problems, such as loud fans, slow load times, and bad battery life.
On the contrary, freshman Destiny Hill has concerns regarding the legally mandated Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) compliant restrictions to be placed on these chromebooks.
“Its only purpose is [to place] more restrictions on the computers that aren’t very necessary,” Hill said.
Despite the student body’s move to Chrome OS, staff will retain their current devices .
“At this time, staff will continue to use Windows based devices,” Gunier said, “there are no current plans to migrate staff.”