Students Face Technology Troubles

Technology+assistant+Mr.+Chuck+Rhue+works+on+a+student-issued+laptop%2C+one+of+many+he+has+had+to+work+on+this+year.

Technology assistant Mr. Chuck Rhue works on a student-issued laptop, one of many he has had to work on this year.

Students were excited to hear they’d be receiving new Chromebooks the first week of school, but that excitement turned to frustration as the computers started having many issues. 

During the first month of school, many students reported that their Chromebooks broke down often and that they wouldn’t turn on. 

“My battery always dies and it’s broken five times already,” said freshman Sita Roberts, who had to visit the school Technology Assistant Mr. Chuck Rhue at the Help Desk on multiple occasions during the first few weeks of school. 

Mr. Rhue said visits to the Help Desk are not uncommon when the school gets new computers or at the beginning of any school year. 

“Every year is a challenge, regardless of the PC,” he said.

However, this year’s devices have had many more problems than in previous years. 

The computers have a power shutdown issue where the computers will not turn back on. As of September 9, 230 computers work orders put in out for that reason. The problem is located within the laptops themselves. 

“Right now we are installing the new BIOS on these laptops and hopefully, just hopefully that will remedy the problem that we’re having,” Mr. Rhue said.

 The district has since let the school know that another fix will have to be put on all computers in another month, requiring Mr. Rhue to collect all the laptops again and install it.

The Chromebooks have both positives and negatives, Mr. Rhue said. 

“Pros, [they are] quicker. Cons, they are still breaking.” he said. “I can’t put it any other way. Short and sweet.” 

Students also recognize the pros and cons of the new computers. Some like the better quality and design, but they cannot ignore the frequent issues. 

“They always break and generally s–k. But they look nice, ” Junior Talin Patel said.