Big Walnut High School students received their Chromebooks from the school district last week.
The district’s administration has been talking about a one-to-one laptop computer model for the high school for several years. Earlier this year, the district decided that all high school students would receive a Chromebook at the start of the 2016-17 school year, and on July 28, distribution was underway at the high school.
A Chromebook is a laptop-style computer that runs on Google’s web-based Chrome OS. Designed to be used with an Internet connection, most of Chromebook’s documents and apps exist in the cloud.
On July 28, students came to the high school with parents, watched a brief video in the auditorium, received his or her own ASUS Chromebook Flip and a charger in the high school’s Innovation Center. Then they went to the cafeteria to log on to the cloud with the new device and ask any final questions before leaving the campus.
Families signed device loan agreements, stipulating that the students are responsible for bringing the fully charged device to school each day.
The high school’s $20 technology fee is wrapped into the high school’s new $100 flat fee.
A first repair is free of charge; subsequent repairs may include a charge for parts, school officials said. Students are responsible for repairs needed due to neglect. Students must pay for a full replacement if a device is lost. A stolen device will be replaced when the district is supplied with a copy of a filed police report.
In January, district Director of Academic Achievement Jen Young said the one-to-one Chromebook model would be launched in grades 5-8 during the 2017-18 school year.
