The use of laptops in the classrooms has been a highly debated topic since the arrival of the laptops in November. Some teachers have found it easier than others to intergrate the laptop into daily use.

       Daniel Kennard, English, has his students use their laptops everyday. Kennard teaches College Prep English IVand has transitioned to a completely OneNote-based class.

       OneNote is an electronic version of a notebook. It allows students to store notes, pictures, videos, and handwriting.

       “I am enjoying the ability to save paper and distribute handouts without walking around the building and making copies,” Kennard said.

       Although Kennard has great things to say about the laptops, he says that some of his students would prefer to use paper instead of the laptops during English class.

       Besides this, Kennard thinks that the laptops have been a great inclusion to his classes.

       “Overall, I think the use of OneNote has been a great move for my classes and myself now that I’m really committed to it,” Kennard stated.

       Computer teacher Terina Platt doesn’t think that the laptops affect her classes because she teaches in a computer lab.

       “We cannot do without with the computer labs, because it would be very expensive to put software needed for Web Design, Graphic Design, and several other courses [on the laptops],” Platt said.

       Students are allowed to use laptops if they choose but because she is in a computer lab, Platt does not have to worry about students having their laptops charged and at school.

       Students have mixed feelings about the use of laptops. Maya Burke, senior, uses her laptop to write papers for school.

       Burke says that she uses her laptop for about three classes and that she mostly uses them when she needs internet access.

       “I think they’re helpful to an extent because most teachers still use the paper/pencil method,” said Burke.

       She also uses it for writing papers and checking math worksheets.

       Wesley Coats, junior, uses his laptop for organization. Coats takes notes, edits PDF files for English, and uses it for documents for robotics.

       “I believe they are very useful as there is a wide variety of abilities you can do with them and they help me organize all my work,” Coats stated.

       Both students said that they wished teachers would incorporate the laptops into classes more.