ChromeBooks- Worth the trouble?

Chromebooks are the worst. Chromebooks are also the best. These are very well known facts among the student body.

Clearly, the student body gives a mixed review to these controversial devices. There are many pros and cons; however the cons greatly outweigh the pros.

Chromebooks are subpar because they are cheap and flimsy, they have no caps lock button, and you can only use them when you have an internet connection. Despite the convenience of size and price, the cost reflects their poor quality.

Chromebooks are cheap and they break easily. In many schools in the district, chromebooks constantly break. Although more common with the younger students, only one chromebook has been sent in for repair, while about seven have had loose keys., according to Ms. Harvey. Paying for constant repairs adds up, and the Chromebooks aren’t even worth it.

Chromebooks are just plain inconvenient. They are cheap, need constant repairs, and don’t even have a caps lock button. Now, before this is disregarded, after asking classmates about their one pet peeve with the Chromebooks, the response is unanimous. The search button is unnecessary and every student at Century has lost count of how many times they hit for the caps lock button and got stuck with the search button.

The projected cost for adopted the chromebooks for only math classes was projected to approximately $680,000. Half of a million dollars spent on Chromebooks and their new math software districtwide. Keep in mind, this cost is not counting Chromebooks in any English departments. The Chromebooks are an immense cost when one considers that they are insufficient machines.

Even if you are willing to deal with the inconvenience of the cheap devices, if you are going to purchase a Chromebook you must be aware that you are unable to download any third party software- this includes Microsoft software (like Word or Powerpoint), Photoshop, or even FireFox browsers. So, unless you are totally fine using strictly Chrome apps, the Chromebook is practically useless.

In conclusion, the Chromebooks are useful for the single task they were purchased for; school. Unless you plan to use them for anything other than google apps and the Holt McDougal software, Chromebooks aren’t practical for anyone looking to purchase one for external use outside of the school. But, despite the distaste that many students have for the devices, they do their jobs for a low, district-wide price.