Libertyville High School has given out Chromebooks to various students for short test periods of a day or a weekend. The hardware pilot will be conducted for about six-eight weeks.
“We are getting some student data on different chromebook models for our next generation purchase,” said assistant principal, Mr. Ray Albin.
Math teacher Mr. John Taylor, driver education department member Mr. Bryan Wilcox, and athletic director Mr. Briant Kelly have been chosen as teacher testers throughout the school, and each have different student testers.
One of Mr. Albin’s testers, senior John Wacnik, has tried out various models.
“So far the Chromebooks have all been pretty similar. I’ve noticed that the keys are the main difference between the models,” said Wacnik.
Student testers have been using the Chromebooks just like they use their laptops or computers at home. With the recent online math program Math XL and online textbook availability, Chromebooks are making homework accessible and convenient for students.
“They’re all basically the same in my opinion, but some of them tend to be faster than the other ones,” said another tester, junior Griffin Gratz.
Although there is much similarity between the models, students have definitely picked favorites, even if they won’t be at LHS next year to use them.
“So far my favorite model has been the Dell model. It was a darker black than the ones we have at school now and it just seemed like it was a bit higher quality than some other ones,” said Wacnik.
The different Chromebook models that students have been testing or will be testing consist of the Dell Chromebook, HP Chromebook, Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga, Samsung Chromebook, and the Acer. LHS currently uses Samsung and Acer Chromebooks. The district feels it is important to receive student feedback before making a final decision in order to choose the most beneficial model.
