Technological advancements come and go like the seasons, and with these advancements, it’s easy to fall behind. To avoid falling behind, Junction City High School took a one-to-one tech initiative and assigned HP tablets to the whole student body.

“I believe some people like the tablets because, it’s a new way to learn,” Mark Estares, a junior, said. “Some aren’t used to it and enjoy the traditional way of learning better.”

If students enjoy this new wave of online learning, it will offer new insight into the world of education. Learning online is a lot less of a hassle for the teacher and the class and can make students become more technology friendly.

By utilizing the tablets in this form of online learning, many students can get their education in the classroom and in the comfort of their own home. However, many students were having problems with how they worked. To get those problems fixed, the students have to visit the Beak Squad, a student organization at the school that help fix issues with the tablets. The Beak Squad is made up of 14 students and 3 tech-savvy teachers. Together, they fix any problems that students may face with the tablets. The students can visit the Beak Squad during all hours of blue and white days or seminar.

“The day we got the tablets, a little less than 10 people had come to me for help. It was very busy and filled with waiting students,” said Evan Carrasquero-Bryant, a junior and member of the Beak Squad. One of the issues many students had come to the Beak Squad for was because of personalization of the tablets. The tablets seem to work well for school, but there are few technology faults. Students wanted to make the tablet seem less like school and more cool, but unfortunately, personalization was taken away by administrators.

Many students are frustrated with the slow wi-fi internet connection.  This frustration stemmed from the fact that most students got their education just fine without the tablets and now they had to worry about carrying “another bag on my shoulder.”

“I don’t like them,” Brandon Yeauger, a senior said. “I see what their use is, but I don’t agree with having them.”

However, for every negative, there is always a positive. There are some students at JCHS who love the tablets and their uses.

“I think the touch screen its and accessibility is nice. It has good mobility and easy to carry around; much easier than the computers from last year,” Milorad Jovanov, a sophomore said.

Aside from having user friendly features, the tablets have several resources that teachers and students can utilize. These include, OneNote and Schoology. These resources help teachers and students get class work and check grades.

“The OneNote app works well and allows the students to view the same thing as the teachers,” Evan Carrasquero-Bryant, a junior said. “They don’t have to worry about printing paper and making sure everyone gets a copy”. The OneNote app comes pre-installed on all the tablets and many teachers utilize the app in the class.

Another helpful resource teachers use is Schoology. “I like the website Schoology; it’s like OneNote with grades and the ability to do school work and communicate with the teachers and students,” Jovanov said.

OneNote and Schoology are both great resources that all students and teachers can use to do schoolwork and increase that boundary with online learning.

Although a majority of the student body seems to dislike the tablets,  they are a great learning resource for students and teachers to use.

“They’re better than nothing!”   Estares, said.