This year, we have seen a significant increase in student Chromebook issues at SMS. The two most common issues are broken screens and “battery issues”.
From discussions with our students, the most common reason for a broken screen is weight being placed on the Chromebook lid. The most common stories shared are from their books smashing their Chromebook within their backpack, carrying books on top of the Chromebook between classes, closing the lid of the chromebook with a pencil on the keyboard, and students stepping on the Chromebook. While students are not allowed to carry backpacks in SMS, they are allowed to use their Chromebook case to safely transport their Chromebook between classes.
However, the biggest issue we are experiencing are “battery issues”. You may have noticed the quotation marks around battery issues. Many of the Chromebook Tech Tickets submitted as battery issues, are actually perfectly fine Chromebooks that students failed to charge before coming to school. Students need to arrive at school, daily, with a charged Chromebook. If they don’t, they can not participate in their daily learning as their teachers have planned. If a student does forget to charge their Chromebook, they will need to bring their charger to school and charge them in their classroom or pod as needed. However, not having a chromebook charged may result in progressive discipline fo rnot having materials for class.
Please discuss this with your student and we are asking for your support to eliminate continued issues and better preparation for class. Thank you.
