The sophomores at Tyrone Area High School were reissued their Google Chromebooks on Wednesday, September 3.

Since the start of the school year, most of the sophomores have been anticipating the return of their Chromebooks. This will be the second year that the class of 2017 receives the devices.

Chromebooks look a lot like a laptop computer, but they differ from a traditional laptops in that they do not have a large amount of storage space.  They can only run web-based applications, so  they must be connected to the internet in order to be useful.

The biggest advantage of Chromebooks over traditional laptops is their affordable price.  Chromebooks can be purchased by the district for under $200 a piece.  This has allowed the school to purchase one for each incoming freshman and sophomore at the high school.

Many students who enjoyed the laptops last year were very eager for the return of the new technology.

“The Chromebooks brought technology into our classroom and I like them better than just using a pencil and paper,” said sophomore Chloe Case.

Case feels like the Chromebooks helped the learning experience in the classroom, because in the past when students were given paper worksheets, they tended to forget about them and put them off. Case explained that with a running laptop right in front of them, students are swayed to actually do their work.

However, not all the students think that the new technology is helping.

“Last year, if we forgot our Chromebook, lost it, or forgot to charge it, you couldn’t participate in many activities with the class,” said sophomore Justin Bickel, “also, kids put off their work and got everyone in trouble by playing games during class. They just added complications that didn’t need to be there.”

The freshmen at Tyrone Area High School will be receiving the Chromebooks within the next few weeks.

Like the previous class, each student will get a device of their own, but the freshmen’s model will differ from the sophomores.

Freshman Cheyenne Weaver is very excited to receive her Chromebook for her first year.

“I’ve heard that the Chromebooks are very useful and they are very helpful for studying and writing essays,” said Weaver, “I am excited to get one of my own, because I feel like it will make school a little more interesting and it will help me get my work done.”

Morgan Bridges agreed.

“I can’t wait to get my own Chromebook. It will be something new, and a new experience with learning this year,” said Bridges.

Not only are the students are excited to seize the new technology in the classroom, but many of the teachers are, too.

US Civics teacher Todd Cammarata is very excited to welcome the Chromebooks into his classroom.

Cammarata already has many projects planned that will require internet research. He hopes to utilize different Google Apps in the classroom.

“I hope to use things such as Google Classroom and other apps to help students collaborate with each other and keep up to dates with things,” says Cammarata, “Having a device that is so easy to get to and so easy to log into will be very nice to have in class.”

TAHS plans to “phase in” the Google Chromebooks; each class of incoming freshmen will receive the devices every year.