Chromebooks have indisputably changed the way students learn in recent years. Teachers lecture while students follow along with slides, allowing students to use their Chromebooks throughout class. However, students may take this opportunity to play games and to shop online instead of paying attention to their teachers.
The most popular pastimes for students are the daily NYT Wordle, crossword, Connections or online shopping. MCPS blocks most video games, but students who use their personal computers at school have access to a range of games they can play during class. Junior Alina Parikh said, “I’ve witnessed students playing games and shopping online in class, and it makes sense. I mean, we’re bored, and we have an open computer screen in front of us, so we naturally take the opportunity to pass the class time.”
Junior Angie Huang said, “I always see a lot of people online shopping while at school; it’s really hard to resist when it’s right in front of you. Especially if the class is boring or you’re already doing well in it, it’s hard to focus on your work when you can do something you enjoy.”
Procrastination is also a heavy price for students who use their class time on computer games. Junior Nicole Kitzler said, “I think students playing games takes away from their class time, which creates procrastination leaving students with a lot of homework.”
Students may also ultimately receive a bad grade in the class simply from not paying attention during the lecture. Junior Abby Goozh said, “It distracts students from their learning, and they can’t focus in class. I’ve seen people struggle with it and get bad grades and then complain, but they don’t realize that playing Chromebook games in class is the reason why.”
From a teacher’s perspective, students playing games on their Chromebooks in class interferes with class plans and attention spans. English teacher Amani Elkassabany said that Chromebooks “distract students from thinking and being engaged with their peers.”
To combat students exploiting Chromebook privileges, she “sets clear expectations when Chromebooks are and are not needed in class. I also use Lightspeed as a last resort; it allows me to freeze their screens.”
History teacher Jeff Benya “makes announcements at the beginning of class, such as ‘put away your phones and close chromebooks.’ I walk around and close chromebooks when students are off task and not doing their work.”
Lightspeed, a replacement for GoGuardian, allows teachers to manage and see their students’ screens. It gives teachers the tools to keep their students from online distractions on their Chromebooks. Teachers started using this platform after MCPS discontinued GoGuardian. Teachers have implemented rules in their classrooms to work around this distraction issue, such as assigning more work on paper in class, not allowing Chromebooks during lectures and using Lightspeed to see students’ screens.
