In 1968, Xerox came out with the first personal laptops. Since then, technology has become interwoven with our education system. Here at Powell High School, technology has become essential to our education. Personal computers, however, have started to cause problems. 

The possibility of the new personal laptop ban has the PHS student body worried. Due to the new cellphone ban, students have turned more to their personal laptops for the privacy they want from the school administration. However, the administration has found it necessary to ban personal laptops.

“A student on a personal device has the ability to circumvent all of the safeguards that the district has put into place to ensure students are not being exposed to content that has been deemed non-educational,” PHS Assistant Principal Steve Lensegrav said.  “Thus, we have seen a large increase in the number of personal laptops that have been brought to school and used as it has provided a way for students to, in essence, replace their cell phone and use their personal device to surf and view any and all content they want to at school.”

However, the idea of viewing content is one of the issues that makes PHS students feel like laptops are necessary. 

“I need to watch and upload Youtube videos for my college classes,” junior Justin Dusenberry said. “With the limitations on sites, I can’t complete my classwork.”

The risk of the ban worries students because school-issued laptops have so many restrictions that prevent the students from being able to work efficiently and quickly on their harder technological classwork.  

“…Some people have the laptops who have school activities, like me for robotics, and we need them to do out-of-school clubs,” senior Jacob Harms said. “Other people use them for college classes, and the Chromebooks can’t really compete.”

The limits on Chromebooks prevent students from completing school work quickly, forcing students to jump through loopholes and hoops just to get information easily accessed on their personal laptops.

“If I am researching a topic, and I am researching something that is banned, I am unable to do so,” junior Luci Dees said. “I had to research the Virgin of Guadalupe for a Spanish class, and I couldn’t do it.” 

Like Harms previously mentioned, it is a major hassle for the students in robotics, a competition that involves use of many large files and apps. The ban will make it difficult for competitors to get ready for their competitions.

“I use my laptop for CAD and stuff,” Harms said. “The program I use doesn’t work on a Chromebook.”

PHS students feel the need for a personal computer outweighs the reasons that administrators give that would make such a ban necessary. However, the possibility still looms large. 

“The hope is that by limiting the ability to surf unlimitedly, students are more focused and engaged in class,” Mr. Lensegrav said. “We just want to keep students safe here at school.”