On the first day of school, Mr. Robert Bradburn announced non-school-issued devices were not allowed in his classroom.

However, since this regulation was only for his class,  I started bringing my personal laptop after noticing many other students did as well. But, I was still frustrated because I knew accessing textbooks and completing assignments would be more efficient on my personal laptop.

Although some teachers strictly ban students from using their own laptops instead of the school-issued Chromebooks, using my personal MacBook occasionally provided many benefits. After bringing my MacBook several times, I noticed using it is more convenient and efficient. 

I attended Robert C. Fisler School, which provided students with MacBooks, so I am comfortable with the apps and keyboards associated with iOS, the operating system for Apple devices. I noticed I type on Chromebooks slower than on my MacBook, especially because the shortcuts and keys are in different locations.

For example, the Chromebook’s control key is equivalent to the command key on a MacBook, but the keys’ locations differ, contributing to slower typing speed and mistyping. This inconvenience made me frustrated. I struggled to copy and paste certain information, as I misclicked the keys multiple times. Using my own laptop makes typing more efficient because of a more familiar keyboard.

I agree with the school policy that students should use school-issued devices during testing or when instructed to use GoGuardian, an app that monitors and tracks students’ website usage. 

I understand that teachers restrict the use of personal laptops to limit distracting content during education. However, students can still focus in class even without using a school-issued device, which can help students efficiently complete assignments.

Another advantage of using my MacBook is it allows access to all websites blocked on school-issued devices. For example, such devices restrict many necessary apps, one of which is Otter.ai, a transcription tool. As a Journalism 1 student writing stories and conducting interviews, I find it a beneficial app and tool that helps me quickly gather information. I also can’t access many important links when researching and completing assignments, watch educational YouTube videos and view censored Google images. 

While I will continue following my teacher’s instructions and using Chromebooks when directed, I strongly advocate for personal laptops over school-issued ones. I hope to use them more freely in various classes in the future.