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The Student News Site of Niles West High School

Niles West News

The Student News Site of Niles West High School

Niles West News

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Netbooks: A Hit or Miss?

Freshman Blogger Breana Brill discusses the netbooks.

Hey Freshmen!

Sorry it’s been awhile. Now that school is nearly ending, everything has been pretty crazy. But I’m back! So, today I want to talk to you guys about the netbooks.

I honestly think they were a big waste of money. Sure they come in handy when writing papers, checking Facebook, or checking your email but other than that… they’re not very useful, especially when using them in class.

I’m sure you all have done web quests in class. But how many of you actually do it the whole class? Be honest! (: Because if you have been able to stay concentrated, I applaud you. Personally, I get so distracted by everything else I could be doing on the Internet, that I stray away from any type of class work. Having these netbooks are so distracting. Even at home, when I’m supposed to be writing a paper in Google docs, I always have a tab open for Facebook and Tumblr. Always. Not only do we pay a price for this kind of multitasking, but so does our grades. It’s hard to believe that our school would believe we would stay on task with these computers.

On top of that, my computer is never consistent or reliable. I never know when it’s going to glitch or not connect to the Internet or just shut down on me. It’s really hard to be able to control what happens on here. I remember when I was once writing a paper on Google docs in school and the Internet connection just shut off and it couldn’t reconnect. So my paper didn’t save and I lost everything.

I know what you’re thinking, why not just take it to the help desk? Sure that’s an alternative, if you want to lose all your work. I’ve gone a few times for some major glitches and they always have to re-image and that’s not fun to go through. And believe me, I’m not in any way saying they’re bad at what they do (I know each and everyone of them are more tech savvy than me), but my experiences there have not been the best.

I actually recommend you all get drop box, which is an application you can download onto your computer and you can drag all your papers, pictures, videos, etc. into it, and it saves everything. You can log into drop box on any computer and receive your items! It’s been a life saver. I’ll give you the link below.

A lot of you are probably going to comment and say that us Freshman should be grateful for these laptops, and they’re better than nothing. And even though these computers stink, I agree. I know it may not sound like it, but I am grateful for a laptop in general. Again, I agree it’s better than nothing.

But.. what do you guys think of your netbooks? Do you think it’s something the school should continue? Give me your thoughts!

I’ll write you guys later,

Breana Brill (:

Dropbox: http://www.dropbox.com/downloading
I’m pretty sure it’s the second download, but if that doesn’t work it’s the first one.

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  • Y

    YEOWAN1May 19, 2011 at 10:32 AM

    I think the net books are confusing to understand but are fun and use full at time. This message is for all the freshman out there in Niles West. When we got our net books they didn’t give us everything we need to know about using the software and how to do this and that. All they did was tell us that more tech mean we COULD learn better and a net book with Ubuntu on was there solution. Which lead us a vary confused path of under standing the net book because we were more comfortable using a Windows computer or a Mac. The ones that under stand how this books worked and not get frustrated ever few minutes to get there Wi-fi on might have keep there Ubuntu on there net books. The one that need a fresh new change get a different operating system, and about the Wi-fi. There was some problem over this year that block or could not get the connection we needed. They should have some of the tech people or someone to find the problem by the roots. So I think they should might try one more year if this if next year cause more problem is not worth the effort if giving out this laptops the the freshman.

    Reply
  • M

    melstr1May 18, 2011 at 1:04 PM

    Honestly, I Like The Net Books . I Mean, Even Though We Have Difficulties With Them Sometimes, It’s Good To Have. If You Really Think About It, What Computer Doesn’t Have Difficulties? Its A Part Of Technology. You Could Send Missing Work Through Your School E-mail Right To Your Teacher Or Any Work. It’s Good To Have If Your Given A Web-Quest Assignments Or To Use The Online Books. But Yes, It Does Get Annoying Sometimes When It Automatically Shuts Off Out Of Nowhere Or Freezes Up. In My Opinion, I Think We Should Get iPads :)) It’s More Educationally Friendly, Also Has MORE Educational Apps. Other Schools In Different Parts Of The Country Are Actually Giving Incoming Freshman’s iPads! But The Only Thing Wrong With That Is … BEING RESPONSIBLE!!!!! If You Drop A $500 iPad…I Dont Think Your Parents Or You Would Be Very Happy :/ But Other Than All This….I Think The Netbooks Are Pretty Decent. :))

    Reply
  • R

    RicardoMay 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM

    I personally like the net books they come in handdy at times like when i need to do a web quest and homework ,its also good for when i need to check my grades .at times it can be slow and lag but its better than nothing i appreciate the fact that they wanted to give our generation the net books thankyou.

    -swagg

    Reply
  • M

    MATLAT2May 18, 2011 at 12:58 PM

    I didn’t like net books from the start of the year, and I still don’t like them now. While I’m in class there is always some kid using their net book for something that is not related to school. This annoys me. The connection on mine changes whenever I go to another place in the school. Net books are a big problem. I think that the school should get rid of them.

    Reply
  • D

    Darius"Romanian"ArdeleanMay 18, 2011 at 12:57 PM

    NetBooks? Garbage. They suck. Slow, and a waste of money. Try doing homework on them with out it freezing. What a waist of money. What the heck is Umbutu? How lame, why not put Windows 7 on it. Next time get us Ipads.

    Reply
  • T

    TheProcrastinatorMay 17, 2011 at 6:51 PM

    I was rather upset when I heard that the freshman would be receiving these Netbooks, but in all honesty, after having first hand experience with using them for Spanish once or twice, I’m not envious at all.

    I think that the money used to buy the Netbooks could have been better used to buy us new text books. Sure, it may be a waste of paper, but have you seen some of these books? You look in the front cover and see that it’s been used since the 90’s if you’re really unlucky!

    To be quite honest, I understand that the school believes that it’s in good intentions to “modernize” the way that we’re being taught by incorporating more technological aspects to our education, but I see no benefits to this. The internet is a dangerous subject. It can become addicting and with millions of web pages, videos to watch, etc. etc., how in the world are you supposed to focus? No kid is going to go and say “I’m going to shut off my wifi so I only use Word Documents and get my work done”. No one. That’s unheard of.

    Had it been my decision, I would have eliminated the use of computers in schools because I feel like they are interfering with everyone’s education. Of course, it’s a personal choice to go out of your way and click that Facebook page or whatever you’re doing, but the temptation of having a surplus entertainment at your finger tips is overwhelming in many cases, disrupting class time and study time. To me, it feels like the internet has literally stolen hours of my precious time when I could have been outside, or studying. I don’t want to put all the blame on the internet, but upon receiving a laptop as a gift from my parents, and signing up for facebook/other social networking sites, I’ve stopped reading books for fun (I used to read at least 3 a week), my grades have dropped like no other, and I can feel myself along with this generation…dumbing down.

    By the way. “Googling” is not a VERB for those who are mislead to believe that it is.
    “I googled it”
    “She googled it”
    “He googled it”
    “We googled it”
    It’s becoming a part of the English language.
    So. Wrong.

    Reply
  • B

    bentru1May 16, 2011 at 10:18 PM

    The rest of the grades are grateful for not getting this “great” netbooks. I use them once or twice in my junior year, and it is the worst thing I can ever use in my classes. I grateful to just carry a few extra pounds of textbooks.

    Reply
  • F

    FreshmanMay 16, 2011 at 7:13 PM

    I actually like the netbooks. They make it easier and more convenient to get books online and everything. Also, they are a huge help in solving crises. For instance, today, my group for English forgot to print out a graphing thing. During study hall, we were all in seperate rooms. Using the GoogleDoc chat and the USB printers, we were able to turn in the paper.

    Whenever they’re a tweak, they seem to make it up for me the next day by being lifesavers. I think that the school should definitely continue the use of netbooks.

    Reply