In December 2016, Wakefield received a supply of brand new Lenovo laptops from the Wake County School Board. The laptops are meant to promote innovative techniques of learning through technology. As a “bring your own device” school, Wakefield relies heavily on the use of computers. As a result, there is a demand at the school for modern learning materials so that kids without their own devices do not fall behind in class.

Wakefield principal Mr. Bazzell hopes that the new laptops will aid the learning abilities of every student at the school. In addition, the new laptops will make lesson planning easier for teachers.

Staff Photo by Ann Chen
“[The laptops] ensures every child has access to technology at school,” Bazzell said. “It allows teachers to create lesson plans and learning activities without having to worry about a child not being able to participate because we have enough laptops to ensure everyone has access.”
Mr. Bazzell is well aware that there is a need to keep the laptops in good condition, so he has a policy in place to keep the laptops working as well as possible. This policy involves both students and teachers having to be responsible for their actions.

“Each teacher is responsible for reviewing acceptable use policies with their students and ensuring the safety and security of the device,” Bazzell said. “If it is proven a student purposely destroyed a device, they will be charged to repair or replace it. The charge will be a part of their fees and fines until it is paid for.”

Junior Anthony Desantis has been very pleased with the school’s brand new laptops, finding them to be more efficient than the old laptops.

“They are easier to use and faster when loading up. Since it’s connected to Google, you are immediately logged into your Google account,” Desantis said.

Whenever there is anything new, there is always the concern of keeping it in pristine condition. Desantis believes that the maturity level of students at this school will determine how well the laptops are cared for.

“Upperclassmen are mature enough to handle the new laptops, whereas the freshmen might mess with them,” Desantis said.

Although brand new laptops are an exciting event, it is still important to make sure that they are utilized correctly. Librarian Dorothy Corrigan believes that teachers can use these laptops in a variety of ways.

“Teachers need to adjust the ways that they in classrooms to make the best use of them,” Corrigan said. “There is a lot of different ways that they can be used. If a teacher has ten laptops in their room, suddenly they don’t have to reach out for even fact checking or typing a document. They are meant for teachers to have the ability to engage in different types of activities in the classroom.”

Senior Suraj Rai was very impressed with the new laptops. He thinks that they have an impressive design, and he believes that they will enhance the learning experience of students.

“I noticed that the laptops were a much improved design compared to the bulky, black laptops that Wakefield previously had,” Rai said. “The new laptops have an improved operating system in relation to the older laptops. I believe that with the feeling of a new laptop, production will increase within classes.”

Not only does Rai think that the new laptops work better than the old laptops, he also has found that the attraction of having a new laptop keeps him on task during class when he would have otherwise been distracted.

“In classes such as AP Government and Sociology, I used the new laptops for research instead of using my iPhone which was a distraction for me at times,” Rai said. “Overall, I felt more productive when using the new laptops because they were incredibly fast and easy to get the assignment completed.”