The transition from 8th grade to high school is no laughing matter, as arguably the toughest educational transition a student will ever face. So with the changes instituted over the summer, has the EVSC has placed another burden on the freshman student population with their decision to distribute netbooks to high-schoolers this year?

The HP Mini-Note 2140 came as a surprise to many over the summer, and incoming freshman at Reitz went from eighth graders to netbook-toting young adults as they passed through the bookstore to get their books.

“I was surprised that they would trust us with them,” said freshman Kelsey Mcmanus, “With all the stuff we’d do on them.”

The added responsibility of keeping up with the netbook might become a burden for some, but a positive upgrade in the realm of maturity even as first year high school students. As expressed in the assemblies concerning rules during the first week of school, students are being treated like adults this year, so they’re going to be expected to act like adults concerning their netbooks.

The “One-to-One” initiative has not been without its early problems, however. Network issues with the netbooks throughout the school was apparently the most pressing concern and most frequent cause for visits to Mr. Carl during the first few weeks of school. Freshman Madison Mosby feels the netbooks can be a bit of a burden, as you’ll “spend a lot of time trying to get them to turn on or to even work.”

Becoming acclimated with the new laptops apparently wasn’t an issue with most freshman, mostly because of the students’ near lifelong familiarity with Windows-based PC’s. Freshman Jack Danks agreed that getting used to the new technology was not an issue.

“You mean how long did it take for people to get games on it?” asked Danks.

Point taken. One of the major issues (or non-issues) with the laptops so far has been the use of the device for more “recreational” purposes, whether privately or during school. Stricter rules seem to be falling in place among teachers about how to deal with inappropriate activities (Skype, games, blocked internet sites, etc.) on the netbooks during their lessons, and students, freshman especially, are beginning to see the effects these distractions can have on their high-school level classwork.

“I tend to get distracted by my netbook in the classes I don’t really like,” said freshman Cameron Liley. “But in subjects I enjoy it’s not much of a problem.”

Is it a tool or a toy? The debate rages on about whether EVSC-issued netbooks will ever truly be used primarily as a learning/teaching resource as opposed to the internet-capable, game-playing, recreationally customizable devices they are to many students now.

“We use them in class,” said freshman Taylor Mathis on how the netbooks have multiple uses. ” Then people mess around with them at home.”

Many more first-year students, however, are satisfied with the way netbooks are moving education forward and helping them behind the scenes to handle classwork, homework, and everything in-between.

“It does make homework and stuff easier,” said Mathis, “But they’re not a distraction or making things tougher about freshman year.”

With the netbooks, it all depends on how they’re used, and it’s ultimately up to the student (to a point). If you’re the kind of student who is willing to do the right thing (in line with the whole concept of “academic integrity” and whatnot), you’ll at least keep the personal computer activity personal; as in, at home. As freshman, students are only going to hurt themselves if they choose to go the deviant route and willingly let their minds wander during classes in the most crucial academic year of high school.

The netbooks were meant to improve the accessibility of educational resources, not to goof off all day and expect grades not to drop drastically. In layman’s terms: you snooze, you lose; you lose bad. But freshman are afforded the opportunity to win big as long as they use the netbooks for their intended purpose, which gives freshman a leg up on every class that came before them. So be smart about it; only three more years, right?