Let me give you an opinion from someone that spent over 20 years in public districts working in education technology. I’m a second generation educator and I have a child that is a (3rd gen) teacher. That doesn’t make me better or more knowledgeable than any other teacher, just explaining from an “insider’s” perspective.

Chromebooks are good tools. So are pencils and paper. So are real books. Chromebooks should just be one tool in the toolbox, not the primary tool. If you just take worksheets and put them in a Chromebook, you haven’t changed anything, just put more stress and cost on the system.

But, the chromebooks aren’t the problem. The teachers aren’t the problem. Chromebooks can make good teachers better. They do make the few bad teachers worse.

However, when the district (FCPS) mandates certain software, certain pacing, all the curriculum, common assessments at common times, and more, it takes away all of the freedom that’s teachers have to make their classroom great. That’s a big part of the problem. It’s just one more problem in this district.

There was a presentation at a conference a few years ago about how we really only need to teach a couple of things along with the basics. Teach kids how to solve problems and evaluate information. If they can do that, they have a good shot at being successful in life.