Freezes. Crashes. Lag. Overheating. Some of the most common issues you might find with your tablet. Several murmurs and complaints spread about tablets. It’s been rumored for several years that UNIS will finally bring in Macbooks for students. Students return every year in hopes of getting a surprise, only to be disappointed by the fact that it would be the same as any year technology-wise. As the world moves onto the new age of technology , UNIS being a top-class school in itself should be able to join this new age. After asking several students for their personal input on the matter, it seems as if they share a similar opinion.

The following questions were what these four students responded to:

1. How long have you had a school tablet for?
2. What are some problems/difficulties you have encountered with the tablet?
3. What condition is your tablet in (and if it is in a bad condition, why)
4. What are better options or even alternatives to the tablets?
5. How much do you enjoy using your tablet (include a rating out of 10)

All students preferred to keep their identity safe with the intention of keeping out of trouble. They responded accordingly.

Student 1:

1. About 2 years
2. Sometimes takes long to turn on and sometimes freezes for a long period of time.
3. As of now, my tablet is in a good condition.
4. MacBook Pro
5. 6/10

Student 2:

1. A year and a half
2. Some websites are blocked and if I need to download something I usually also need school permission
3. Pretty good, but since I don’t usually carry the case around with it, the corners of the tablet are cracked
4. For certain subjects or topics, I find it easier and more effective to work off a textbook
5. I enjoy having a tablet to have all of my work on and to be able to type things which is faster than writing (8)

Student 3:

1. I’ve had various tablets throughout the years ever since fifth grade
2. Some problems and difficulties is the tablet crashing at times and losing files, while other times the tablet is running slower and it’s harder to work with
3. The tablet I currently have is in fine condition
4. Better options or even alternatives for tablets can be Macs, or actual computers because in HS we don’t use the pen feature a lot anymore, so computers like Windows, Dell…
5. 6

Student 4:

1. I’ve had it since the beginning of Grade 7, so for 2 and a half years now.
2. The tablet is just generally not functioning well anymore. It’s slow and stops working sometimes with no reason.
3. There are some minor damages, like cracks on the corners, but nothing serious.
4. MacBooks.
5. 0

As indicated in the responses of this survey, students enjoy using school tablets at a mediocre score of 5, evidently suggesting that the tablet only presents a dilemma as oppose to alleviation when being used. It has come to the point where the tablets hardly function and sometimes disable students to be proactive in the classroom.

However, it was interestingly suggested by Student 3 that instead of even using Macbooks, that instead, the school leans toward Dell computers. With high intel core processors, freezing and lag would hardly occur and students would benefit from the ease of utilization that Windows programs provide.

While these students and myself have encountered several technical difficulties with our tablets, it could indeed be at the fault of ourselves, as oppose to the computer. The student who enjoys the tablet the most was in fact the student who has had the least, this is most likely due to the fact that their tablet is in (far) better condition, making it effortless to use. Is it up to the students to responsibly handle their property, or is it time for UNIS to catch up with the modern world.