Canyon High has acquired 250 Chromebooks for a total of 10 classrooms as an alternative to buying textbooks. The Chromebooks are used in all science classes and some “seed classes” taught by teachers who applied to be in the program. The school received these Chromebooks through a new fund the state started called the Instructional Materials Allotment. Every school receives a certain amount of money that lasts for about two years from this fund.

The Chromebooks are fast, have 8.5 hours of battery life and students say they are easier to use than books. Using Google Drive, students can access reports, notes and shared documents. Junior Alyx Cordell said the Chromebooks make class more organized.

“They are very efficient to people who can learn faster,” Cordell said.

Cordell also said it is easier to take notes on the Chromebooks rather than by hand.

“I’m a person that can type faster than I write, so it makes class more helpful,” Cordell said. “I think our school can become smarter with the Chromebooks.”

Junior Megan Williams said Chromebooks make classes easier.

“They are convenient to have,” Williams said. “They are more effective to use, and they are more hands on.”

Chemistry teacher JaCee Villarreal said her students always want to use the Chromebooks.

“The students can think of ways to use them even when I can’t think of ways to use them in my lesson plans,” Villarreal said.

Villarreal also said sometimes it’s harder to take notes on the Chromebooks for her classes.

“In chemistry we have a lot of numbers and equations we have to write down, and it’s harder to do that,” Villarreal said. “If we are just taking lengthy notes it makes class go by a lot faster.”

Villarreal said she feels comfortable, for the most part, with her students using the Chromebooks.

“You have to watch out for some of the students because they could be gaming or surfing the web,” Villarreal said. “I think most of the students understand that the Chromebooks are a privilege, so they try to do a good job with staying on task.”