Beachwood students use technology for almost everything they do, from signing in and out of class with the digital hall pass, to turning in assignments to checking whether sports practices are canceled. 

The school district spends a great deal of money—almost $237,000 this academic year—on cloud-based educational software, according to Asst. Superintendent Dr. Ken Veon. Adobe Creative Cloud, ALEKS and GoGuardian alone cost a combined $55,903.

“Beachwood [uses] essential software such as Google Docs and other cloud-based applications to facilitate online learning and teamwork among students,” Vytas Saldunas, Director of Technology for Beachwood City Schools, wrote in an email. “Additionally, [we] look for hardware that is user-friendly and durable, with built-in security features to protect students while they navigate the online world.”

A post from the American University School of Education argues that educational technology enhances students’ learning experience. 

“Educational technology can foster collaboration,” the university’s website states. “Not only can teachers engage with students during lessons, but students can also communicate with each other.”

Chromebooks are the primary device used by students in the Beachwood City Schools. This hardware was selected by district administrators back in 2013 based on affordability as well as the streamlined Google education experience provided by Google Apps. 

Google suite products provide a variety of essentially free applications: Google Classroom, Google Docs and Google Drive. The use of a single software makes it easier for students and teachers to collaborate. 

“Where some students used to say, ‘I have an Apple computer and I use Microsoft Word,’ or ‘I have a Windows computer and I use Word Perfect’—it takes all that and levels the playing field,” technology teacher Craig Alexander said.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated remote learning, educators have gained experience with digital learning—for better or for worse. 

According to Yogesh Shinde, writing for financial news site Market.us Scoop, the educational technology industry is booming. 

Shinde forecasts 2025 K12 spending for educational technology at $29.8 billion globally, and forecasts that the spending will rise to $132.4 billion by 2032. 

“With the increasing digitization of educational content and the shift towards online learning, there is a growing demand for digital curriculum materials, interactive learning platforms, virtual reality tools and other educational technology solutions,” Shinge wrote.

There are now many more educational software options available to teachers than there were before the pandemic, and they are much more user friendly.

The use of Chromebooks and similar devices allows students and staff to collaborate more easily—for instance, it allows those using Google Docs to work on an assignment together. Alongside collaboration, Chromebooks support a plethora of essential features.

“The cloud-based functionality of Chromebooks supports modern educational practices by facilitating access to online resources, making them particularly well-suited for the classroom environment,” Saldunas wrote. “Their durability, user-friendly design and built-in security features further bolster their appeal, enabling Beachwood to create a safe, efficient and enriching digital learning experience for all students.”

Even though Chromebooks offer such beneficial features and are cost-effective, they can be slow at times.

“The only complaint I have is that sometimes they’re crazy laggy; [one time] I opened Britannica and my whole computer just crashed,” freshman Simona Zbynova said. 

Senior Ezrin Saltzman has also experienced problems using a Chromebook.

“[The Chromebook] does not connect to the Internet sometimes in specific rooms,” he said. “Some Chromebooks work really well, and some Chromebooks break after a day. It’s not exactly consistent.”

These sentiments are not uncommon among BHS students. The Chromebook’s biggest selling point has always been its price, which is achieved in part due to their comparatively weak hardware.

Beachwood continues to update the Chromebooks with their established plan by adding new applications each year.

One powerful new technology application that Beachwood is rolling out this school year is MagicSchool, an artificial intelligence platform designed for teachers and students. 

“[MagicSchool AI] is not only designed to enhance your writing, critical thinking and creativity through interactive features and personalized feedback, but it also provides students with the opportunity to engage with AI in real-world applications,” Saldunas wrote in the email. 

He believes that applications like these will make learning more engaging and relevant, a major goal for Beachwood’s educational technology. 

The adoption of AI in educational environments is something that English teacher Dr.  Casey Matthews is both optimistic and wary of for a variety of reasons.

“Using AI as a jumping off point can be incredibly helpful in terms of getting your thoughts together and overcoming that first step of getting started,” Matthews said.“But when you begin outsourcing your work to AI, then the onus of knowledge falls on AI, not on you, and you lose that knowledge—which is going to compound.”

Matthews also raises concern about data scraping for training AI language models. According to an article for the Internet privacy site Proton written by Elena Constantinescu, Google has access to Google Docs for this purpose, and may be using it when documents are set to “Anyone with the link” can view and edit. 

Integration with Google is not the only benefit of using Chromebooks—their price is also a major selling point.

 “[Chromebooks] are more cost-effective. One MacBook is roughly $1,000, where you can get five Chromebooks for $1,000,” said Alexander.

Not only are Chromebooks affordable, but their level of power is considered appropriate for what students are likely to need for educational use. A more powerful device could encourage reckless use—the Chromebook, while usable for educational purposes, restricts students’ ability to engage in unintended activities. The devices’ most important goal is to ensure the success of all students.

“Whether it’s for an online textbook or writing an English paper at home, [the Chromebook] levels the playing field; so it’s not reliant on your parents and what they have, or what your family can afford,” Alexander said.

Despite their versatility, Chromebooks are not the only technology used in Beachwood. Several classes require more sophisticated devices, selected for course-specific reasons.

“In the engineering and design rooms, they use AutoCAD and [with those applications] —well, the real world, that’s what they use,” Alexander said. “They’re using Windows machines and that’s why we go with Windows.”

The use of standard equipment in any class, whether it’s a computer science or design class, is essential; while other devices may provide similar functionality, students must be prepared for real-world situations. In any case, the implementation of commonplace technologies in a field is done for good reason—they are often superior in quality to non-standard applications.

John Kaminski’s computer science classes use Macs, because the required programming software does not work on Chromebooks.

Student success is the school district’s ultimate goal. Beginning in third grade, Beachwood students do much of their learning on their Chromebooks. School district teachers and administrators hope that this early engagement will equip students with the technology skills necessary for navigating today’s digital world.