“There’s a lot of things we use that rely on computers,” says Richard Narducci, one of the many IT staff at Hamburg Area High School. Computers have become heavily integrated into the lives of many people; some are even addicted to them. So, with the great power of a computer, comes the great responsibility of understanding computers.
At Hamburg Area High School, an estimated 79.5% of students own home computers, but only around 58.1% of that majority use it regularly. So, based on that information, around 20.5% of students at Hamburg Area High School do not own a computer aside from their school issued laptops.
With owning a computer at home, it is important to know how to keep it updated and running well. Mr. Narducci says that “they should be familiar with looking in the bottom right hand corner. Whether you are on a Chromebook or Windows device, there is a symbol telling you it needs to be updated. On Windows it’s a circle with a red dot, on Chrome there’s an arrow with a circle in it. And an occasional restart every now and again.” A computer can run for as long as needed, as long as it is given the proper care and attention, like a pet or plant.
The biggest responsibility of owning a home computer is one that belongs to the parent of the student. It is up to the parent to choose whether or not to get their student a home computer and whether or not to put restrictions on it. “I think it’s more important to have conversation with your child on what the internet can offer,” Mr. Narducci says, “I think if the parent decides that’s a step they need to take, the steps are there to put safety measures at what their student can look at. I think it’s more important to have conversations about responsibility instead of opposing restrictions.”
