If you stepped inside a Hockaday classroom two years ago, you would see rows upon rows of Lenovo and Toshiba laptops.
Today, however, is a different story.
For the first time since student laptops were introduced in 2000, the Technology Department is allowing students to bring their own laptops to school. Students are permitted to bring any device of their choice as long as it fulfills the requirements put in place by the school.
In order for a laptop to be approved, it must have Windows 7 or higher, a hard drive storage of 128 GB or higher, four GB of RAM and a minimum battery life of six hours.
But of all of the laptop brands available, the primary choice for students has been the MacBook.
Junior Kate Keough is one of the many students who use their MacBook in school instead of the standard Lenovo available from the school.
“My freshman year, very few people had Macs,” Keough said. “Now they make up almost half of every class I’m in.”
According to Technology Department Chair Jason Curtis, while the amount of school computers purchased dropped from over 200 to about 120 in the past year alone, the number of students and faculty using Macs has raised to almost 100 and continues to rise.
But why do students prefer MacBooks over Lenovos?
Keough personally favors Macs because of their convenience, long-lasting battery and special features and programs that aren’t offered on other computers.
“I like the ability to switch between screens so I can organize my windows for multiple classes,” Keough said. “I also like the Pages and Keynote applications, which are convenient for making test reviews and [are] more organized than Microsoft Word.”
Keough also notes that Macs have fewer technical issues, alleviating a lot of stress.
“At a school that is very fast-paced, I think having a computer with [few] tech issues is a big positive because you don’t have to get it fixed, deal with a loner or miss classes to fix it,” Keough said.
In addition to special features and convenience, many students choose to use Macs because of their desire for something new.
“I think part of it is that they have been shackled to Lenovo and Toshiba for so long that they are ready for something more novel,” Curtis said.
As a result of the MacBook’s popularity, the Technology Department hired Braxton Hall, who specializes in working with Apple computers. Hall prefers a Mac environment both inside and outside of school and has been using Macs personally for over six years.
“The future that I see for computer devices is that Upper School will be…let loose to roam the digital age,” Hall said. “Whether that is [with] a laptop or tablet.”
