Most students use their school-provided Chromebooks to finish their homework and classwork assignments.
But a growing number of students are using their personal devices, such as MacBooks and Dell computers, to complete their tasks because of factors such as lagginess, reduced restrictions on websites and higher efficiency.
Across campus, the divide between school-issued technology and personal laptops has become increasingly visible. While Chromebooks offer consistency, monitoring, and guaranteed compatibility with district software, students say their own devices provide the same functionality while offering faster processing speeds.
Sophomore Krish Chandrasekaran, who brings his MacBook Pro every day, said the difference is noticeable.
“My Chromebook freezes a lot, and it’s just slower than what I’m used to,” Chandrasekaran said. “I know teachers prefer we use the school devices, but my MacBook is just faster and more accessible.”
AP Calculus AB teacher Surbhi Jain disagrees.
“If they [students] bring their personal computers instead of their school computers, we can’t check on Securely because they are on a different IP address,” Jain said. “This, in turn, affects the sanity of test-taking students because a teacher might not know what website the student is on.”
This phenomenon in Jain’s classroom, and many others raises a serious question: Why are students choosing to bring their personal computers if the school-provided Chromebooks are working perfectly?
The San Ramon Valley Unified School District indicates in its device initiative that students are not allowed to bring their personal devices to campus for instructional use without a prior approval from the school.
But students regularly bring their personal computers without these agreements, and teachers and administrators don’t bat an eye at the violation of district policy.
District director of technology Kelly Hilton said the district doesn’t regulate students’ usage of their personal devices.
“Enforcement and oversight are handled at the building level by school site administrators,” Hilton said. “Our department supports them by providing the necessary data and network visibility.”
But Hilton said there is a clear reason why the agreement-policy exists for students who wish to bring their personal computers to school.
“The IT department’s primary goal is to ensure that every student has reliable access to the specific technology tools outlined in our device initiative,” Hilton said. “This plan is designed to provide a consistent, equitable learning experience for everyone.”
Teachers see the consequences when personal devices don’t meet district requirements. Secure testing platforms GoGuardian monitoring and AP Classroom’s lockdown browser often fail to run on non‑Chromebook devices, leaving students unable to complete assignments.
Jain estimates that about 2% of her students use their personal devices in class, and these issues affect 100% of those students.
“Frequently, they would need extensions for assignments done on AP Classroom [a lockdown browser] that could’ve been done on their school chromebooks,” Jain said.
The district’s technology department points out that Chromebooks are configured with specific privacy and security protections. Personal devices may bypass filters, expose students to cybersecurity risks, or simply lack the software needed for standardized testing.
Still, many students argue that Chromebooks’ limitations push them toward their own devices. Some cite slow performance, limited storage, or incompatibility with creative or STEM software.
Junior Mahin Bharatwaj, who uses a MacBook for engineering projects, said the Chromebook doesn’t suffice.
“For anything involving coding or design programs, the Chromebook just isn’t powerful enough,” Bharatwaj said.
Sophomore Pranauv Muthuraman vouches for the reliability of his personal computer compared to his school-provided Chromebook.
“I take my MacBook because it’s more advanced for programming projects,” Muthuraman said. “For example, applications like GitHub or some programming applications either can’t run or run slowly on school computers, so I take my MacBook to bypass these restrictions.”
AP World History teacher Benjamin Andersen understands why students bring their personal computers to school, but he stresses the inconvenience it creates in class when students are not using the school-provided computers.
“For applications like GitHub, if [bringing their personal computers] helps them whatever they’re doing, then bringing their personal computers is fine,” Andersen said. “However, when students bring their personal laptops for tests, most of them aren’t able to access our tests on Formative as they don’t have a school Chromebook.”
Principal Demetrius Ball said the school is working to enforce the personal device rule better and to ensure students have access to these applications and website on Chromebooks that are necessary for school use.
“[Restricting personal computer use] is going to be an initiative that we look at a lot closer next year,” Ball said.
Ultimately, the issue involing student computer use on campus reveals a growing problem. While the district policy aims to promote technological equity, some students are willing to bypass such policies because they like their personal devices much better.
