By Alex Stanley ’12
The Roundup

Brophy students study history and learn about the Ice Age, the Dark Age and the Middle Ages; Brophy is now feeling the full impact of the Tablet Age.

In the Tablet Age, the only thing that remains unchanged is change itself.

As Tablets became the campus norm, Brophy changed from a typical high school into a cyber-school. Now that every student possesses a Tablet, there are e-mail announcements, online quizzes and the technology room is busier than ever.

Every year the Tablets get more and more advanced. Systems Administrator Mr. Mark Pettit said the processor and chipset have become smaller and more efficient every year, so each class gets an improved version of the Tablet.

For instance, the hinge is more reliable on the sophomore and freshman computers as opposed to the weaker hinge of the upper-classmen’s Tablets.

The two newest Tablets have cameras.

The Tablets are made to last four years, and Toshiba has a warranty that will cover any damage. The warranty covers the expense of the Tablet, so if anything breaks, as long as the damage is less than or equal to the price of the laptop, the warranty will cover the cost.

Mr. Pettit warns students not to use up their warranty quickly. One way to keep this is to not turn screens perpendicular to the computer and continually move it up and down. Toshiba didn’t test this and students are weakening their hinge, Mr. Pettit said.

In the four years since Tablets were introduced, the way students use Tablets has also changed.

Mr. Pettit describes this as a “constant process” of change. These mainly come from teacher-based suggestions.

This process is seen in the new and improved Blackboard and printing from Tablets in the Information Commons.

Information Technology Administrator Mr. Blair Cook said that more and more teachers are using the wireless projectors and online quizzes.

What do you think about the Tablet program? Go to roundup.brophyprep.org to post your comments.