Anonymous
04/17/2026 16:20
Subject: Possible to opt out of chromebooks?
Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why some posters here like to say it's okay to give kids addictive devices that don't help learning because the real problem is the kids have "sn". Is it just trolls saying stuff like this or are there real people who just think public schools should get a pass on educating kids with disabilities?
Thank you for this. Unfortunately it seems to be a common belief, and I’ve experience the same blaming from the school. I’m expected to find a way at home, through a consequence, to stop my child from playing an easily accessible game in the middle of the day at school. A class lecture just can’t compete with the pull of Minecraft. It feels like gaslighting and is exhausting.
Anonymous
04/17/2026 13:57
Subject: Possible to opt out of chromebooks?
I don't understand why some posters here like to say it's okay to give kids addictive devices that don't help learning because the real problem is the kids have "sn". Is it just trolls saying stuff like this or are there real people who just think public schools should get a pass on educating kids with disabilities?
Anonymous
04/17/2026 13:03
Subject: Possible to opt out of chromebooks?
Anonymous wrote:At a community meeting, I heard Taylor express the value of real books and non-digital learning. He can say things that aren't reliable, but I hope this is a sentiment that he follows through on. Research shows on-line learning does not engage students meaningfully. We need to take a lesson from Sweden, which is cutting way back on digital learning:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly0vk77vdko
A lot of teachers are given the books and choose not to use them.
Anonymous
04/17/2026 12:12
Subject: Possible to opt out of chromebooks?
At a community meeting, I heard Taylor express the value of real books and non-digital learning. He can say things that aren't reliable, but I hope this is a sentiment that he follows through on. Research shows on-line learning does not engage students meaningfully. We need to take a lesson from Sweden, which is cutting way back on digital learning:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly0vk77vdko
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly0vk77vdko
Anonymous
04/17/2026 10:08
Subject: Re:Possible to opt out of chromebooks?
Of course his sn contributed which is why it is all the more disappointing from a school system. We worked hard for years at home to maintain strict game limits and MCPS has refused to do the same.
I’m hoping to learn of any examples where other parents opted out of Chromebook and how that’s going.
I’m hoping to learn of any examples where other parents opted out of Chromebook and how that’s going.
Anonymous
04/17/2026 04:18
Subject: Possible to opt out of chromebooks?
Anonymous wrote:Reviving this thread to see if the general status or sentiment on this has changed over the last few years.
Opted our 6th grade ADHD student out of Chromebook use because the school insists they can't do anything to block gaming. Thank you MCPS for giving my kid a gaming addiction! And to be clear, I don't blame his wonderful teachers -- I feel just as sad for the teachers who have to deal with this failure from MCPS.
Mcps didn’t give your kid a game addiction. Your child’s sn contributed to it. They’d have a game addiction regardless.
Anonymous
04/16/2026 22:37
Subject: Possible to opt out of chromebooks?
Reviving this thread to see if the general status or sentiment on this has changed over the last few years.
Opted our 6th grade ADHD student out of Chromebook use because the school insists they can't do anything to block gaming. Thank you MCPS for giving my kid a gaming addiction! And to be clear, I don't blame his wonderful teachers -- I feel just as sad for the teachers who have to deal with this failure from MCPS.
Opted our 6th grade ADHD student out of Chromebook use because the school insists they can't do anything to block gaming. Thank you MCPS for giving my kid a gaming addiction! And to be clear, I don't blame his wonderful teachers -- I feel just as sad for the teachers who have to deal with this failure from MCPS.
Anonymous
05/30/2023 19:31
Subject: Possible to opt out of chromebooks?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Do you think the teachers are using the chrome books to control the kids? So they don’t care about stopping them using them - or if they are playing games as long as the kids are quiet?
It just seems like it would be so easy for a teacher to use the chrome books to “sedate” the kids to get though the day.
You’ve never taught 12 and indeed if you think playing games on the Chromebook makes the kids sedated. They are wilder if anything.
Under, not indeed
Anonymous
05/30/2023 19:31
Subject: Possible to opt out of chromebooks?
Anonymous wrote:Do you think the teachers are using the chrome books to control the kids? So they don’t care about stopping them using them - or if they are playing games as long as the kids are quiet?
It just seems like it would be so easy for a teacher to use the chrome books to “sedate” the kids to get though the day.
You’ve never taught 12 and indeed if you think playing games on the Chromebook makes the kids sedated. They are wilder if anything.
Anonymous
05/30/2023 15:05
Subject: Possible to opt out of chromebooks?
Do you think the teachers are using the chrome books to control the kids? So they don’t care about stopping them using them - or if they are playing games as long as the kids are quiet?
It just seems like it would be so easy for a teacher to use the chrome books to “sedate” the kids to get though the day.
It just seems like it would be so easy for a teacher to use the chrome books to “sedate” the kids to get though the day.
Anonymous
05/30/2023 12:58
Subject: Re:Possible to opt out of chromebooks?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:How do you think your son will react when all his peers are on screens playing fun learning games? Will he be able to self regulate enough to sit there quietly at his desk and read a book? I know there are kids with major issues around screens and I'm sorry you are going through this. You may need an IEP for this. You might be able to get one around a behavioral or emotional disability. I'm not sure if a 504 would work. Good luck to you and to your child's school. This is going to be difficult to implement.
That should be the least of our concerns if all the kids are in class playing games.
If that's true, it's not a Chromebook issue but a teacher issue since they have the tools to address it if they care to.
I don’t blame the teachers because they are not the ones spending $$$ taxpayer money on junk computers.
Anonymous
05/30/2023 10:23
Subject: Possible to opt out of chromebooks?
I hate the Chromebooks. The kids get such extensive screentime at school that we've had to eliminate most of it at home to compensate. Doesn't stop them from begging to play that stupid Prodigy game though.....
Anonymous
05/30/2023 09:50
Subject: Possible to opt out of chromebooks?
Anonymous wrote:My DD tells me the kids play other games when they are supposed to be doing Prodigy (math game). She and her friend did a typing game, other kids can access Spacehuggers, and other things. They "read" books on Epic, watch Pebble Go and PBS kids.
I don't think there is much you can do about it. Each kid gets a Chromebook that stays at school. Doesn't matter what you sign. The teacher needs to have the kids doing something otherwise it will be hard to pull kids for mandatory testing.
Prodigy is as bad as all the other fake-educational games.