Walking to gym this year, the sound is that of quietness, which is surprising  coming from a middle school lunch hour. All of the kids are hooked on their tablets, playing games or watching youtube videos called angry cat. This year, Cannon Falls Schools implemented new tablets for ninth graders and below, but so far it’s had mixed reviews. Many ninth graders don’t really feel like the tablets are working for them. When I asked Thomas Prince why don’t the tablets work, he responded with, “Why don’t they?” Responding that its hard to find anything good in the tablets. Others like Grace Hall who just came out of spanish class, was saying“¡No me gusta el Tablet!”

But why don’t the ninth graders like the tablets? Matthew Martin who is a freshmen, was able to give some more information on why tablets aren’t the new ‘cool’ addition they were supposed to be, “One problem with them is that they don’t have a keyboard, also the tablets have a very sensitive touch screen, causing us to type three letters instead of just one.” Having no keyboard can really be a bummer, since the ninth graders instead have to use the screen, and the screen keyboard takes up a lot of screen space. “They really need keyboards to make them successful!” Martin said. The underlying problem that can be seen with these tablets is that they don’t have keyboards. “They’re ok, and good for researching, but they really need keyboards!” exclaimed  Garrett Clavon who is also a freshman. “Also the cases are bulky, and the stands are getting worn down.” The stands that are on the back of the case seem to take a lot of beatings, especially with a few that are broken throughout the grade.

Even though some may like them and some don’t, The tablets in ninth grade aren’t really being used effectively. So far only physical science and communications have been using the tablets daily. Other classes that have been using them sparingly include Spanish 1, Health and Civics. Because only two classes really use the tablets often, most of the time students find them under-used.  Although they may not be used often, the tablets do help free up the IMC for other students to use.

These new tablets haven’t really been getting too much of a good rap at Cannon Falls Schools, especially with the fact that there’s no keyboards. But hopefully in the future, ninth graders will be saying, “¡Me gusta El Tablet!”