Thursday, October 2, 2014

Printing restrictions cause anxiety among students

Printing restrictions cause anxiety among students
by Bella Dougherty

In addition to the distribution of the 1:1 devices, new restrictions and limitations on the devices have also been put into place. One new restriction that all students must abide is the restriction on the number of pages that students can print per year.
 Many students have been strictly monitoring the number of copies that they have printed, and have been very conservative about deeming what is worth “printing.” The reality of this new rule is that students are not restricted in what they can print, but teachers should be mindful of what they assign students to print.
 The 1:1 devices were administered with the intention of cutting down on the number of pages printed by our school as a whole. The technology department is following this up by monitoring what classes require too much printing, and which students are printing unreasonable amounts that is not necessary for the classes they are taking.
 Students should not be strictly monitoring their printing, or be afraid that they will run out of printing by the end of the year. This 500-page limit was put into place to keep students mindful of the pages they print. If a student reaches their limit, it is extremely unlikely that a student will be completely cut off from using the printers. The first step the technology department would most likely take is to look through what they have printed. If a student had printed a particularly large number of pages that not required for their classes, then they might not be allowed to print anymore. If a student is printing out assignments, notes, and copies related to the curriculum of their classes, they will most likely not face any consequences. The tech department might look into what they have printed and specifically look into what classes they had to print more for. The tech department then will consider speaking to teachers about requiring students to print unreasonable amounts.

 In conclusion, the 500 page limit is not exactly a hard limit. The limit was put into place to keep students and teachers mindful of what they are printing. In order to be proactive about what students are printing, students should only print pages they need for school and be mindful of the environmental reasons that the school is trying to limit printing. This includes printing on double sided paper, printing slideshow presentations six slides to a page, and not using expensive color toner when it is not necessary. Students should not feel stressed out about the printing limit, but rather be aware of the cost and environmental factors associated with printing, and should print exactly what is necessary, not more and not less.