After years of using pen and paper, Diamond Bar High School has begun transitioning into a new era of learning. Following distance learning, many instructors have reapplied their findings from teaching online to their physical classrooms by continuing to assign work digitally.

The new Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, which was introduced in August, ensures that each student is capable of bringing a device to school by assigning laptops to students lacking such resources.

“For me, distance learning taught me that you don’t need to print out reams of paper a day in order for students to learn,” AP English teacher Cage Morgan said. “I think it’s useful for students and teachers to have all their materials in one convenient place and not having to lug things around.”

While the new program allows for an easier transition into distance learning—should the occasion arise— and decreases paper usage, some students have had reservations about the policy, primarily concerning the safety of their devices during a typical, busy school day.

“I’d rather not bring my own device since I don’t want to accidentally drop it,” freshman Jacob Yun said via Discord. “I use it a lot at home so the risks that come with bringing it here just aren’t worth taking.”

With so many teachers choosing to integrate aspects of distance learning into in-person classes, new issues surrounding internet connection have come up. The school’s WiFi has been severely stalling in most classes due to overwhelming demand on the newly established WVUSD_BYOD network intended for student use. This consumption has also affected other networks reserved for teachers as some students are unaware of the BYOD network and connect automatically to the teacher’s, causing Internet issues for staff as well.

“I remember when we were doing [Short Answer Questions] in my APUSH class, we had a 15 minute time limit to answer three questions and the Internet just stopped working. I had to use my phone to type and almost didn’t turn it in on time,” junior Bryan Chiu said.

While most math and science courses continue to use paper due to the unique symbols they require that cannot be replicated digitally, most students are thankful for digitalization as it has decreased the amount of supplies needed for school. 

“Honestly, other than the STEM courses, bringing my own device has saved me the effort of lugging around my textbooks and it makes staying organized way easier,” Yun said.