NBC News
A Chromebook smoking after being tampered with
Over the past month, teens across the United States have participated in the “Chromebook Challenge”, a TikTok trend encouraging students to damage their school-issued Chromebooks. This is achieved through putting objects such as paper clips or pencil lead into the Chromebook’s charging port, causing smoke or a spark.
OSHS principal Joseph Anastasio explained that this issue was first brought to his attention when he saw a news story about another Connecticut school. Soon after, Michael Gardner, OSPS’s Chief Information Officer for IT, sent an email out to OS parents and staff encouraging them to keep an eye out for any students messing with their Chromebooks and warn students of the dangers.
OSHS English teacher Kara Donnelly shared, “I saw a kid in the back messing around with his computer, and I told him to knock it off, and he did, and that was really the end of that.” She added that she has heard some chatter regarding the trend, stating, “there definitely seems to be an interest in [it].” However, no serious incidents have occurred at OSHS related to the Chromebook Challenge.
As for the cause of students purposely destroying their devices, Anastasio speculated that potential reasons might include peer pressure, a desire to gain attention in person or online, or simply just because they were told not to. “It gets very serious when you start tying up emergency personnel with having to come to the school, and the school gets evacuated and disrupts education,” Anastasio explained. “You’re not only destroying school property, but you’re also putting yourself in danger and others in danger.”