The Case for More RAM

By Chris Bybee

The usage and benefits of laptops that have a higher amount of RAM (Random Access Memory) can be very useful to both teachers and students in the sense that this extra memory can allow laptops and older desktops to handle more programs at the same time or run a single program extremely fast. As all teachers at school know, there is a program called Lightspeed installed on all computers and personal devices in the school. This program uses a great deal of your computer's RAM to block features and websites on the school computers. This exhibits why our laptops need more RAM and how this can be more beneficial to teachers and students.

This can help both parties, we will start off with the teacher point of view. As a teacher, you will constantly have several programs running at one time such as Word, Skyward and several internet tabs open at once. Maybe a teacher wants to use a document camera to show the answers to last night's homework or for a new lesson. If multiple tabs are open that you need and cannot close this will cause your image to look pretty rough and appear to be skipping. It may look like a slide show because your system cannot give enough attention to that program because the other programs are running in the background and taking up all of your RAM. In conclusion, adding additional RAM in the school's computers can significantly speed up lessons so that teachers can move on to more important topics for their class.

Moving on to the students' point of view. The average student in school has at least once blamed their computer for not getting their assignments done, even I have. (Yes, just today in fact. Techy Thursday? - KW) However, with additional RAM, students and staff will have fewer problems with their computers. Adding more RAM can stop the freezing or crashing of your system because the system would have more memory to give to your monitor or operating system. You sometimes get error messages saying that your system has crashed because your computer does not know what to do other than restart itself. This can save teachers and students time because when the work gets done by a high-performance PC, less time will be spent assigning lunch detention and 8th period as well as teachers being able to find more assignments for you to do.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.