Hardware

Chromebook Challenge on Social Media has Students Attempting To Set Fire to Their Devices

A “hot” new trend has resulted in at least one hospitalization and has districts warning K–12 students about the consequences of intentionally damaging devices.

Rebecca Torchia

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Rebecca Torchia is a web editor for EdTech: Focus on K–12. Previously, she has produced podcasts and written for several publications in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and her hometown of Pittsburgh.

A new social media trend may be encouraging students to damage Chromebooks in schools. Videos show students putting metal — such as aper clips, folded foil gum wrappers and springs — into the charging ports of the devices. This causes the device to short-circuit, which leads to overheating, toxic smoke and, in some cases, fires.

A Plainville Community Schools student was hospitalized following inhalation of smoke from a device. According to an investigation, the middle school student intentionally stuck scissors into the laptop.

In other instances allegedly inspired by the social trend, Newington Public Schools and Cromwell Public Schools in Connecticut evacuated high school students following Chromebook fires.

Experts warn that the consequences could be even more dangerous than toxic smoke and fires. “It can cause an explosion,” Cromwell Fire District Marshal Harold Holmes told NBC Connecticut. “It could potentially burn somebody, or shrapnel could have hit other people if it exploded.”

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As these videos and news stories gain traction, here’s what school leadership can do to lower risks in their own districts.

Schools Reinforce Device Policies Amid “Chromebook Challenge”

As school districts across the country have become aware of the trend, they are working to spread messages to students. Virginia’s Loudoun County Public Schools and Pennsylvania’s Central Dauphin School District are two of the districts that have warned students against damaging their Chromebooks.

To get ahead of the trend in their own schools, education leaders are warning students of the dangers associated with short-circuiting their devices. They’re additionally reminding students and the community about the consequences of intentionally damaging devices.

Many districts’ policies for school-provided laptops include a provision that families will pay for damaged devices, especially when intentional damage isn’t covered by device insurance. In many cases, students who attempt cause a fire on school property will also face disciplinary consequences.

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