Up until Monday, some folks considered school to be a digital wasteland at Tahoma High.

Then Tahoma School District officials flipped the switch on its Digital Backpack program, which will allow high school students to access the school’s wireless network using their own devices, like laptops, for the first time.

During an orientation video on the program in advisory period, science teacher Bill Weis talked to his students about the program, who offered insights on pros and cons.

Part of the intent behind the idea is to help students prepare for the real world, something sophomore Sarajane Powell noted.

“If people have laptops and whatnot, you don’t have to always wait (to use a computer) if the computer lab is full,” Powell said. “In a way, it’s more realistic. I don’t think people who have office jobs are going to be reading out of text books.”

Students will have around the clock access to an online portal called Stoneware, both at school and from home, which will allow them to get to files, the school’s public drive and some common programs.

They will be able to use the Internet as well, with the same security filters on district computers, from their own devices by logging on using their username and password as they would on school devices.

Weis found it interesting the students had noticed the difficulty teachers sometimes have in making the most of the technology tools the school offers them.

“So, you’re aware that teachers fight over those (computer) labs all the time?” he said.

Justine Ferry pointed out the program is environmentally friendly and “Tahoma is really big on going green so this saves paper.”

Junior Heath Guyer said allowing students to make the most of technology tools they have will “make things more organized because you’ll have everything on your computer.”

Mary Illback, a junior, knows that the idea of lightening the load in her book bag will please her mom.

“I know my mom is worried about the weight I carry in my backpack,” Illback said.

Eventually being able to have projects, textbooks, tutorials and other school related documents on a laptop could certainly ease strain on teenage spines.

Plus, there’s the convenience factor.

“Everything is online, on the Internet, and instead of buying books, you could buy the CD,” said junior Taylor Hague.

Bonnie Pitzer brought up the idea that student’s tech tools could turn into easy targets for thieves when she asked “What’s the likelihood of technology or computers being stolen?”

And then there’s idea of technology being a distraction, something the students can attest to as all but a few of the 26 students in Weis’ class have cellphones and digital music players such as the Apple iPod or iTouch.

Ryan Delaney, who was in a pilot project last year called Endeavor, where students were given laptops to use for school, said he believes “this could be a big distraction.”

“The students were playing games (on the computer) while the teacher was talking,” Delaney said. “It could work, but, I’m not sure. I would rather try it and see what happens.”

Ferry pointed out “there’s a chance of distraction whether you have a computer or not.”

Senior John Killough, who transferred in from Sumner at the start of the school year, added that like anything else at school students will get out of Digital Backpack what they put into it.

“People are going to either want to learn or not, some people are going to get distracted,” Killough said. “It’s going to to make it easier to learn or easier to slack off.”

David Richardson, a junior who serves on the student council, said another challenge will be how teachers embrace allowing students to use their own personal tech tools in their classrooms.

“There are teachers that have strict technology polices and they’re going to have to re-evaluate that or else this is not going to work,” Richardson said.

There is no doubt, Weis said, that each teacher will handle it differently.

“You need to totally respect that, the teacher is in charge,” Weis said. “Figure out what the teacher’s policies are on that and just respect it. Teachers aren’t going to be as willing to have students open to it if students aren’t being respectful about it.”

Powell pointed out not all subjects will be able to seamlessly integrate the use of technology tools, either.

“My Spanish class is really interactive,” she said. “So, I don’t really see how you could incorporate Digital Backpack into classes like that.”

Kayla Hanson, a senior, said she suspects the biggest conflict will be between parents and kids as they decide what tech students will take to school and under what circumstances.

“Some kids are going to go overboard and say, ‘We’re using computers in class, buy me a computer!’” Hanson said. “School isn’t asking you to bring a computer, they’re saying if you have something, you can bring it in. I was going to bring mine today, but, my mom thought, ‘Oh, it’s going to be stolen.’”