Those walking around the high school will still see the classic Dells, but when a closer look is taken, more modern technology may be seen.
The media center is already equipped with nearly 30 laptops, recently purchased 15 Nooks, just received three polycoms and will soon have 30 Netbooks. When talking about the media center's new Nooks, librarian Sherrie Stark gets very enthused.
"Right now I have two in the cupboard, but I usually have none,” Stark said. "I think they'll become even more popular when we get newer books."
The Nooks are Barnes & Noble electronic books. Each one has a case around it and they can be checked out for two consecutive weeks. After about a week, they need to come back to the library to charge.
The Nooks currently have 89 classic books available. The library will soon take suggestions for newer books to purchase.
Polycoms have been given to the school on a long-term loan from AEA 11. The school has received the three communication systems at no cost.
The systems will allow for students or staff to eventually take a class or workshop in a different city or at a different school, but still from within the high school. Two of the three polycoms will be set up within the school and the other may be taken to central office.
During this school year alone, the high school has made several advancements in technology. With new principal Trent Grundmeyer excited about technology, the school is beginning to look a little more tech-friendly. The staff has been particularly encouraged to use technology.
"I would like the staff to integrate technology into their curriculum," Grundmeyer said.
Many staff members now use their new teacher blogs to post assignments and information about class material. In addition, this school year has included eight new projectors in classrooms around the building. Grundmeyer hopes to see a projector in every classroom eventually. He also has encouraged students to start bringing their laptops to classes to take notes on.
“The projection screens make it easier,” said senior Bethany Baltes. “They make it easier for the teachers, so they don’t have to write everything on the board.”
High school staff has no need to worry since they have resources. On Fridays, a group of staff members called the Friday Flintstones meets to get more comfortable with technology. These staff members can get a little extra help understanding the new computer programming.
Another group, called the Tech Tuesday Group, is made up of technology-loving staff members that meet to improve the school's current technology. The ultimate goal is to let technology be a common thing in the school, not something that is only used on special occasions.
"Right now, technology is an event," Grundmeyer said. "That shouldn't happen."
    Students at the high school have noticed an improvement in the school’s technology. Baltes believes that the laptops need updating, but other students are more concerned with the number of laptops available.
“I think we need to get more laptops,” said senior Roxane Kaale.
The year has brought the school a lot more action online as well. There is now the online scheduler for parents and students, the PTC Scheduler that allows parents to schedule conferences online, the Gizmo software used by the science department and a new website called turnitin.com that is used by the English department.
    “I think how we schedule the conferences online now is a big improvement,” said junior Ashlyn Eckhoff.
On top of all of that, YouTube has been unblocked and can be used in the building again. According to Grundmeyer, there haven’t been any problems with it being unblocked so far. Grundmeyer would also like students to know that Indianola High School will soon be found on Facebook.
"My focus is always to get technology in the hands of kids," Grundmeyer said. "Ideally, I'd like to have a device in the hands of every kid."
An ambitious Grundmeyer is excited about the school's advancements in technology so far and hopes to take on many new projects in the future. Some of these include: more online textbooks, projectors and updated technology in every classroom, school iPods to use for tests and podcasts, and eventually, to get a laptop in every student’s hands. The high school is making progress in the world of technology. Soon, it just may be cutting-edge.