THS Media Online

Lack of updated technology hinders movement to 21st century learning skills

Wednesday, March 21, 2012 By THS News Media Reporter Patrick Young

PowerSchool. Student email. Google. These are three key tools students at the school are given to use to study, research, and keep up with each other. None of these tools worked for the first eight weeks of school, and only in January have they functioned properly. Since the start of school, teachers and students alike have both been technologically crippled thanks to a myriad of problems the district is having with the school’s Internet. Vice Principal Randy Maglinger made comment on the work order, although could not provide the exact list. “We have actually had about 250 work orders, which is on par with last year,” Mr. Maglinger said. “We know there are problems though, and we have courses of action in place to resolve them.” The school stays in constant contact with the district headquarters to monitor updates. First semester, students were unable to check Gmail, where, in the past, they have been able to receive updates about classes, messages from teachers regarding homework and communicate with each other regarding classes. “I don’t think Student email is the most effective method for email,” junior Chris Rosebrough said. “But it should at least work.” Students and parents both were restricted from PowerSchool, and could no longer check grades at the beginning of the year. To the school’s credit, many teachers made amends for this by sending out emails with the grades attached. “PowerSchool’s issues lie within that company, not the district,” Mr. Maglinger said. “They were updating servers and enhancing updates which caused the problems.” PowerSchool has always had problems, but starting the year off with them handicapped many from staying in the loop on their grades. “I don’t really know what was going on with PowerSchool,” personal finance teacher Pat Stidham said. “I could use PowerSchool, but apparently only a few students could.” Thankfully the district has been working on resolutions to the problem, and students should now be able to use both PowerSchool and the student email. However, problems can still pop up with cyber attacks like worms, spyware and adware that cause the network to experience difficulties. Some Google pages still do not work. Clicking ‘Next Page’ resulted in a filter page until recently. Students and staff find it hard to depend on the network when they need it. “There are still problems with Google,” Rosebrough said. “Not being able to access certain tools and pages is just crazy.” Other schools and districts seem to put more of an emphasis on providing their students with updated technology that works. “Technology is huge and is huger at the college level,” Rockhurst principal Scott Duschen said. “More and more, digital is becoming the big thing, and we have to provide students with the means to learn it.” Rockhurst, like the Blue Springs and Lee’s Summit districts, is embracing modern tech as a part of the curriculum. Blue Springs just replaced every computer in the building with ones that run Windows 7. “Our stuff works,” Blue Springs South Library Attendant Abigaile Cole said. “I have about 75 new computers here in the library, and every last one of them works. Plus there are about 60 other computers including netbooks running on wireless networks, and all of those are working perfectly, too.” Even with blocked websites and old software, an updated set of hardware (i.e. the computers, the WiFi connection, etc.) can make all the difference in the world. This is another oversight that other schools are not making, but that Truman is deficient in. Blue Springs South has more than 100 brand new computers. Truman is facing an aging hardware and software issue. Truman’s computers are eight years old, and still run on Windows XP. Some problems experienced are firmware bugs, slow processing speeds, and lack of compatibility with the websites that the filter does not block. Rockhurst made the switch to Windows 7 last year-plus added Mac labs that utilize brand new iMacs. In addition, Rockhurst updates all of their computers and technology every two years. This ensures that every class that goes through has brand new tech to use at some point before they leave. “We are planning to move to an all-Windows 7 environment in the very near future,” Mr. Maglinger said. He pointed to either summer 2012 or mid-school year next year for when the switch will take place. Another huge advancement in the industry has been the introduction of the tablet computer. iPad was unveiled in 2010, and has already released its third version. In January Apple unveiled iTunes U: An app store designed specifically to sell text books for iPad. The biggest benefit of utilizing a digital book is saving paper, but there are other benefits as well. Textbooks on iPad are completely interactive. Where in the past the most interactive a text book could be was by providing a picture, these new eBooks are a whole world for students to explore. Text can be highlighted, tapped, and then expanded on through Safari, or a photo can be tapped, bringing up a 3D model of the solar system for instance, or even informational videos. Plus, the tablet can be taken home, and used to submit homework before the next school day even arrives. Rockhurst is thinking of other benefits too. “We’ve been seriously thinking of purchasing iPads or some other equivalent for our students within the next year or two. These pieces of technology are more engaging and natural for students who have grown up with it,” Mr. Duschen said. “Plus, it will certainly take a lot of weight off of students’ backs.” This is one area that Truman may not be so behind in. “We’ve been seriously considering the iPad too,” Mr. Maglinger said. “So far we’re looking at other schools that take advantage of the technology and considering whether the investment is one worth making. I could see us going to eBooks in two years.” Hardware is only one piece of the technology puzzle. The other half is software, and this is an area in which the schools is severely lacking. In addition to PowerSchool’s issues and Student email’s issues, there are also programs and features that are either disabled or outdated. Microsoft has a 2011 edition of Office, but Truman’s computers are running a version five years old. One of the biggest giants in the online industry is Google, and the company is ever-expanding its services to include far more than just a search engine. The billion-dollar company now hosts a video site, document reader, and even a social network, Google +. These tools are quickly becoming industry standards due to their convenient, even revolutionary features. “I’ve been personally looking into some of Google’s new applications,” Rockhurst Systems Administrator James Clark said. “They offer a lot of flexibility, and you can make websites, type documents, etc. I’ve been having fun with Google Forms myself.” The fact of the matter is that technology is not only natural to this generation, but schools all over the country are embracing it as the norm for education. The common theme among schools is ‘we don’t have the money for the latest technology,’ but even the private schools that lack any government funding are finding ways. “People think that because we’re a private school we have all sorts of money and that just isn’t the case,” Rockhurst assistant librarian Kelli Reidy said. In fact, Reidy was thoroughly surprised at the answer she received when she asked how much better the technology situation is at Truman. “Wow, I definitely assumed a public school would be way ahead of us,” Reidy said. Whether money or relevancy is the issue, Truman will be taking a big step next year.. “We’re looking into going to a Windows 7 upgrade for all of the computers in the future,” Maglinger said. “When? Possibly next year.”