Student-accessible networks, new hardware is part of the plan
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Staff writer
You don’t need to tell Scott Christensen that the future of the world is tied to the Internet – and the ability to be online.
As a result, the Burlington Area School District will be looking at a considerable upgrade over the next year, with a new wireless network at the high school and a new lease providing new computer equipment for students and staff to use.
The goal now is to make network upgrades to the high school first, so students will be able to bring their own wireless devices – be it iPads, laptops or other technology – to school and use them so long as the teacher approves.
“A lot of our stuff is online,” Christensen said, pointing to the credit recovery programs used online and also testing and the Compass Learning project. “We need to make sure that we have a very robust wireless and wired network.
“And make sure we have the right stuff on the other end,” he added.
Students will then be set up with Google accounts, so they can upload files to Google Docs – a cloud-based computing system consisting of document applications and storage in a readily accessible Internet location.
“You have to buy a lot less software,” Christensen said. “Everything’s up in the cloud.”
In order to cover the cost of the project, Christensen is budgeting half for this year’s budget and another half for next year. He will start with the high school, and phase-in the other schools as they go along.
The goal is also to have a guideline book in place for students for what is appropriate use, and then teachers will have the final say for what can be used and when.
“All of that will be in place for students to be able to bring their devices and use them,” Christensen said.
The actual cost of the project is still up in the air, as is the cost of getting new computer equipment through a lease. The new lease will be district-wide, since the district is in the process of replacing equipment that is anywhere from 6-8 years old.
Christensen said the process of soliciting bids has begun.
“Our goal is to fit it within our current budget,” he said of the new equipment. “That’s really what we’re going to spend our next month working on … seeing where we can get the best bang for our buck.”
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