If you are a returning student of LOHS, you may have noticed an influx of new technology; new iMacs in the Pub Lab, iPad Pros distributed among teachers and Apple TVs installed in every classroom. This flood of new technology is due to an increased demand for a wireless school environment.
New tech is a transition for teachers
When technology isn’t “hooked up in plugs,” Principal Rollin Dickinson said, teachers aren’t “bound to [their] desktop. You can have an iPad and you can be walking around. Your iPad can turn into a document camera instead of having to buy a document camera.”
The old system proves to have many flaws, as Dickinson testified, “projectors are [were] great in a lot of ways, but their bulbs are super expensive. When a bulb goes out, it is cheaper to replace the whole projector rather than to put a new bulb in.”
Assistant Principal Ryan Rosenau added that smartboards “aren’t really smart anymore.” With each teacher receiving a new iPad Pro, Rosenau explains, “[The new system will retain the] same value as the smartboard, but a little more updated. Plus, the teachers can use the iPad Pros for different applications.”
These technology updates are a result of funding from the Lake Oswego School District’s most recent bond, which is set for completion in 2019. Rosenau states that last May, “Voters approved a large bond for the school district. It includes safety upgrades, counseling upgrades, more FTE (full time equivalent/enrollment) to support kids. We [now] have a lot of electives because of it and a lot of construction projects as well. Technology is a big part of that bond.”
Despite its long-term benefits, the emergence of new technology has required some challenging transitions.
Said math teacher Christopher Hubley, “I just showed up to work one day, and they said ‘Here’s your iPad.’ I had no idea what was coming.”
Sophomore Grace Rich also found the new tech unexpected. When asked what new tech she noticed in her classroom she stated, “I have noticed the new iPad pro’s in my math class, but I haven’t really noticed anything else.”
Hubley went on to say the transition “feels hard now, but it’s just new. I’m used to using the smartboard and all the ‘ins and outs’ of that… I’ve been using it for probably 15 years now. [This is] just a change, which is difficult to manage; but I think it’s going to be cool.”