The change has been so successful and sweeping, in fact, staff are now rushing to make sure La Cañada Unified School District’s infrastructure can support the increased demand for connectivity by next school year, when the district pilots a one-device-per-student program in the fifth and seventh grades.
The school board recently approved a total of $147,588 in infrastructure upgrades, paid for largely through developer fees, to replace outdated computer equipment and wiring and improve bandwidth for students and teachers who rely on technology for in-class instruction. The work is expected to be completed this summer.
Tech Director Jamie Lewsadder explained at the last meeting of the board that while great strides have been made to transform LCUSD campuses into 21st-century learning environments, more juice will be needed to accommodate an ever-increasing demand for computer use in the classroom.
Lewsadder likened the district’s bandwidth capacity to a home’s water pressure. A water line (wiring) can easily support a family of five, but would begin to falter if, say, 300 more people showed up wanting to wash their hands at the same time. Even if 100 sinks (devices) were added, the pressure could not accommodate the demand.
“We have way too many kids who want access and not enough ‘water pressure’ for them to get there,” Lewsadder said, describing the district’s current bandwidth limitations.
The approved upgrades will allow the district to better keep pace with the increasing number of mobile devices being used in the classroom, which is rapidly eclipsing that of desktop computers.
This school year, the number of devices being used in La Cañada schools is just above the 1,000 desktop units furnished by the district. But that number is expected to double next school year, and triple by 2017-18, while the number of desktops stays the same, according to tech department figures.
During a recent visit to the La Cañada High School campus, both students and staff remarked on the transformation of technology that has occurred in a relatively short time.
“I think there’s been a big advance from last year to this year even,” LCHS senior Colin Kreditor said, crediting much of it to the district’s getting Gmail accounts for students and teachers. “It’s just made school work a lot easier. Almost all of our stuff is online.”
Lindsay Bozzani and Ann Omae, who work in the library where the school’s computer labs are located, said they’ve been astounded at how quickly students and teachers have responded to the shift toward tech so far.
“The paradigm shift is huge,” Bozzani said. “Ann and I are seeing more and more individuals coming into the library. (But) as more students bring in their own devices, this WiFi will not support it. If we’re pushing 1:1, we’ve got to have that infrastructure. Otherwise, we’re a ship stuck in the doldrums with no wind in our sails.”
Senior Jonathan Connelly, a member of the school’s iTeam tech advisory group, likes how his Gmail account lets him collaborate with fellow students on a project or presentation on his own time table. He said he believes any investment in tech infrastructure that allows for the use of more mobile devices would be a worthy one.
“It’s an investment in the entire educational experience,” he said. “There’s such a wealth of knowledge available online, I don’t think we’re able to access it with just a computer.”
©2015 the La Canada Valley Sun (La Canada Flintridge, Calif.), Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
