School Board Members Want a System Upgrade

By Sue Doyle, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Calif.

Oct. 5–NORCO — Concerned that students could fall behind with technology, two Corona-Norco Unified School board members have asked the district to consider modernizing some of its “horse-and-buggy” equipment in classrooms.

Board President Bill Hedrick said not all district classrooms have access to the Internet, and that there’s a disparity among schools for learning that is technology-based.

Hedrick said newly constructed schools were built with the wiring to handle Internet access, while older schools don’t have the same capability. In addition, some classrooms have computers on which teachers can use DVDs, while others don’t.

“In terms of technology, we’re still in the horse-and-buggy stage and need to modernize,” Hedrick said.

At the high school level, every classroom has a computer and Internet connection. But from school to school, the ages of the computers are different. And so are their operating systems, said David Horton, district technology coordinator.

Of the 6,500 computers in district classrooms, about 4,400 are running with Windows 98, a seven-year-old operating system. The remaining computers are operating on more modern programs, such as Windows XP.

Elementary and intermediate schools in the district should have Internet access in every classroom, but they also are operating on different systems. Some have difficulties connecting with the district’s network.

Horton said the gap between modern and older computer systems is getting smaller on campuses through the help of grants and state funding. But he said the ratio doesn’t close it fast enough, since technology is constantly changing and updating.

As new equipment is produced, it’s not always compatible with older programs and systems. Many districts scramble for funding to keep with the times.

“With technology being as expensive as it is, it makes it difficult for school districts to keep up,” Horton said.

School board member Maggie Little also has asked the district to provide a plan that will consider the costs of computer upgrades and repairs as classrooms become more dependent on computers for learning and teaching.

In the Chaffey Joint Union High School District, all 11 schools have computers in every classroom and have access to the Internet and the district’s local network, said Paul Clement, Title I liaison and science teacher at Chaffey High School.

In addition, every department has four to seven Smart Boards, an interactive white board that’s used with a projector and a computer. Images are projected from computer screens to the boards. Lessons are often taught in Power Point presentations.

Clement said the boards brings images and lessons to life for students, especially for teaching subjects such as astronomy and discussing planets.

It’s also helpful to English learners, who equal one-third of the Chaffey student body. For those students, seeing the words on the screen and hearing them at the same time improves comprehension, Clement said.

“If you’re just talking and lecturing, you’re going to lose a lot of students otherwise,” Clement said.

At Ontario-Montclair School District, there’s a minimum of three computers per classroom required by the district’s master plan. And the district is already ahead of that, said Hal Shimmin, district director of information services.

But Shimmin said that technology in the kindergarten through eighth-grade school district is not ahead of the state-wide average.

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