With paper-thin laptops and super-speed computers in the mix of new inventions, Montrose seems to be struggling to keep up with modern technology. Still, all is not what it appears. Director of IT, Mrs. Sneider, has plans to modernize the school’s technology. Montrose is moving forward to improve technology classroom-by-classroom. As Mrs. Sneider explained, “four new computers have been put in place to swap out old ones.”
Behind the scenes Mrs. Sneider will also replace the firewall to improve the Internet server’s infrastructure.These steps, among others, will speed up and improve technology in the classrooms.
Moving forward, Montrose expects new tweaks to our computer/technology system, but we may face a few obstacles. “Managing the budget,” as Mrs.Sneider put it, is one of those challenges. Montrose has shown its commitment to improve technology by hiring Mrs. Sneider. She serves full-time in IT support, and she brings with her long years of experience working in schools.
Mrs. Sneider is putting in time and effort trying to reverse the problem of slow technology. Time wasted on starting up computers and lessons stalled by technical glitches undermine time devoted to learning. Montrosians hear their teachers swell with frustration when a significant portion of class is taken up with tech problems. On the surface, this problem may seem trivial, but senior Taylor Agapite feels that “hands-on examples,” such as videos and PowerPoints, “help us to further understand a concept. If a teacher can’t load a link, then we miss out on a learning experience.”
Teacher struggles with computer use may not be all that technical. Mrs. White, Montrose’s Instructional Technology Coordinator, explained that first-period teachers are supposed to boot-up computers so they will be ready for the day. As we sat in math class last week waiting for an instructional video to load, Mrs. White explained, “we all know the computers are a problem. Every teacher thinks we need to improve technology, but it all comes down to the budget.” New procedures have been introduced for faculty to track patterns among laptop and projector performance in classrooms, so Mrs. Sneider can identify problems quickly and target corrections.
Montrose still has work in its classroom technology. For now, we just have to work with what we have and hope that the planned solutions will reverse frustrations.