Technology Upgrade

With so many old computers on their last leg the purchase of new computers in the district will move forward. I have heard from employees that were concerned that the 4-3 vote at the last board meeting was going to prevent this from happening. By spreading rumors like this, the administration is attempting to fear monger to drum up support for their proposal. There was good discussion at the board table regarding moving to one computer platform throughout the district. What was missing from the discussion was the reason we have fallen behind on our tech update that was scheduled to take place more than a year ago. Was there something that happened in the district that prevented the IT staff from staying on schedule with implementation of new computers? Oh yeah,that darn legacy thing and the unintended consequences of poor planning. Unfortunately this has become a debate about Apple vs Dell and while Apple is clearly on the rise with new innovative products and inventions, and Dell is falling, coming off its worst year in recent history it will not deter the faithful. I can hear the wagons circling as our illustrious IT staff prepares to exult the PC and bash the Mac. Although it has not been spoken yet, the usual M. O. will be to have the B.O.E conduct a board meeting in one of our middle schools trotting out all of the PC fans in the district with computer geek speak and students involved in the dog and pony show. What will be absent however is all of those on the IT staff and throughout the district that support using something other than what this proposal offers. I do not believe in one size fits all education and I will certainly not support a proposal that moves the district in that direction. One of the arguments I hear over and over again is in the real world outside of school everyone uses a windows based PC. What world would that be? Certainly not the creative world that I travel in as a professional musician. Or that of my brother in California who is a filmmaker. Or the web developer, publisher,illustrator I know. Or the law firm of another friend. Or thousands of other business owners I know in every conceivable line of work. The point is it is not a single platform world and the computer you use often depends on what you are trying to accomplish. This proposal needs to be examined closely, especially the true cost of everything associated with the purchase. As we move forward I will be listening to all the stakeholders recognizing that the IT staff is there to make the teachers job easier not the other way around.