The Windows ConversionStudent reaction negative; administration remains optimistic

Hays High Guidon - Semptember 21, 2007

by ALLYSON KLAUS - Assistant Editor

As Hays High students returned to school this year, it was not new classes or new teachers they anticipated but the new Dell laptops. After the fi rst few weeks of school, however, the new computers have the majority of students complaining. But the CCU staff and principal Michael Hester still remain optimistic that the school will eventually acclimate to the change.One problem several students seem to share is that the Dells are too slow. Junior Zach Danner said the Dells are a lot slower than the Macs, but he likes having more access to devices such as the CD burner.Sophomore Jordan Matlock agreed with Danner that the Dells were slower and said she isn’t using her Dell as much as she used her Mac, because it is also more “compl-icated.”However, many of the students’ concerns regarding the Dells are not actually problems with the computers but with the new infra-structure.“Right now we are having server problems, wireless router issues and issues with the software, and the Dells are being blamed for a lot of that,” Hester said.

These problems are nothing new to CCU staff member Todd Bryant.“New technology always presents new problems and challenges,” he said. “Last year, with three-year-old laptops, there were a lot of hardware issues, and now we are experiencing mostly software issues and adjustments to the new operating system.”While many students are having issues with their new computer, there is much they don’t know about the effort that has gone into renovating the technology this year.“It was time for an infrastructure change in our district,” Mary Woods, Operations Technology Coord-inator, said. “We had not updated in 10 years, so it was time to revamp a lot of things.”Woods said everything but the wiring was replaced. This includes servers, access points, battery backup systems, controllers that run the access point and more.“There was a short amount of time to get everything done, and everyone had high ex-pectations that everything would run smoothly,” Woods said.Another problem that both Bryant and Woods are working on involves Moodle. However, both are pleased to be experiencing this particular diffi culty, because it means Moodle is being utilized to its full capacity. Woods said she hopes to resolve the problem soon by putting Moodle on a new server.Although Woods said there are currently some “bumps in the road,” she is excited that even more people in the district are benefi ting from the technology. The middle school are at a 1:1 ratio, and the elementrary schools are 1:2.With all the added computers, Woods and the CCU staff have a big job ahead of them. But it’s a job that’s been made easier by Dell.“Dell is a wonderful company to work with,” Woods said. “One of our major problems with Apple was that it was a very hard and long process getting parts in, and anytime the computers are not in the students’ hands, it defeats the purpose of the technology.”Woods said the parts that have been ordered from Dell so far have been delivered within the next day. Additionally, very few Dells failed out of the box, a problem that was common with the Macs.Perhaps another problem that concerns students and teachers is the four-year lease, but Hester is confi dent the Dells will survive for all four years.“We have a better warranty system than we had with Apple,” he said. Besides that, “it was the only way we could afford going K-12. Now, more people than ever are being impacted by technology,” he said.Regarding the current optimisticproblems the school is having,Hester encourages studentsand staff to be patient.“We have much Kaizen—continual, daily improve-ment—to make with the entiresystem,” he said. “It’s not easy, that’s why other schools arenot doing this; there are 3,000 computers that are being used daily, and our people are doing an awesome job.”Hester remains hopeful that the students will adapt to the new technology and that the problems will be worked out inthis transition year. But most of all he is gratefulfor the advantage Hays High students have, and he is proudof the district for making thedecision to bring in the extratechnology.“It will be better than ever,” he said.

http://www.hayshighguidon.com/Archives/07-08/PDF/September07%20PDF.pdf