Out with the old, in with the new
Starr’s Mill develops long-term plan for computer replacement
Ready to be collected from the school, the Mill’s outdated computer monitors, mice, and modules await their removal. Fayette County plans to move away from stationary computer equipment and toward a long-term, mobile set up.
August 30, 2016
“We want to ensure that all students have access to technological devices,” Fayette County Director of Technology Services Sharon Lunceford said.
Technology has become an essential part of many people’s daily routines, both boosting and enhancing productivity. Public schools move toward more individualized forms of technology so that all of their students have equal access to new learning experiences. The Fayette County school board has begun to rid itself of old computers to move away from the “stationary lab concept” and toward a more personalized learning.
Older and outdated computers that were in Fayette schools are beginning to be replaced by laptops. The Mill’s math and science departments already have access to two laptop carts, each containing 40 laptops.
The technology budget comes from the county’s Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax, which helps cover the cost of software updates and computer purchases. Fayette schools hope to use these funds to purchase portable technology for students to use in the classroom. This would serve as a long term goal of the school district that could take a few years to fully implement.
“I think that it is good that we are looking to update,” Principal Allen Leonard said.
The school board committee will decide on a plan to follow through to update the school’s computers and to move towards more mobile technology. When the plan is selected, the county will begin the first steps to getting laptops into the hands of the students.
The future of the school seems to revolve around what forms of technology are coming out and how they can be utilized to better education. While there may be a lack of lab and desk computers at the moment, the school will soon receive new technology to replace the old.
“We have taken a step or two backwards so that we can take a whole lot of steps forward,” Leonard said.
