Oskaloosa Middle School Could See 1 To 1 Laptop Program For Coming School Year
The computers to be used in a potential OMS 1 to 1 laptop program were showcased to the school board this week. The Acer Chromebooks will be protected by attached cases.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Technology continues its steady march into everyday lives and, therefore, into students lives. With that in mind, school officials are taking steps to equip Oskaloosa Middle School students with Chromebooks.
Chromebooks are different than typical laptops produced to run Windows or Apple’s OSX. It’s an operating system built around being primarily connected to the internet, in turn, retrieving the needed applications and data in a direct feed from the cloud.
This departure from traditional technology is indicative of how technology is moving forward, and will allow the OMS students to utilize the latest software and touchscreen technology.
A group of teachers and administrators at OMS worked to develop the plan for the middle school. Several trips to other schools that were utilizing different technologies helped them solidify their choice.
Since the laptops will use more bandwidth, because of the technology utilized, additional bandwidth and infrastructure, such as wireless access points, are being planned. Fifty of the chromebooks have already been purchased and are in use by staff at OMS in an effort to be more familiar with the devices, in order to help students when the time comes.
If the board approves the measure, the cost to the district for the Acer Chromebooks would come in around $213,000. Much less than the cost of the original 1 to 1 laptop program underway in the high school.
The current 1 to 1 laptops will potentially serve the high school for an additional year, the computers will then possibly find their way to the Oskaloosa Elementary School for a program to make technology more available for those in grades 3, 4 and 5.
The funds to pay for the new computers would potentially come from the 1-cent sales tax, and not from the general fund of the district.
Also approved during the meeting was the sale of the student-built home located at 501 S. M Street.
The board had agreed to work with a Realtor to help facilitate the sale of the home, and an acceptable minimum bid offer was received from Joshua Twente in the amount of $172,500.
At the end of the open session, the board went into a closed session to evaluate the performance of Superintendent Russ Reiter.
