Dear Parents,
A good time was had by all on Friday for the Halloween Parade and festivities! It was a great afternoon.
How many of us can think back to the capabilities of our first computer? Do you remember when the Internet was invented? When your family first hooked up to the Internet? Apple came out with the first personal computer in 1983 and Microsoft followed in 1985. Micro-processing was available to consumers beginning in the mid-1990's, the World Wide Web was accessible beginning in 1993, dot coms followed in 1995, while dial-up internet access was limited and was connected to phone lines. Broadband (any connection other than dial-up) was accessible beginning in 1996. Today, broadband includes Wi-Fi and operates without cables and wiring. (Sources: LiveScience, the Economist, Suit Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine). Given this evolution, we can agree that it is a daunting task to keep up with ever changing advances.
In the early 2000's, BSCS purchased computers and created an infrastructure that supported usage. Funding upgrades from year to year created an infrastructure that was assembled in a patchwork fashion. The system worked well and was managed primarily by BSCS personnel. In the last few years, it was evident that technology upgrades were necessary as computers are more sophisticated, Wi-Fi is faster, and technology add-ons such as on-line academic options, SMART Boards, and document readers, are essential to learning.
In August, the Blessed Sacrament management team contracted with a computer company to upgrade to the latest desktop and laptop computers. Countless hours went into installing the computers in order to be ready for the start of school. We are pleased that we have state-of-the-art technology. Are we 100% effective in the ability to function? The answer is no. Think of it this way, one cannot imagine purchasing a new car only to open the hood to find that a hamster is running in a wheel in order to get the motor running. Essentially, the infrastructure supporting the new computers has proven to be ineffective. For example, the Wi-Fi Bridge between the school buildings is antiquated and cannot support the traffic. The obvious issue this causes is the voice over internet phone system either does not work or when operable sound is punctuated. We have authorized the computer company to purchase the equipment that will alleviate this issue. Last year I was informed by our technology teacher that we had a limited number Microsoft Office Suites, and licensing was an issue to put it on all of the machines that needed it; this continues to be the case. This year's analysis by the tech company confirmed this. We are currently working with Microsoft to purchase Microsoft Office 365 for staff computers and push the Windows 1993-2000 to the computer labs; we anticipate to be completed with this phase of the project before Thanksgiving break. Until this happens, in the computer labs (both elementary and middle school), we are running (for no licensing fee) a product called OpenOffice by the Apache Software Foundation. Students are able to use programs that are similar to Microsoft products: word processing, spreadsheets, and power point presentations. Similarly, we have encountered a patchwork approach to the infrastructure for the iPad program. We are finally at a place when the machines are ready and the apps are purchased by the school rather than on personal cards as was the case in the past.
This is a behemoth undertaking! We are coming close to the tech project being complete. We have infrastructure and we are committed and focused, and we are invested in providing the best technology services to our students and staff.
God Bless you and your darling children,
Carla
