Technology
In 2006, the Pennsylvania Department of Education awarded a grant to the High School to buy new technology. The grant was part of Governor Ed Rendell's Classrooms for the Future Program, a $20 million program, which was announced by the governor on September 20, 2006. As part of the grant, the school received several SMART Boards manufactured by Polyvision and Webster Software, as well as several hundred MacBook and Lenovo ThinkPad laptops.
In addition, the school has over 500 desktop and laptop workstations running Microsoft Windows XP Professional and Apple Inc Mac OS X. Every workstation running Windows XP Professional was manufactured by Dell. The school has purchased software such as the complete Macromedia Suite which includes Dreamweaver MX, Fireworks MX, and Flash MX, all version 6 and with also Adobe Creative Suite 3 software installed on the new MacBooks. In addition, the school has Microsoft Office 2003 installed on every workstation and Microsoft Office 2007 installed on the newer notebooks.
From 2000-2005, the school, in cooperation with the Lancaster-Lebanon IU 13, used Blackboard as a way for the school to interact with students and through the Internet, and to give courses online content. It was also the main method of coursework for the Virditional High School. However, due to the school's new budget, and because of high price demands, Blackboard was eventually removed. As a replacement, the school switched to Moodle as the main way for students to interact with their coursework online.
Starting with the 2005-2006 school year, the school now uses K12 Systems's Sapphire Suite as the primary gradebook and report card generation system. Previously, the school had used InteGrade Pro and EasyGrade Pro. However, the school wanted a way for children and parents to view their grades at home. This suite of software allows for online access of the students current grades through the Parent Portal, and allows teachers and faculty at-home access to their classes gradebooks.
The library uses Follett Software applications for the circulation and catalog.
The main program used for maintaining a database of student info is SASI.
The school is now switching over to OpenOffice.org, rather than Microsoft Office.
During the school year this year students were asked to take a technology survey, the school may be looking to allow students to bring in tablets and laptops to do regular school work to try to cut back on paper usage and other supplies.
Read more about this topic: Manheim Township High School
Famous quotes containing the word technology:
“Our technology forces us to live mythically, but we continue to think fragmentarily, and on single, separate planes.”
—Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)
“Radio put technology into storytelling and made it sick. TV killed it. Then you were locked into somebody else’s sighting of that story. You no longer had the benefit of making that picture for yourself, using your imagination. Storytelling brings back that humanness that we have lost with TV. You talk to children and they don’t hear you. They are television addicts. Mamas bring them home from the hospital and drag them up in front of the set and the great stare-out begins.”
—Jackie Torrence (b. 1944)