Source:
McCrea, Bridget. (4 November 2010). Jumping Off The Technology Treadmill. Retrieved from
http://thejournal.com/Articles/2010/11/04/Jumping-Off-the-Technology-Treadmill.aspx?Page=1
This article actually had nothing to do with exercise. The "technology treadmill" is jargon used by a California school district. Charles Kanavel, the director of technology for this school district in San Jose wanted to find a way to get rid of the desktop computers in the schools. Naturally, this process would cost a lot of money, around $550, 000 in order to replace all the desktop computers. To save on costs and to incorporate a much more unique learning environment, Kanavel's research taught him about desktop virtualization. Desktop virtualization allows several users to maintain a desktop on one computer. After narrowing choices down, Kanavel decided to go forth with XenDesktop, which is just another type of software for this process. Over the past year, computers in the school district have been converted over, and most should be completely converted by the start of the 2011 school year. Number-wise, this San Jose school district ended up saving about $250, 000 by investing in desktop virtulization. This software also minimizes the work on older computers with older hard drives. As far as student feedback, Kanavel reported that there have been minimal problems or complaints with the desktop virtualization, and has been successful in science labs, math classes, english classes, and other subject areas.
I have to admit that I was very confused after reading this article. The whole idea of desktop virtualization sounds complicated. I do not know if I would be interested in investing time and money into this type of technology for schools, let alone pitching it to the Board of Education. I just feel that this would be a more difficult thing to train teachers for, maybe less for middle and high school. I cannot even begin to think of how I would incorporate this into an early childhood classroom. Regardless of my apprehensions, I always feel that it is better to be aware of these different softwares and approaches to enhancing technology into the different schools. I commend Kanavel for taking the risk and investing the time and money into finding something new and affordable to better meet the needs of his school district.
Katie,
ReplyDeleteI have to admit after reading your post, I was also very confused about this technology. It seems to me there would multiple screens on one computer. I do not see how this would help students, but I may not understand what is truly being stated. I agree that teachers and school systems have to be innovative in this time of economic crisis to meet teacher and student needs.
Katie,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that it is important to be aware of the different technologies since they are changing and being upgraded so rapidly. I too had trouble understanding the basic idea of this software which leads me to believe that others would feel uncomfortable using it and teachers would need excessive training. This, as you said, would add to the overall cost.