In order for Park students to become more technology-oriented, the school district incorporated new computers for students to use, according to IB history teacher Carley Kregness.

Sophomore Ella Trotter said she thinks the improvement will help everyone in the building, not just students.

“With the use of new computers, it’s helped teachers and students learn more about technology. It’s becoming easier for teachers to become more involved in the aspect of technology because more classes are demanding available technology for their subjects in class,” Trotter said.

According to Kregness, she played a huge role in the negotiations to have technology more available for students.

“The district decided that expanding technology could benefit the students as well as the staff. The need for technology every day increases constantly,” Kregness said.  “During testing windows, the chromebooks will be utilized by a lot of the students.”

Kregness said the faculty use a Google calendar for organizing which classrooms need the chromebooks the most and they take turns.

“Having a shared calendar is so helpful since so many teachers need them at random times of the day,” Kregness said. “For other teachers to know which classroom has them, all (teachers) have to do is put their name under the slot with the chromebooks for that specific day. It’s pretty simple.”

The social studies department uses labs and computers the most, according to Kregness, but there aren’t enough resources.

“Since not every class can be in a computer lab at once, it has been really helpful so far,” Kregness said.

Kregness said the chromebooks benefit the Non-Traditional Academy, the reading program, social studies department and any teacher whose students need computers for class work. She said the computers can also be used by students individually, but they can’t be checked out.

Testing holds a huge part of the need for technology, even at the middle school and elementary schools because of standardized testing, according to Kregness.

“As the demand for testing with technology increases, so does the demand for available technology resources,” Kregness said. “It’s great that we have labs with computers, but that’s just not enough for every student especially if some classes overlap in computer lab time.”

According to Kregness, the district continues to embrace new ideas, on top of the new chromebooks, on how to create a more technology-friendly environment for the students at Park.