15 New Computers To Arrive At NHS

By Jeff White

After several weeks of discussion concerning an offer from Toshiba that would place 15 new computers in the high school, the Newtown Board of Education recently approved the deal on the condition that students could not be identified by the company when they log on.

The computer company has launched a nationwide educational initiative that endeavors to place 15 new computers into as many high schools and middle schools as possible.

When the offer first came to the school board, they postponed voting on it due to ambiguities in advertising and the “Zapme!” search engine that Toshiba required NHS students to use. But board members said recently that after thorough examination of the search engine and its advertisements, they saw no threat to student security.

The proposed placement of these computers is the high school’s media center will allow students to perform their own research essentially when they choose, during the library’s hours of operation. But Superintendent of Schools John Reed has assured that students will remain supervised. Each computer will be patched into the school’s network, which monitors student Internet activity, and moreover the position of the computers in the library will allow for teacher observation.

The Tokyo-based company has made some stipulations in the deal, namely requiring NHS to keep the computers up and running at least 50 percent of the time during school hours and to use “Zapme” as the only search engine and research tool. In addition, Toshiba would like to have limited access to these computers at the high school to train employees. High school principal Bill Manfredonia has said that this requirement would be during hours that the school was not in use by students.

Besides approving the offer, the district will have little to do in this deal. The onus of installation and system upkeep would be completely on Toshiba. If something goes wrong, the company will send a technician to address it. Moreover, either Newtown or Toshiba can terminate the arrangement at any time.

The deal will allow Mr Manfredonia to move existing computers from the library into classrooms; he has said a goal of his is to outfit each classroom at the high school with at least one computer. In addition, the Toshiba deal should bring with it some relief for the high school’s swelling budget, as less money will be required for new technology and hardware.

The school board’s approval for the high school to proceed with the deal is essentially a vote for the middle school also to take part, and middle school administrators are encouraged by the proposal.

Toshiba has told Newtown school officials that it would look over applications from Newtown elementary schools, just as a preparatory measure. They are not ready to move on the elementary school front yet.