This past summer, a large part of Lake Forest High School received long overdue technology upgrades. This comes after the referendum of $105.7 million was passed this past April to improve LFHS. One part of that money goes towards bringing students and teachers up to date with new technology.

The new technology received this year includes Macbooks for every single teacher and student, new Apple TVs in every classroom, new TV connection areas for teachers to connect, and new teacher companion devices such as ipads for those that need them.

The primary reason for the technology upgrades is to bring the school to a higher standard of technology and improve classroom efficiency all around. In the past, the school has used many different brands of technology which didn’t create a very compatible environment. Teachers had a time-consuming process for sharing assignments on the board and making sure every student had access, which changed with the new devices.

However, the use of almost solely Apple technology, it creates a much smoother classroom experience. Teachers are able to easily connect to their projectors wirelessly via the Apple TV. Students who would’ve previously needed to use a different device for computer programs in art classes or New Media are now able to solely use their Macbooks for that. On the old Chromebooks, essentially the only app able to be used was Chrome itself, which made completing projects a lengthy process.

One of the beneficiaries of the new tech was Mr. Thomas Gigiano, who received two 80-inch TVs over the summer said, “the higher resolution that comes with them is a much-needed upgrade,” Although he’s had two displays in past years, the new TVs make the classroom that much better and easier for students to take notes and Gigiano to effectively teach.

A controversial part of the new technology is the fact that personal devices have been restricted. Now, all students are required to use their school-provided Macbooks. When talking to EdTechs Mr. Corey Holmer, Mr. Jimmy Juliano, and Mrs. Laura Grigg, they said that a big reason for this was equity. In past years with Chromebooks, students would be put at an unfair advantage when other students used Macbooks worth thousands of dollars. Additionally, universal Macbooks help monitor and support the devices, as the technology help desk has access to every computer.

Mr. Matthew Begale, the choir director at LFHS, also received new technology over the summer. He got a new projector and a much larger screen that helps fill the space in each classroom.

When speaking about the new technology as a whole, Begale said, “We can put stuff up there and our students can follow along and the things that would’ve taken 30 seconds take 5 seconds. It’s exciting.”