LAKELAND - Lakeland Catholic School District (LCSD) officials say that their divisional buildings have recently gone through a “communication system heart transplant” that will bring significant savings and new life to the school division.
All schools have recently undergone customized technology infrastructure changes which involved new PA systems, says the division’s Director of Technology Clint Elliott. He says it’s the biggest project they have tackled since he started working for LCSD.
“Everywhere you go you will see new phones and new systems. Our old systems weren’t working so well,” he said, explaining the modernization overhaul.
Having the new system in place will save the school division an estimated $2,500 a month or $30,000 a year, and having it be customizable means that there are new features like being able to have the school bell ring only in select rooms. There is also an Internet network through the Bell media company that the schools will have called Supernet 2.0. LCSD is one of the first school divisions to be moving to the new network. Elliott says that it will help staff and students receive a better quality experience when they are online.
Bandwidth boost
“Each school will receive a significant increase in their bandwidth to factor in our reliance on cloud services, which will significantly benefit online learning and multimedia access at our schools,” said Elliott.
The technology team for LCSD has been focusing heavily on keeping systems and equipment updated. The upgrades not only help students and staff in schools, but also families who might have been struggling with components of virtual learning. In recent weeks, 160 chromebooks have also been updated and prepared for virtual learning. Elliott believes that continuing on into 2021, the tech team at LCSD will prosper if they are prepared.
“As long as we are vigilant about refreshing our devices, I think we are in a good spot as far as technology goes,” said Elliott.
Lac La Biche County’s Light of Christ Catholic School is not owned by LCSD, so it did not qualify for the new PA systems, but it does have technology hardware and software in place to better handle the increased demands on virtual learning.
