Bella Saccomano, Staff Writer

     At Penn-Trafford High School, an abundance of work has been spent to modernize the media center. Although the aesthetic may have upgraded, the technology used by the students is falling behind.

    The desktop computers in the pit are not only as slow as an amoeba, but they are very unreliable when it comes to printing. Students depend on these machines to print assignments for various classes.

Media Literacy Internship teacher Kathy Kelly-Garris said that computer complications happen “daily and multiple times.”

    Choosing which computer to log into is stressful because if you go through the extensive steps provided to facilitate the process, there is a strong chance you may have just wasted your time.

    Kelly-Garris explained that “you have to do all of the steps exactly right and even when students do, it may not work.”

    Another option the school should take into consideration is replacing the desktops with more seating and charging stations for Chromebooks, as well as a way to print directly from a Chromebook.

    Every student of P-T is expected to bring their Chromebook to school each day fully charged. Considering this is a requirement of the students, it should be no problem to get rid of the desktops, because students are already supplied with their own portable and more updated technology that does all the same, and more, than the regular desktops.

    Kelly-Garris responded to the idea of replacing the desktops by stating that “there are programs on these computers that are not on the Chromebooks, which teachers sometimes need to use and print from.”

    According to Forbes.com, neuroscientific studies show that paper copies of written work are far more effective than digital, which is why an upgraded way of printing should be a topic of discussion among the staff of P-T.

    The most recent work supporting paper-based marketing is a study sponsored by Canada Post and performed by Canadian neuromarketing firm True Impact. The study compared the effects of paper marketing with digital media.

    Another study of significance was done by Temple University, which ruled that paper advertising activated the ventral striatum area of the brain more than digital media. The ventral striatum is in charge of brain functionality involving reward processes, motivation, and decision-making.

    If printed copies are more effective to the brain than digital copies, why are the quality of printers not more of a priority? After all, is the purpose of school not to find the most effective way to educate students?

    With the importance of printing papers for classes in mind, it is crucial that technological advances should be prioritized.

    Jason Caruso, who is in charge of P-T technology, said he had given thought to make printing available to students through their Chromebooks but not enough to know exactly how much of a pain it would be to put into place.

    Caruso explained that when the Chromebooks first came into the picture, this type of advancement was not even in the question. Whether or not this would be within budget is not the concern, according to Caruso.

    Hopefully, for the future of P-T, Chromebooks will be able to access the school printers to ease the frustration. For now, the problem remains.

 

Editor’s Note: Following the reporting of this story, new rules were created for the printing procedure in the media center. Now, students are not to log into Papercut as they have in the past. The complete instructions are detailed next to the media center computers.