While reading will still be taught, students at Crothersville High School will be going bookless after the local school board voted to embrace higher technology and purchase 300 handheld Androids, a computer tablet-like device onto which textbooks can be downloaded.
The cost of the virtual desktop infrastructure, installation of equipment and the actual Androids was quoted at $432,466 from Boice.net, asouthern Indiana-based company headquartered in Paoli. Superintendent Terry Goodin said the price is still changing, and he is continuing to negotiate costs.
The school system couldn’t use bids from different companies because, Goodin said, Boice.net was the only supplier that offered the service sough.
Funds are coming from the capital projects fund.
Because the purchase price is so high, Goodin said the school will make payments for three years to pay for the Androids. Afterward, the school will own them.
“It will continue to move us forward in our technology plan,” Goodin said. “This is a big ticket purchase and we have been going slow to make sure it’s done right.”
A percentage of book rental fees will go back into the capital projects fund to reimburse the amount they are taking for the Androids.
Textbook licenses will be purchased annually by the school. Then students can download the books from the server onto their personal Androids. Goodin said cost will eventually go down for book rental, but the school will continue to purchase sets of books as backups.
“All curriculum will be digital,” Goodin said of the future. “Crothersville Community Schools will be ahead of that technology curve.”
Each device has its own personal serial number and tracking device, and Goodin said they could pinpoint exactly where it is located if stolen.
Students in grades six through 10 will each receive a device in the fall. Juniors and seniors will be assigned to a personal desktop, but there are possible plans down the road to purchase laptops for the two upper grades.
Bard member Andrew Nehrt was concerned with the number of students who would try to boot up their Androids at the same time in the morning and wondered if the system would crash.
Goodin agreed that there probably will be glitches in the beginning as there is will all new technologies.
“But the company will be here immediately. We are the only school in the state of Indiana that is going to be doing this. This is something Boice.net does not want to fail.”
Times readers can learn more about the company and its customers by logging onto www.boice.net.
