Photo Credit: Laurin Noguchi

Despite changes like Infinite Campus, textbooks always remain constant

Students, faculty, and the administration are all starting to get into the swing of the school year, facing new additions to our scholarly routines that appear to be posing problems. Infinite Campus has replaced Communicado as M-A’s online system of communication between students, teachers and parents. Similarly, the administration attempted to facilitate the arena check-in process this year with an online submission of emergency information. Unfortunately, midnight phone calls alerting students and parents to register online disturbed families’ slumber. Twice. Worse yet, crashing servers caused the emergency forms to be lost. Apology emails followed with new instructions. Even at the beginning of the school, bells did not ring across the entire campus. Planners that were supposed to be delivered to students were delayed. It now seems that the administration’s attempts to ease and simplify the school year have taken some unexpected turns, to the chagrin of students and staff alike.

Infinite campus, for one, was intended to be the superior predecessor to Communicado. Teachers can post assignments, take attendance, and send messages to students. Jon Senigaglia, a first year teacher at M-A, likes infinite campus, noted that it was much better than the interface at his previous school. In an interview he mentioned the ease with which one can file online behavior reports and referrals, rather than on paper.

But many teachers can be found griping about infinite campus’s “confusing” interface. Teachers Nancy Day and Ben Wellington also commented. Day says, “its irritating,” but Wellington interjected “But it’s the Cadillac of all grading systems”. Other teachers complain about the inability to post PDFs of assignments, which Communicado allowed.

Meanwhile, Gregg Whitnah, math teacher and site council chairperson, believes the switch to new software “had to happen” because “all the old software no longer exists”. In other words, the technological problems are expected with the switch, even though they are inopportune. The change was necessary, despite the inconveniences.

Students however, seem to have limited experience with infinite campus. A student who had in the past used communicado “twice a week” says that they “haven’t seen it [infinite campus]”.

As for crashing servers and midnight phone calls, they appear to have been unavoidable computer glitches with the district. The school is not responsible, according Ms. Kennel, AVP.