Leechburg 2.0 in Wonderland 
by Dan Rzewnicki, TrottyVeck Editor in Chief
November 8, 2010
I was going to apologize for the delay between my last blog and this one, but judging by the number of comments I have received, I will assume that you are either not interested or a certain English teacher has not bribed you with bonus points yet. Nevertheless, I hope this blog will answer the question as to why I have taken so long to satisfy you with another blog.
Why is it that one day in study hall the computers and the Internet whip by megapixels and blaze through sites faster than Usain Bolt blazes the 200 meter track, but the next day every computer grinds to a stop with the Internet moving slower than a 113-year-old man driving down Market Street? That really grinds my gears.
The school’s website and overall Internet connection is horribly inconsistent. It seems to always let students and teachers down when they need it most. Remember the time you had a PowerPoint assigned two months ago but planned to wait until the night before to do it? Just be warned – unfailingly, the Internet and email system will be down the day it is due.
Also, this year it seems that the Internet and email always works for the students, but has been sporadic at best for the teachers. For all you know, my TrottyVeck articles and blogs have been lost in cyberspace for months! They have been crawling, on fiber optic hands and knees, to reach Denise Cechvala’s email account and then to Principal Matt Kruluts’s computer for approval before reaching your eyes. (That really isn’t the case; I just put this one off for a while.)
Also, what in the world is going on with our grading system? If you want to survive this year, DO NOT ask a teacher when your grades will be posted. If you do, you are sure to see the fire in that teacher’s eyes and you may or may not be killed on the spot, dismembered, then ground up in a pencil sharpener. (Not really again – I don’t think any students are missing. But the fire in some teachers’ eyes when someone asks that question can really make you feel as if spontaneous combustion just may be the most attractive option at the moment.)
I am just failing to understand the reason for this total “home makeover” of the computer grading program. If you asked me I would say that the old one worked pretty darn well and this one works pretty darn terribly.
The fact that I can’t see my grades to come up with an excuse for having a 33 percent in calculus before my parents see it on the progress report and the fact that the school website is hampering my fearless leadership of the TrottyVeck really grinds my gears.
[comments]
| More Dan agreement |
Posted by "Maddy Waltenbaugh" on December 2, at 8:54 p.m.
I completely agree with you, Dan. I often find myself unable to get work done because the computers are so slow. Great article!
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| Not everyone has a home computer |
Posted by "Sarah Berry" on November 27, at 11:26 a.m.
I couldn't agree with you more, Dan. The computers are so slow and they never work. And it's terrible to think that some kids get in trouble for not doing homework on the computer when some kids don't have computers at their houses! Leechburg 2.0 is not very good! Keep writing. :-)
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| Technology frustration continues |
Posted by "Ethan Vigna" on November 16, at 12:35 p.m.
I agree 100 percent, Rez. The school is trying to make everything so technologically advanced but none of the technology even works. |
| Computers working even more slowly |
Posted by "Morgan Ceschini" on November 15, at 3:52 p.m.
Ha Ha, Dan! I couldn't agree more...this new system is not the best. Last year the computers at school worked for me,and it wasn't until I did my work at home that my computer would "grind my gears"; but this year, my computer at home seems to be genius compared to the school's computers. |
| Students reluctant to use school's computers |
Posted by "Dawn Bowman" on November 15, at 3:23 p.m.
I couldn't agree more. However, the computer systems in Plum (the school I transferred from) were just as bad as Leechburg's and ran just as slow. It got completely frustrating to do any work and it made a lot of kids not want to do their work dealing with computers. We should have just kept the old system. |
| Internet crawls through school's cables |
Posted by "Chris Claypool" on November 15, at 1:21 p.m.
Dan, I agree with you 100 percent. Leechburg's computer system is terrible! It takes forever and a day to open up the Internet and actually get work done. Also, I think it is easier for students to view grades on the new Power School system, but, on the other hand, it takes teachers forver to upload grades. |
| Slow computers frustrate students |
Posted by "Bre Stephens" on November 14, at 7:14 p.m.
I completely agree with you, Dan. It's so frustrating to try to get work done on a computer in class whenever it takes 15 minutes for a page to load. |
| Waiting for Internet wastes time |
Posted by "Rebecca Pavlik" on November 12, at 11:22 a.m.
Dan, this new 2.0 system which is supposedly high tech and so much better than last year's is about 20 times worse than last year's! I hate going on at the beginning of class to do research and not get into the Internet until, oh, just when the bell rings giving me absolutely no time to do anything in class. Keep on writing!! |
| Giving up on technology |
Posted by "Tabetha Ward" on November 12, at 11:19 a.m.
I completely agree, Dan! Just this morning in POD, Mr.Glenn had to move us to the health room, then back to the POD room (with the smartboard) just so we could watch a movie on an Internet site. We all assumed this was the last of our problems, but after every twenty seconds the movie would pause to buffer. I usually fall asleep during this time, but I couldn't today because everyone was yelling and getting upset. As soon as we were into the movie, the computer had to pause and buffer once again. Obviously, the school needs to stop relying on technology...seriously. |
| Missing Edline |
Posted by "Melinda McCorkle" on November 12, at 11:16 a.m.
Dan, I definitely agree with this. PowerSchool is so confusing, I can't even get on it at home half the time. I thought Edline was fine and easy to use. There was no reason to change to "Leechburg 2.0." |
| Computer frustration grows |
Posted by "Kirsten Scott" on November 12, at 9:57 a.m.
Go, Dan! I so agree with you. I mean honestly if we are so techincally advanced why are our computers so slow!!! |
| Keep 'em coming, Dan! |
Posted by "Kiersten Horrell" on November 11, at 8:36 p.m.
Dan, I love your articles. They are by far the most entertaining articles on here. If you can get past the school's failing computer system, please keep the new articles coming faster! |
| Edline was fine |
Posted by "Clay Kalmar" on November 11, at 7:10 p.m.
Yeah, I totally agree with you, Dan. This whole "Leechburg 2.0" thing seems pretty worthless. Edline worked fine and some schools are just now upgrading to it. And by the way, a certain teacher has started offering bribes so you might be getting some more posts soon. |
| Even more computer frustration |
Posted by "Katie Kasanicky" on November 11, at 1:34 p.m.
Dan, I love this!! You have said it. I am so sick of trying to get my work done and be a good student. About twenty-five snails passed me by before the Internet page finishes downloading!!! |
| Computer system unimpressive |
Posted by "Anne Brady" on November 10, at 10:36 p.m.
I'd have to say that the "What Grinds My Gears" blog is definitely one of my favorite articles on the TrottyVeck. I agree with Dan: Leechburg's 2.0 system hasn't been too impressive so far this year. I hope things will improve so you can write more blogs, and I can laugh out loud. :) |
| Computer blog spurs spontaneous challenge |
Posted by "Jolynn Young" on November 10, at 6:21 p.m.
Great job, Dan! By the way, if spontaneous human combustion actually does occur, I'll give you extra credit if you e-mail me an Excel spreadsheet with all the data, calculations and conclusions attached! |
| PowerSchool left teachers powerless |
Posted by "Jessica Pastva" on November 10, at 4:55 p.m.
I feel that the district should have looked further into the new grading program before installing it. At the start of the school year, many teachers did not know how to operate PowerSchool. This lack of knowledge piled up many papers on their desks. It also made most students frustrated because they could not see their grades for any of their classes. I agree with Dan. The old program seemed to be working just fine, so why change it? |
| Still more computer system frustration |
Posted by "Tom Dubovi" on November 10, at 2:31 p.m.
I think it's ridiculous that the school's computer network is so sporadic. You could probably do some of the work faster by hand! |
| Sharing computer frustration |
Posted by "Jacob Iellimo" on November 10, at 1:30 p.m.
Dan Rez, I completely agree with you on this topic. Our school's Internet is stupidly slow most of the time and I see why it grinds your gears. |
| More computer system frustration |
Posted by "Amy Barley" on November 9, at 2:10 p.m.
Amen, Dan! Amen! FYI - I have a fire blanket and fire extinguisher in my room (502) if needed! |
| Frustrated with computers |
Posted by "Jacob Oberdorf" on November 8, at 8:26 p.m.
I couldn't agree more with you on this one, Dan. Was the computer system last year that bad? I think it would be better to actually have a computer lab that has enough computers for every kid in a class with 30 students. And now the library only has four or five computers. I just don't understand it. |
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