Laurel: To getting into education. A good book can put a reader into the story. Virtual reality video gaming can put a player in a new world. But how can that happen for a whole classroom?
On Tuesday, East Allegheny School District became the first K-12 public school setting to make that happen, using immersive reality technology from Pittsburgh-based XYCOM.
More than simply projected pictures, the spaces include digital displays, floor components and interactivity. The installations cost between $120,000 and $180,000. East Allegheny has two — one for the middle school-high school and one at Logan Elementary.
This is a cutting-edge way to augment classes of all kinds. Take French language or art students to the Louvre. Put biology students inside a cell. Allow history students to explore a pyramid, an ancient village or a battlefield.
Lance: To being snowed in. Nearly a third of Pittsburgh’s snowplows are out of service. That’s a problem when the city has seen its worst snows of the winter in recent weeks.
Of 103 vehicles, 37 are undergoing maintenance. Those plows are necessary to keep 1,140 miles of road passable. Residents are right to feel frustrated, especially those on smaller and hillier streets where failure to clear snow can make for dangerous roads.
Pittsburgh officials are reaching out to surrounding municipalities to partner. Munhall, for example, has eight trucks but only about 60 miles of road to clear, possibly giving it freedom to come to Pittsburgh’s aid.
Let’s hope that works. But Pittsburgh leaders have to realize they can’t depend upon the kindness of their neighbors to pick up the slack for the city’s failings.
Lance: To familiar territory. Here we go again. Westmoreland County’s purchasing director has been suspended.
No, we aren’t recycling a headline from last year. Daniel Ellingsen has been on the job since November. He was placed on paid leave last week for undisclosed reasons, but that changed to unpaid Wednesday.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because Ellingsen took over for the previous director Kristopher Cardiff and his assistant ,who were fired in August.
It also smacks of the years of trouble getting someone to run the county elections bureau.
We don’t know why Ellingsen is on leave. We don’t know when this will be resolved. We should all hope Westmoreland County is able to stabilize turnover in critical offices.
