New Mac lab for MAP classes replaces aging equipment

Sophomore Navya Chawla practices using Adobe Photoshop with the new iMacs.

The multimedia collaborative classroom looks starkly different than it has been over the past few years. The sleek computers and comfortable armchairs lining the walls now make the room feel more like a professional workspace than a typical high school classroom.

In June, the Media Arts Program upgraded its lab with new 2023 models of the 24-inch iMacs. They were funded by the MAP Boosters group, which provided $45,000, and the Career Technical Education (CTE) program, which provided the remaining $15,000, said Joel Tarbox, MAP 11 media arts teacher and technical coordinator.

“The CTE grants are money that comes from both state and federal,” Tarbox said. “They’re also intended to help programs like ours that have needs that are beyond what the district can provide.”

The $60,000 was just enough to cover 32 computers, including new keyboards and mice, Tarbox said.

For subscription-based software, such as Adobe Creative Cloud, and the latest Apple updates, the machines needed a solid state drive to run programs like Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere Pro. Solid state drives are able to hold more storage and transfer data faster.

These old computers that MAP used for the past five years were composed of a hybrid of spinning drives from older computers combined with solid drives. This eventually made them unstable, leading to frequent crashes and prompting the need for the more stable and quicker machines. Additionally, Apple’s latest operating system updates in the 2023 models enhance security.

Despite the increase in speed and aesthetic appeal of the new computers, Tarbox has found some parts of the new iMacs less than ideal. For example, the old machines had a number of ports, including one that was a secure digital (SD) card reader. These SD card readers were necessary for reading in camera footage, but new iMacs only have USB-C ports, which requires an adapter to transfer files.

“It’s a bit frustrating,” he said. “Not hugely expensive, but it creates an extra step.”

Nevertheless, Tarbox said MAP is still happy with their new purchases. While MAP projects won’t see significant differences in their workflows, the new iMacs will make the editing and learning process smoother and easier, a huge benefit for MAP students and teachers.

“There was no learning curve to using them because they are still Apple products and run similarly to the other computers,” junior Riley Adler said. “The only downside is that it takes a while to upload the footage from a camera. Otherwise, the computers are great, faster, bigger and work really well.”