At the start of the school year, many heads were turned toward the seven feet tall, black billboards that now decorate the hallways. These billboards- known as kiosks- have been erected on the bottom floor of both the F- and C-buildings, as well as the cafeteria. Each kiosk is both student interactive and touch compatible.

Student body president Hannah Bashford said, “The boards are put on by a company called SkoolLive. They are the ones responsible for installing them on campus.”

According to the SkoolLive website, ”SkoolLive exists to improve school-to-student communication through our on-campus digital kiosks, utilizing the full power of our hyper-connected interactive network.”

As far as money goes, Perry did not have to invest a quarter. Last year, Chandler was the first school in the district to test out the new technology. After last years test run, CUSD agreed to collaborate with SkoolLive and assimilate the kiosks into every campus in the district. SkoolLive payed for and installed all of the kiosks during the summer, in hopes they would be ready to use for this upcoming school year.

Principal Dan Serrano explained, “No money came out of our pocket. It was just a way for the school to advertise what is going on around campus.”

These new devices serve to accomplish two main purposes for the school: improve the interactive communication and provide responsible advertising. SkoolLive improves communication by designing the kiosks to be touch-friendly in order to provide students with the capability to interact with any news that is displayed. In this way, students will be able to give feedback, take polls, and even vote in school elections on any of the kiosks on campus.

Stugo advisor Lerina Johnson said, “The boards will be used a lot for advertising. In order for an ad to show, Mr. Serrano has to approve it and then we submit it to SkoolLive.”

On their website, SkoolLive claims to promote responsible marketing. This responsible marketing includes lifting burdens on fundraising and improving student opportunities. By installing kiosks, students are better able to support existing school programs and ease the burden of fundraising off of the teachers shoulders.

Being the first year, there will undoubtedly be bugs and complications that arise with the program. However, the intent is for SkoolLive to become a part of everyday student life. In the near future, it may be more common than not to see kiosks such as these on every campus in the nation.