Bring Back the App Store at CAL

At Christian Academy of Louisville, students have been able to enhance their education by the use of iPads for years. By keeping up with the times and latest technology, CAL was able to allow for students to write notes on paper while also storing them digitally. However recently there has been a change that some teachers and students alike do not agree with. Christian Academy decided to get rid of the App Store on the iPads.

By using an app portal, the decision to only allow students to download a select apps may have done more harm than originally intended.

Last school year, a group of freshmen all downloaded an app called "BAND". Through this app the leader of their group was able to set reminders for all of the members. By doing this, they could organize Bible studies and prayer meetings during break, reminding everyone through a notification. Also through this app, members could post prayer requests or struggles they were going through that they didn't feel comfortable sharing out loud. Without the App Store, how would things like this be possible?

There were plenty of other apps like BAND that students could use to help their education and walk with Christ, as well as plenty of students downloaded them for that purpose as well. The Blue Letter Bible is another example. Students could read the Bible in different languages and read notes about each verse. Duolingo is another great app many students downloaded. Not only could it help them learn the language class they were taking but many students, whether they were still taking a language or not, would use the app to try and learn another language entirely. Removing the App Store may help some students' education, but it also hurts others'.

The technology department showed no problem deleting apps last year (even if it was apps students were allowed to have). So why change it? Sure it might have been some hard work to seek out games students were playing and block them, but it may be more work even now. There are tons of apps used last year by teachers to do projects that are not on the app portal list. It may be better to delete distracting apps as they pop up, instead of having a herd of students come to the technology department every time a teacher needs them to download something.

So, why should you sign this petition?
If you are a student, the App Store can be great for your education and future. It's not just good for games and if this petition achieves it's goal, you should keep that in mind and respect the staff by not being distracted in class.
If you are a teacher or staff member, know that not all students just want to sit back and play games all class on their iPads. Too many students to count genuinely used their iPads as they were meant to and helped their education. It's not fair to punish the many for the acts of the few.