Lisgar Collegiate is installing Wi-Fi for the first time since it was built almost 140 years ago.
When school kicks off next September, students at Lisgar Collegiate Institute will be able to use laptops and iPads at their desks to wirelessly connect to the Internet, despite being taught in a 140-year-old building.
The technological update is part of an effort by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board to install Wi-Fi in all 147 of its public schools by the end of August, says Dave Miller, the school board’s manager of technology.
But putting Wi-Fi into Lisgar’s Victorian-era stone structure is just the most recent attempt to update the aging building, says David Flemming, the former president of Heritage Ottawa.
“Today, Lisgar is essentially a modern building within the stone shell of an older structure.”
In 1975, Lisgar was gutted and renovated to bring the building into compliance with fire code. The update included an upgraded science lab, fluorescent lighting, an expanded library, and new seats and a new stage in the auditorium.
“In many ways, the installation of Wi-Fi continues the old tradition of modernizing the school,” says Flemming.
Because city bylaws and the Ontario Heritage Act protect only the exterior stone walls of Lisgar against major alterations, rewiring the inside of the school does not impact its heritage designation, says Miller.
“Despite this, we are being cautious with Lisgar anyway because it is a heritage building and you can’t just slap new wires up into the ceiling without knowing what impact that might have.”
Students will be allowed to bring electronic devices to class and the school will also have laptops available for students who do not have their own, says Bruce Summers, the vice-principal at Lisgar.
The new technology will allow students to access tools such as online encyclopedias and websites offering interactive lessons and quizzes, says Summers.
Wi-Fi allows educators to teach students digital literacy and improve their online research skills, says Summers.
“If you have a science class and the teacher is talking about fructose, for instance, he or she will be able to direct students online to credible websites where they can learn more about what this word means.”
And while today’s technology might be new, the push to modernize Lisgar is as old as the school itself, says David Jeanes, a Lisgar alumni who graduated in 1965.
“We didn’t even have computers when I was there, but Lisgar has always continued to improve its interior while keeping its heritage values and beauty intact,” says Jeanes, who also gives informational walking tours on Ottawa’s historical architecture.
Jeanes says older schools like Lisgar must continually adapt to meet changing demands.
“At one point during the Second World War, there was a rifle range on the fourth floor of Lisgar and military cadets used it for target practice because there was a real fear that war could come to Canada,” says Jeanes.
In other cases, auto mechanic classrooms and woodworking areas at Lisgar have been converted into performing spaces for drama classes, he says.
The installation of Wi-Fi is a way of catching up with the one-third of Ottawa public schools which are already equipped with wireless Internet.
“We see that there is a need for this technology, so now it is just a matter of putting it in place,” says Miller.
Teachers will monitor the use of electronic devices and the rules that apply to school computers will also apply to any device using the Wi-Fi networks. he says.