Mr. Rappa assumes position as Information Systems teacher

photo by James Clark Bible teacher Tony Rappa is teaching Information Systems. He is currently teaching about the usage of AI and how to know when it is lying.

When the opportunity to teach the Information Systems class opened up after the retirements of former Tuesday/Friday teacher Mrs. Kelly Linak and former Monday/Wednesday teacher Mrs. Kelli Sellers, Bible teacher, Esports sponsor, Philosophy teacher and Information Systems teacher Mr. Tony Rappa decided this was the perfect opportunity for him to step in and help students study the world of technology.

“What [Information Systems] teaches is how to use tools in general, and how to know what benefits you get out of particular types of tools,” Mr. Rappa said. “[We also teach] how to understand the components of a system and where systems fail.”

In a world where technology is constantly evolving, it is important to consistently revisit standards to ensure the class keeps up with the changes.

“It got to a point that it had been running for so many years, students were going into class knowing everything they were about to learn,” Mr Rappa said. 

The updated curriculum and class structure is set to keep students further engaged. He also talks about how people stop using certain tools when something better comes along, such as AI replacing Google.

“It’s no longer really tools-based because the problem with it being tools-based is tools come in and out of style so fast,” Mr. Rappa said. “Look at AI. Most people were using ChatGPT to begin with. Now it’s spread out to just about everything else.” 

TKA understands that this class is incredibly beneficial to students, and that it is very helpful for the younger generations who deal with more and more technology. Info systems helps the students to understand and learn how to use the tools that are available at the moment and how you can use them effectively.

“I do the IT around the school as well,” Mr. Rappa said. “And so when they realized that they needed [to revisit the standards], they came to me and asked me if I would do it.”

When Mr. Rappa was offered the position, he was glad to have an opportunity to teach an additional subject.