Where were you when you first logged into Edline? The Parker Middle School computer lab, or the Coolidge Library? Maybe your first journey into the forest green cyberspace that our town came to call home was even earlier in your youth, using the "computer on wheels" in Joshua Eaton or Barrows elementary school.
How ever you first accessed your account, be it in seventh or fourth grade, logging onto Edline was the start of something special. Gone were the days of agendas and cumbersome printouts. Now, one could simply select the desired class and scroll down to the homework section, which provided worksheets, instructions, and reading material.
As the wheel was to mankind, so was Edline to the town of Reading. The familiar tabs, guidance hotline, and welcoming school email links played an integral role in every Readingite’s childhood. And what Reading kid couldn't remember the day that their picture appeared in the rotating slideshow of their school's homepage? Depending on the age of the student, it was either the proudest moment of their week or the most shameful.
Edline had its glitches, but even when it faltered (as it often did), it was for the benefit of students and parents alike. Webpage not loading? No homework! Link not activated? No PTO meeting tomorrow! Perhaps the best thing about Edline's frequent failure was the validity that accompanied the claim "my Edline wasn't working". Even if it was working perfectly well, a student who had simply wanted to avoid the blame for a forgotten assignment could always count on Edline. In the upper grades, certain individuals made savvy use of the error screen image that we'd all become acquainted with, storing screenshots on their phones to use at their leisure.
Unfortunately for RMHS, the golden years of Edline have come to an abrupt end. With each login to PlusPortals, our memories of simpler times and six digit passwords will undoubtedly fade. Luckily for us nostalgics, the site will remain as a window to the past until administrators figure out how to delete it. I'd give it a good ten years at the least.
