Starting this school year, Seminole High School (SHS) has introduced a new app: Minga. The app was designed by Change Gamers and it was created to benefit schools by allowing them to keep track of students’ activities outside of the classroom. While some find it very convenient and useful, others see it as an unnecessary policy that should be removed. On Monday, August 21st, Minga began to be used throughout SHS.
The creators of Minga describe the app as an efficient tool that serves schools in a variety of ways. These ways include more safety and security on campus, an improvement in student behavior, and overall advancements in campus operations. Minga presents numerous in-app uses that can aid schools in supporting better records for students and teachers alike. For example, its home page shows polls regarding campus events for students to respond to and responding to them gives students Minga points. This point system can be used to motivate students to participate in school discussions. The home page also displays any upcoming events for Seminole High, such as football games, pep rallies, club announcements, and more, acting as a reminder for students to easily access. The app also includes a photo gallery and files to be added as needed, allowing students to share photos throughout the school community. To add to this, student tools are available on the app as well. They can quickly pull up their student ID, which gives students a simple and efficient way to get to their student information (their name, student ID number, and grade). Another useful tool is the events option located at the bottom of the screen. This is a calendar that shows events by week, and it gives students a simple rundown of what events are happening and when. On top of this, there are groups available for students to join through Minga. Some of these groups include IB-based groups, sports groups, and club groups. Joining these groups gives students access to any important announcements regarding the group they joined.
While this is a new concept for students at SHS, several other schools have been using Minga prior to the 2023-24 school year. Some of the schools that have been using Minga across the country are Redlands High School, Houston County High School, Bear River High School, and many more.
Ever since the announcement of Minga, there has been a lot of controversy around the use of the app. Some find it extremely beneficial and useful to the school. Angelero Edmund, a physical science teacher here at SHS, shared his opinion about the app: “There are many kinks in the system, mainly regarding navigating the app interface as well as both teachers and students still getting used to the new system for passes. I would stick to Minga because it helps us keep students safe and where they need to be. It’s still rough around the edges but I think things will smooth out with time.”
However, not everyone feels so positively about it. Junior Jordyn Alderman shared her feelings towards the new app: “When I heard about Minga, I thought it was stupid because it takes up classroom time and makes it much more difficult to leave the classroom. Using the bathroom or getting water will now be more of a process, and the idea of it really just seems useless. I don’t find it very reliable, because what if the internet isn’t working? These things should’ve been taken into consideration before Minga became a policy at Seminole.”
Upon discussing this new app and adapting to the use of it, it’s clear to see that there are many different opinions towards it. It will certainly take some getting used to, and despite the opposing viewpoints, the app will be a great advancement for Seminole this year. There are still several things that need to be improved, but as the school year progresses, students and teachers will likely come to realize the app’s benefits.