Our students are “Digital Natives” – they have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using digital technologies like iPods, cell phones, computers and video games. They look at technology very differently than many adults in our community and have an inherently different set of skills. It is therefore imperative that we continue to develop new approaches to educating our boys by leveraging both existing and developing digital technologies.
Our Approach
Technology at Town School is viewed as both a subject, in terms of core skill development, and a powerful tool to support and enhance learning and communication in our community. Educational Technologists work with all teachers, kindergarten through eighth grade, to integrate digital technologies into their existing curriculum. Ideas and projects are developed collaboratively, ensuring that lessons are age-appropriate, creative and engaging, while teaching necessary core technology skills. In fifth grade students take a Media Literacy class designed in part to help guide our boys through the beginning of their 1:1 laptop learning environment.
Core technology skills - for example, keyboarding, organization, basic troubleshooting, accessing data files, logging on and off – are an imperative foundation as our students progress through each grade. Beginning in kindergarten and up through the third grade, boys accompany their teachers to the computer lab which is equipped with 25 desktop computers. Here, in addition to many other areas of study, they explore different continents (first grade), different cultures (second grade) and different areas of California (third grade). Age-appropriate applications are used to enhance understanding and learning, while the internet plays a vital role in their exploration. Beginning in the fourth grade, the boys begin using laptops in preparation for our 1:1 program which starts in the fifth grade.
Technology Education
The 1:1 laptop program was first introduced at Town School in 1998. Teachers were the first to receive laptops, following extensive research and planning that included administration and faculty visits to other schools that were experienced in laptop integration. In January 2000, the fifth grade students were the first class (2003) to take ownership of their laptops. The program now encompasses the entire Upper School, grades 5-8.
Digital technologies are ubiquitous in the lives of our students. In order to develop digitally literate and ethically aware students, we must continue to provide them with the literacy skills necessary to navigate their way in the digital age. The 1:1 laptop program plays a vital role in helping us fulfill this mission, but it is only one of many important pieces. We are continuing to develop a media literacy curriculum which includes learning skills that enable students to “access, analyze, evaluate and create messages in a variety of forms” (Source here). Our goal is to work with the Library staff to fully develop and integrate this curriculum across the grade spectrum, beginning in the fifth grade.
Developing digitally literate students must also include the acquisition of creative design skills. Town’s innovative Digital Design program gives our students the unique opportunity to learn these skills through a project-based approach. They learn basic design skills beginning with our Digital Photography selective class in grades four and five. This class focuses on digital photography and image manipulation, and provides the foundation for a sequence of three additional creative design classes.
6th grade - Introduction to Digital Design
7th grade - Desktop Publishing
8th grade – Advanced Digital Design
Each of the Digital Design classes is taught by a member of the Technology Team. Our team possesses a multitude of talents, skills, interests and experiences.
The Technology Team
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Edgar Liu
Network Administrator |
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Kirk Lorie
Director of Technology, Educational Technologist, Instructor |
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Karen Page
Digital Design Instructor |
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Yan Soe
Help Desk Analyst |
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Eric Wild
Webmaster, Educational Technologist, Instructor
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Technology Committee
In addition to our talented Technology Team, Town School has recently formed a Technology Committee. The Committee will be an ongoing working group within the school community tasked with carrying out the Long Range Technology Plan recently approved by the Board. The responsibilities of this group include, but are not limited to:
- Determining the technology priorities for the given school year and presenting them to the Board for approval;
- Forming and guiding a larger “working group” as needed, to execute the specific technology priorities and;
- Creating and maintaining a succession plan for the Technology Committee.
We are excited about working closely with the Education Committee in order to fulfill our mission of developing digitally literate and ethically aware students who use technology to strengthen their academic, cognitive, and social skills.
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