Country Day Fund Supports Exceptional Educational Technology Programming

AT COUNTRY DAY, we believe the creative, innovative, and intelligent use of technology is critically important. By blending the best elements of traditional teaching and strong student/ teacher relationships with the inventive nature of digital learning, our students become ready for the future. Dollars raised through the Country Day Fund help to support the people and programs that deliver educational technology at every grade level. This funding also helps us to meet our strategic priority to foster innovation and creativity as we prepare students to lead and thrive.

From JK–12, Country Day teachers thoughtfully integrate technology into the educational experience in ways that deepen learning for our students. Technology in and of itself does not make the educational experience better for our students. Yet, it can be very powerful when well-trained teachers with ongoing professional development blend it into their lesson plans to help further student understanding and deepen connections.

As a 1:1 school, Country Day provides all students in grades 3–12 a school-issued personal computing device as an integral part of their educational experience, making technology use an everyday part of 21st century learning. Students use mobile devices to reinforce handwriting in kindergarten, capture and analyze real-time data in physics and engineering classes, and practice fluency in modern language classes.

As part of our Computer Science curriculum, students in grades K–8 participate in Hour of Code Week. From learning the basics of sequencing and directionality in kindergarten to building simple computer games in older grades, our students are learning the basics of computer programming in a fun, engaging, high-interest way. Just as we know it’s important for students to learn some chemistry, even if they won’t become chemists, and to be familiar with history, even if they won’t become historians, it’s important that they have some knowledge of coding because technology is so integrated into their daily lives.

The Forefront Campaign brought two new Makerspaces to Cannon Campus and additional 3D printers. Through collaboration and intentional innovation, teachers find ways to partner together to design learning experiences that help students make critical connections in understanding the world around them. For instance, in the Lower School Makerspace, fourth graders used green screen software on their iPads to deepen creativity for their documentary project. Upper and Lower School science teachers collaborated to create 3D models of the Grand Canyon for a second-grade science lesson on erosion, and an IB student collaborated with chemistry teachers to create cation and anion puzzle pieces for teaching ionic bonding.

Country Day’s commitment to educational technology helped our teachers, students, and families pivot to emergency remote learning last spring as many tools were already in place to offer virtual and online lessons seamlessly. Over the summer, every faculty member received at least 20 hours of professional development in remote educational delivery in preparation for our blended learning model to begin the 2020-21 school year. And they are supported by a strong team of educational technologists who analyze, design, develop, implement, and evaluate processes and tools to enhance the educational experience.