Technology

Overview

Technology at First Program supports and enhances the way that all subjects are taught and learned Working with educational technologists from the school’s New Lab for Teaching and Learning, teachers provide students with an array of digital tools. These tools are integrated into assignments in a differentiated, interdisciplinary, and constructivist way throughout the curriculum to facilitate scholarship and intellectual inquiry. Using iPads, laptops, and interactive smartboards, students document their thinking processes, problem-solving, express themselves in multiple ways, collaborate with their peers, and work independently to master concepts. Examples of technology use include Zooming with experts and cultural institutions worldwide, photographing and annotating objects and museum artifacts on field trips, composing musical scores in the style of various musical genres, creating interactive digital books for creative writing and research, and animated programming stories.

At its core, technology use at First Program is a collaborative endeavor. The First Program integrates technology at each grade level across different subject areas The curriculum drives the technology, not the other way around, making our technology-rich environment purposeful and creative Dalton’s First Program invites families to partner in their child’s learning. We support and encourage families to engage in discussions, practices, and strategies to develop balanced uses of digital media that align with their family’s values. The New Lab offers an array of resources and the “Digital Dish” workshop series to support ongoing family dialogue about technology use habits and boundary setting.

In addition, teachers and educational technologists introduce students in all grades to the importance of becoming responsible digital citizens. The goals of the digital citizenship curriculum are threefold: to develop lessons with teachers that enrich and support their curricula, provide students with guidelines for using Internet resources safe threefold: to develop lessons with teachers that enrich and support their curricula, to provide students with guidelines for using Internet resources safely and responsibly, and to promote the positive benefits of using these online resources for learning.

Code Lab

Code Lab is an annual collaboration where Dalton High School students mentor and inspire First Program students with creative coding Assignments Students program drones, robots, and solve physical computing challenges Each Assignment emphasizes computational concepts such as variables and conditions; problem-solving strategies; and how to persevere when faced with unexpected bugs or challenges. The New Lab for Technology and Learning (NLTL) facilitates this unique event in collaboration with Computer Science, Engineering, and First Program Science departments This cross-divisional learning experience both strengthens our community connections and bolsters tenets of The Dalton Plan.

Family STEAM Saturday

AM Saturday is an interactive event First Program students and their osted at “Big Dalton” on 89th Street, he Robotics and Maker Spaces, Dalton l students and faculty lead different bs (science, technology, engineering, ath) such as building a controller with a d, coding robots, making origami nd seeing the High School Robotics case their robots Nearly 400 Dalton members come together at this event uild, create, and problem-solve. This ent is a unique way families can engage earning, connect with the larger , and explore facilities at Big Dalton.