Technology Integration at St. Philip Preparatory School

Technology Integration at St. Philip Preparatory School Clifton, NJ

By: Katherine Bennett July 2021

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What is Educational Technology?

Educational Technology refers to an area of technology devoted to the development and application of tools intended to promote education (Lazaro, 2021). Simply put technology helps teachers reach more students more efficiently. We are teaching a generation of students who have technology at the core of their world. Our job is to model for them how technology can be used positively to benefit their education and well-being. We want to prepare them for the real world while giving them a voice in their education.

How is technology currently being used?

Here at St. Philip Prep we are proud of our 1:1 Technology program. Students in grades 1–8 have access to their own Chromebook. Students in grades PreK & K have access to iPads. Our 1:1 Technology initiative allows each student to have access to digital resources in each of their classes. The following article outlines the benefits of 1:1 Chromebooks in schools: https://edu-parts.com/blog/post/10-benefits-of-1:1-chromebooks/

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Who is using it?

Teachers Google Classroom is used to post assignments and share resources with students. A feature that is used frequently is online documents that allow teachers to provide instant feedback to their students. This allows the teacher to add comments in real time to better help the student. This feature also promotes group work in which students can share their documents with their peers for review and collaboration.

ClassDojo is a messaging app used to effectively communicate with parents. In addition to sending messages to parents, teachers are able to use the Class Story feature to share pictures of lessons and events that are taking place in the classroom.

Teachers use Rediker to post grades. All parents should be signed up to have access to the Parent Portal so you can view your child’s grades and progress. If you have not signed up or if you are experiencing any difficulty, please reach out to Debbie.neglia@stphilipprep.com for further assistance.

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Students 

Each child also has their own St. Philip Prep email address, which allows them to sign into their Chromebook and also access Educational sites that their teacher directs them too.

Students use Google Classroom to view assignments and post their work. In addition, students are able to use Google Forms, Docs, Slides, and Sheets to present their work and collaborate with their peers. Teachers are able to provide live feedback to students as they are working on assignments as well.

Other interactive sites that your child may use are:

Access to www.ixl.com in Math to review skills and practice implementing current application of topics/skills. This personalized instructional approach generates questions based on students’ understanding of the material. It is a great review for chapter tests and standardized assessments.

Students also take a Post Diagnostic Test at the end of the year and a personalized Action Plan is generated for each student. We then have the students work on the recommended skills as part of their summer work.  https://www.khanacademy.org/  https://www.commonlit.org/  https://www.getepic.com/  https://www.discoveryeducation.com/  https://www.noredink.com/

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Why should we be investing in technology?

Technology is the way of our future and we must educate students in being comfortable using and accessing the various features of technology. It is our goal that by investing in technology we will see enhanced engagement and participation in our students. Incorporating technology into our classrooms will help prepare students for their future endeavors in an ever growing tech infused society.

Benefits for students The attached article entitled, “The Growing Importance of Technology in Education,” provides the Top 5 Reasons why students need technology in the classroom: 1.)

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It simplifies access to educational resources.

It improves the learning experience.

Students can learn at their own pace.

It helps students prepare for their future careers.

Students demand it.

Please click on https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/the-growing-importance-of-technology-ineducation/ to further read about the importance of technology in education.

Benefits for teachers Technology can greatly help teachers facilitate a more productive learning experience for their students. According to the Pew Research Center, 92% of teachers said that the Internet has a major impact on their ability to access content, resources, and materials. Technology helps teachers foster the following in their lessons: 1.)

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Increased Collaboration and Communication Personalized Learning Opportunities Curiosity Driven by Engaging Content Improved Teacher Productivity and Efficiency

Where is technology going?

In order to stay on top of technology, we must take a look into the future of technology in the classroom. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is here now and we must prepare our students to be better prepared for where this technology trend is going. Artificial intelligence will continue to fill gaps in learning and teaching and help personalize and streamline education. Extended reality, including virtual, augmented, and mixed realities, helps create different learning opportunities that can engage students even further. (Marr, 2020) Our middle school students use digital textbooks for Social Studies through Discovery Education. Going forward, I would like to see us shift to digital textbooks for other subjects as well. Digital versions of textbooks also make translations to other languages more feasible, which would greatly help our ESL students.

What technologies should we be using?

A tool I would like to see us bring to St. Philip Prep is Virtual Reality headsets. Virtual reality (VR) is the use of computer modeling and simulation that enables a person to interact with an artificial three-dimensional visual or other sensory setting. Studies show that students become more engaged in a lesson when they can actually experience historical places or events they are being taught about. A lesson about ancient Egypt can literally come alive when a student puts on a VR headset and walks around a digital version of the time period (Marr, 2020).

Reflections/Recommendations I am excited to be a part of our technology continuation and improvement plan at St. Philip Prep!

We have our 1:1 device program in place and various interactive websites that help and support our students. However, I would like to see us explore the world of artificial intelligence and virtual realities. In order for us to stay up to date on the technology we offer our students, I would like to start a Technology Taskforce that is made up of administrators, teachers, parents, and community members. The goal of this taskforce will be to evaluate a variety of tools, websites and applications that support student learning. The teachers on the team will play a vital role in determining which tools are appropriate to use in the classroom.

Sources Buchanan, Friedrich, & Purcell (2013, February) How Teachers Are Using Technology at Home and in Their Classrooms Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2013/02/28/how-teachers-are-using-technologyat-home-and-in-their-classrooms/ Lazaro, Helena (2020, May) What is Edtech and why should it matter to you? Retrieved from https://generalassemb.ly/blog/what-is-edtech/ Marr, Bernard (2020, January) The Top 5 Tech Trends That Will Disrupt Education In 2020 - The EdTech Innovations Everyone Should Watch Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2020/01/20/the-top5-tech-trends-that-will-disrupt-education-in-2020the-edtech-innovations-everyone-should-watch/?sh=73d623f42c5b Schultz, Kayla - Retrieved from https://edu-parts.com/blog/post/10-benefits-of-1:1-chromebooks/ 14 Predictions for the Future of Classroom Technology Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2020/01/13/14-predictions-for-the-future-of-classroom-technology/? sh=6f45605051c5 The Growing Importance of Technology in Education Retrieved from https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/the-growingimportance-of-technology-in-education/ (2020, June) How Important Is Technology in Education? Benefits, Challenges, and Impact on Students Retrieved from https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/technology-in-education