Stratford School Enhances Technology in Curriculum
Saratoga, California (PRWEB) April 10, 2014 -- “Stratford’s curriculum has always been challenging, engaging, and relevant,” says Jonathan Mergy, Stratford School’s Vice President of Technology, “and now with our enhanced focus on meaningful, strategic technology our students will be even more well-equipped to succeed as effective global citizens and leaders in this new digital world.” Mergy is partnering with Monisha Gupta, Stratford’s Director of Curriculum and Assessment, on enhancing technology in Stratford’s curriculum.
Stratford School now offers Computer Science courses to all of their middle school students, as well as extracurricular programs focused on animation, coding, and engineering. Aspects of these programs are taught at Stratford beginning in first grade, preparing students for the deeper integration they will see as they graduate into the next school year.
“Many schools spend a lot of money on various technologies, but we’re more concerned with substance and skills over gimmicks and gadgets. By taking a more sustainable approach to technology in curriculum, we’re giving our students skills for the collaboration and creation of tech, over mere consumption,” says Mergy.
“Stratford utilizes technology to enhance core skills. Students use critical thinking for conducting data measurement and analysis, problem solving for programing games and applications, and creativity for unique and innovative designs of web pages and movies,” says Gupta on the use of technology at Stratford School. Gupta believes one of the most important aspects of Stratford’s enhanced focus on technology is that “students learn in real time, and receive immediate feedback and direction from their teachers.”
Each Stratford Middle School student has access to traditional laptop carts and iPads to use during class for enhanced technological learning. To ensure safety, Stratford laptops and iPads are equipped with Gaggle, a safe, online teaching and learning tool for kindergarten through twelfth grade. For the 2014-15 school year, Stratford has plans to expand device access with Google Chromebooks, and will introduce Tynker, a cloud-based platform for teaching computer programing. For assistance with change management and long-term implementation plans, Stratford has partnered with Educational Collaborators.
Stratford School is now an institutional member of the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), which gives them “access to cutting-edge research about current teaching practices and technologies,” according to the CSTA website. Stratford looks to Partnership for 21st Century Skills for innovative teaching and learning strategies for incorporating information, media, and technology into curriculum.
“We are confident our enhanced focus on technology in curriculum will benefit our students, helping them develop 21st century skills to meet the growing technology demands they will face in high school, and beyond,” says Mergy.
Stratford School is an independent private school founded on the belief that education is a significant influence in the life of a child. Stratford offers preschool through eighth grade, with an accelerated curriculum – particularly in the areas of mathematics and language arts – that incorporates music, art, science, technology, and physical education. Academically, Stratford School students score around the 90th percentile on the Stanford Achievement Test, Tenth Edition (SAT 10).
Rebecca Whyte, Stratford School, http://www.stratfordschools.com, +1 408-973-7313, [email protected]
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