Technology

Philosophy

Over the years, our curriculum has adjusted to embrace the digital revolution that has transformed correspondence and communication at large. At Linden Hill we believe that it is critical to prepare our students to become media savvy. Students learn how to navigate through the influx of information and learn to appreciate fully the vast opportunities in computers and the internet. Technology is embedded in the teaching of every class across the curriculum. Through developing basic skills and confidence, our Linden Hill boys have fun exploring technology!

Our Program

Computer and Technology Class

As a part of the art and woodshop tri-weekly rotation, students have a comprehensive exposure to computer technology over the course of the entire school year. Here they are given direct instruction in computer skills in accordance with their ability. Beginners perfect keyboarding and typing skills, learn to format more complicated Word documents, and also make Powerpoints. Intermediate students continue to create more complex Powerpoints, and are also introduced to other programs in the Microsoft Office Suite, such as Excel. Boys learn how to create their own webpages and also take apart and reconstruct an operational CPU. All students develop their web navigation skills by doing research assignments across the disciplines.

Individual Tools Across Classes

In addition to having access to the media lab for researching purposes in content area courses, each student is equipped with their own Alphasmart Neo and Franklin Spell Checkers. These simpler tools can be used in any place at any time, whether in a formal classroom setting or on a school fieldtrip. We have witnessed the overwhelming benefits from using this system, most importantly being that they have significantly increased the output of written work across subjects. The use of an Alphasmart as opposed to a more complicated laptop is a purposeful one.

  • Alphasmarts are lightweight, compact, and built to endure the roughest handling.
  • They are simple to use and save all documents automatically in addition to eliminating distractions such as font types and sizes, colors, page set-ups, etc.
  • They are come with a variety of SmartApplets depending on a particular student’s needs.

Assistive Technology
All students receive the benefit of assistive technology particularly with language. Programs such as Inspiration, Co-Writer, and Lexia support language and written expression development in a controlled purposeful manner. Ninth graders are also introduced to other assistive software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking and Kurzweil that are introduced in their History and Science classes as potential tools for making the adjustment to larger classes with more demanding curriculum and assignments.