Instructional Technology Philosophy
At Santa Catalina School, technology is used both in and outside the classroom to enhance teaching and learning. Technology is employed as a means to help realize the educational objectives of our school’s mission and to further develop in each student initiative and self-confidence, a striving for academic excellence, and a sense of responsible purpose.
The appropriate integration of technology varies by discipline and grade level, but it is guided by these objectives. The use and flexible application of technology will create a more student-centered learning environment that inspires creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking and better prepares students for the future. As a result, teachers are asked to become familiar with the latest pedagogical advantages of using technology in the classroom. As teachers and students, together, grow in digital fluency, we believe students are equipped to use technology in a responsible manner and better prepared to serve the world with “courage, graciousness, and compassion”.
Using the Instructional Technology Philosophy as the basis of our planning and use of digital technology at Santa Catalina, the following requirements and recommendations will allow your daughter to fully realize the learning opportunities offered in and out of the classroom. As part of our annual orientation activities, every student is required to acknowledge that they will follow our Acceptable Use Policy.
Santa Catalina provides all students with a school account through our Google Apps for Education platform. Each account includes an email address, a comprehensive suite of apps, and unlimited online storage for documents, presentations, photos, and projects. While your daughter is a student at Santa Catalina, this account will allow her to stay connected to her school work, assignments and teachers wherever she can access the Internet.
In order to facilitate this access, Santa Catalina requires all incoming students to bring appropriate technology to school. At a minimum, we require your daughter to bring a laptop computer with an updated operating system to school. This laptop will be the primary device for most online activities, so we also expect that the computer will have the latest version of these recommended browsers: Chrome or Firefox. We do not make any recommendations regarding software because your daughter has access to the Google Apps suite. Individual courses may require certain software to be downloaded to the computer. More information will be provided by your daughter’s teachers at the beginning of school. Students will see Mac computers on campus, primarily, but either a PC or Mac laptop are acceptable. Please contact the school if you have any questions about this requirement.
Many students also bring an iPad or other tablet device to school. Many electronic textbooks are available through iBooks and other sources, and students are able to highlight text, take notes, and search for content from their iPads. While having an iPad is not a requirement, you may want to discuss this option with your daughter. Please note, cell phones that look and behave like an iPad or tablet are not allowed to be used during the school day, unless the teacher gives specific permission for their use.
Students have access to printers in the library beginning at 7:30 a.m. each day when school is in session. Some boarding students bring a small printer to use in the dorm room, but this is a personal preference and is not required.
The school provides wireless access across campus, and students will be able to connect to a secure network using their login credentials.