At Sacred Heart, technology is integrated throughout the curriculum in grades 2 through 12.
Each year, students become increasingly more independent, more creative and more productive in how they work and apply technology to their assignments. Students have access to a variety of computer peripherals such as scanners, digital cameras, camcorders, printers, and a networked computer lab. Wireless laptops and iPads are available in all divisions to provide a seamless integration of technology into the classroom.
The technology curriculum includes instruction in Web design, Internet research, information literacy, spreadsheets, multimedia presentations, computer graphics, word processing, video editing and keyboarding.
The Lower School S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) curriculum aims to build on a child’s natural curiosity, wonder, and sense of possibility by giving her the tools to create what she envisions.
Technology in the Lower School is interwoven with the classroom subjects and with the other S.T.E.A.M. disciplines. Students in Lower School are provided with their own Chromebooks from Kindergarten on. In the early grades, students use the laptop as a tool for learning and to enhance their projects. Students in grade 2 also learn to type.
In grades 3 and 4, students are exposed to design challenges, learn to build circuits and use them in projects, and program games in the programming language Scratch.The goal of the Lower School technology curriculum is to empower students to work collaboratively, solve open-ended problems, and to think creatively.
Technology is integrated into all core academic classes throughout Middle School. In addition, students in grades 5 and 6 attend a technology class each week designed to support their academic course work. Here, students are also exposed to the basic concepts essential to all computer programming languages using Scratch, and are introduced to 3D design, 3D printing and robotics. Middle School students in both grades 6 and 7 have the opportunity to join Fab Lab, the technology after-school program, where students master our makerspace resources such as Tinkercad, the MakerBot 3D Printer, MaKey MaKey kit, and NAO (the Sacred Heart Robot)! Eighth graders can choose to take technology as an elective, a hands-on makers course for prototyping tangible technologies and experiencing the evolution of technology. During the course, students expand their understanding of computer programming using visual and object-orientated resources. Students participate in the e-Nable project, which involves the 3D fabrication of hands and arms for those in need of an upper limb assistive device. By designing and constructing circuits using a variety of components such as conductive material, sensors, arduinos and LED lights, students learn the basics of electrical engineering.
The Technology Department works closely with all Upper School academic departments, supporting them in integrating technology into their curricula. Interested students are encouraged to take additional elective technology courses in grades 10 through 12. Elective courses are “hands-on” experiences in which students use their creativity, imagination and understanding of the software to produce personal projects that fully utilize the capabilities of the software they are using. As they work, students learn technical aspects of computers, peripherals, programs, operating system software, networks and the Internet. Students work with a range of applications to write, collect, analyze and synthesize information and data in all media forms, to create with and express themselves, to communicate and to present.
We live in a technological world that is changing everyday. These children have no choice but to embrace it. That being said, we can still teach the use of technology through the lens of a Sacred Heart education. At 91st Street, the mission is inherent in all subjects and it is what makes the teaching of technology flow into all areas of the students' studies."