Educational Technology
Our mission must look to prepare students for the world they live in as well as to encourage them to make that world a better place - Father Basil Moreau
As Bishop McNamara High School prepares students for "the business and the problems of the world" (Moreau, Christian Education), the importance of educational technology becomes apparent. Within Moreau's philosophy of education, he consistently discusses how mission must prepare students for the world they live in as well as to encourage them to make that world a better place. As a Holy Cross school, Bishop McNamara is committed to remaining current with technological advancements. It is our duty to help prepare our students to be future leaders and good global citizens.
Device Requirements for BYOD
Bishop McNamara is a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) school. Students are required to bring a device that has a physical keyboard and a built-in camera and microphone. The device must run either Windows OS, macOS, Chrome OS or iOS. Allowed devices include a Windows or Mac laptop, a Chromebook, or an iPad (not iPhone) with a physical keyboard. The device must be able to run the Google Suite including Docs, Sheets, Slides, Chrome, etc.
Why Technology?
Technology Inclusion in Instructional Design
There are two main points of entry for a discussion of why it is necessary to integrate technology into the classroom: reactive inclusion and proactive inclusion.
Reactive:
As an institution, we have been trusted for over 50 years with helping to prepare students for the world outside of formal education. Technology, as it becomes more ubiquitous, is now a major factor in that preparation. Students must have a formal introduction and education in using modern technologies in order to be properly prepared for their adult lives.
Proactive:
Beyond simply acknowledging the ubiquity of technology, Bishop McNamara High School chooses to move a step beyond by instructing students on how to use technology to better themselves and the world around them, so as to become more confident, 21st century leaders.
The Benefits of Technology in the Classroom
Encouraging Curiosity, Creativity, and Collaboration
With the abundance of information that is available and the ease of access to that information that modern technology has provided, the means of teaching has to evolve. No longer are teachers merely distributors of content; a teachers job, more than ever, is to help guide a student to a place of enlightenment more than simply delivering knowledge.
Technology allows for students to be able to steer their own education. Students do not have to wait for an interesting topic to be introduced in class, they can go discover that topic on their own. A teacher's role is to guide that student in finding their own passions, while still gaining the necessary training to operate in a modern society.
With technology, students have access to:
- Web 2.0 tools: Blogs, wikis, and a variety of video/audio/image sharing capabilities on the internet have evolved the web from a place to get information to a place where information can be create, shared, and developed.
- Digital Content: Through a variety of digital content libraries, users have access to information that would fill a building to capacity.
- Creative Tools: The ubiquity of digital cameras, microphones, and editing software allows students to create their own content. What better way to understand how a dance performance, theater monologue, or foreign language pronunciation is going than recording and observing oneself as an outside observer?