Technology Program

Stanwich''s goal is to educate students to be independent, responsible and competent users of information and technology and be able to apply their skills to communicate ideas, solve problems and pursue personal interests. At Stanwich, technology is viewed as an important and versatile tool which can aid students in pursuit of their educational goals. Technology is not used to replace traditional teaching; it is used to enhance and supplement traditional teaching.

Technological literacy is integrated naturally into all aspects of the curriculum. Each Primary and Intermediate House classroom is equipped with between two and four computers for student and faculty use (depending on the age of the students and the number of students in the class). In addition, a complete set of laptops is available for use by Intermediate House students.

Computer skills are developed using a broad range of educational software in disciplines of language arts, mathematics, social studies and science across the grades. For example, Grade 1 students create their own books using "Easy Book," an intuitive graphics program that lets children write and print their own stories in book format. AlphaSmart word processors are distributed to all Grade 3 students; touch typing and word processing are taught intensively throughout Grades 3 and 4. Microsoft Power Point is introduced in Grade 3 and continued through the upper grades as a presentation tool for reports. Graphs and charting using Excel is introduced in Grade 5 and Macromedia Flash development is taught in Grade 6. Appropriate and responsible use of the computers, appropriate Internet use, and research using non-print media are taught as part of the regular technology curriculum in both the Primary and Intermediate House.

In the Junior House, all students participate in the Laptop Program using personal laptop computers throughout the school day. These laptops are configured and maintained by school personnel. The curriculum is built around technology; technology is not imposed upon an existing curriculum. It is a fully integrated approach. All Internet use is monitored by faculty and students are required to adhere to the Appropriate Use Policy detailed in The Code of Conduct.

The Stanwich School utilizes a combination of wired and secure wireless networking throughout the school. All classrooms in the Intermediate and Junior Houses have access to the wireless network allowing necessary mobility for students and faculty. All traffic in and out of the school (i.e., the internet) is controlled and filtered by Websense Enterprise Web Filtering Software which employs an innovative rating architecture with a dynamic database of millions of URLs, IP addresses and domains to block up to 90+ categories of objectionable and inappropriate Web content.

All computers at Stanwich are PC compatible and utilize Microsoft Windows operating systems and Microsoft Office Suite for productivity software. Additional educational software in use includes Adobe Photoshop, Geometer's Sketchpad, Holt World Languages, Adobe Flash, and many other titles.