Technology

The Lower School blends 21st century learning skills with its strong core curricular base to create an authentic, engaging, and meaningful learning experience for the students.

This can be seen in Kindergarten through Third grades where students have access to 10 iPads per classroom that are used in a variety of ways, whether they are utilized in small group learning stations or paired up to work on creative projects. Teachers have students practice reading, math, and language skills through the apps. Teachers take advantage of the Apple TVs in each classroom in order to guide instruction with the iPad in a whole group setting as well as share student work with a larger audience.

Classes have a 1:1 iPad ratio in Fourth Grade. This allows students to become comfortable using Google apps such as Docs, Slides, etc. and sharing them for editing purposes with their teachers. This exposure is an important step in the transition from Lower to Middle School.

All grades, Kindergarten through Fourth, have class once a rotation in the Collaboratory. They spend time honing their higher level and creative thinking skills by interacting with a multitude of iPad apps. Students also spend time working with Ozobots, Spheros, and Dash robots as well as being exposed to other 21st century skills such as 3D printing and Green Screen technologies.

In the Middle School, all students bring their own iPads to school every day. Teachers are guides and facilitate the use of the iPads, allowing students to grow and experiment using technology in the classroom each day. There is also a dedicated computer lab in the Middle School, and all teachers have interactive whiteboard technology in their classrooms.

In the Upper School, students bring their own mobile computing device to school each day. iPads, tablets or laptop computers are used as an extension of the academic program. Research, writing, design, collaboration and communication are hallmarks of the Fort Worth Country Day technology programs. Students are encouraged to experiment with different types of technology in order to find out for themselves, what works best for their own learning.

Fort Worth Country Day’s technology mission is to promote the qualities of critical thinking, effective communication, collaboration and independent scholarship among our students, and to facilitate within the entire FWCD community, the broad use of authentic educational technologies. Technology adds to the overall experiences of the FWCD community by promoting lifelong learning and supporting intellectual curiosity. We believe that careful implementation of technology is important to ensure its usefulness, and we strive to ensure that our students are taught to use technology in ways that are consistent with the School’s core values and philosophy. We believe that technology resources should be directed toward areas that enhance student learning, enhance teachers’ professional growth and enable communication.