1:1 Technology Initiative
Students are growing up in a complex, technology-driven, information- saturated world. There was a time when the central task of a research paper was finding relevant sources and searching for evidence to either support or refute a claim. Now, evidence is everywhere, and the task of the researching student is to sift through mountains of relevant digital sources to find the most apt and reliable information. The content is much the same: literature, history and mathematics remain at the core of the curriculum. However, today’s world also requires a set of skills necessary for students to thrive in college and beyond, and most of those skills are directly related to technology. It is no longer sufficient for students to have scheduled time on shared devices.
Calvin Christian School believes that it is imperative for students to have access to individual devices that will not only improve the school’s curriculum, instruction, and assessment, but will also more fully prepare students to meet the demands of the 21st century workplace in a manner that glorifies God.
I Corinthians 10:31 states, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” As parents, teachers, and staff here at Calvin Christian School we have a unique opportunity to teach students how to use technology in ways that bring glory and honor to God. The world is inundating children and teenagers with digital information and encouraging them to use technology solely for their own advancement and pleasure. We can send a different message: that technology, like every other aspect of the Christian life, ought to be used in the service of our God and King.
Resources
Calvin Christian School utilizes Chromebooks for the 1:1 Technology program. The video below explains the many benefits of the Chromebook.
Protecting Our Students
At Calvin Christian School, we believe there is a balance between protecting students from inappropriate content and teaching them responsible behavior. As students grow older, they are given more responsibility. Here are a few of the ways we accomplish this balance.
Students in grades 5 and below can send and receive email only within the Calvin Christian School domain. That means they can get email from Calvin teachers, administrators and students, but not from anyone else. This is called a “walled garden”.
The content that students send and receive through their Calvin Google Apps for Education account, which includes gmail, is monitored. If it is deemed inappropriate, the principal will meet with the student and the student may be disciplined.
Every parent and student must sign Calvin’s Acceptable Use Policy, which explains in detail what is and what is not allowed regarding technology at Calvin.
Teachers have been instructed to physically monitor the student’s use of technology.
Students are taught how to be Christian Digital Citizens by all teachers as they use technology at school. In addition there is Christian Digital Citizenship unit taught in a required technology class (either in junior high, or in high school for students that transfer into Calvin without being taught Digital Citizenship).
The Internet for the entire campus is filtered. Websites that fall within the following categories are blocked:
- Adware
- Alcohol
- Dating
- Drugs
- Gambling
- Hate/Discrimination
- Lingerie/Bikini
- Nudity
- Pornography
- Proxy/Anonymizer
- Sexuality
- Tasteless
- Weapons
- Malware
- Drive-by Downloads/Exploits
- Mobile Threats
- Suspicious Response
- Botnet
- Phishing
- High Risk Sites and Locations
