All students are required to have a Tablet PC, which they purchase through the school. The Tablet PC works like a laptop computer, but it also accepts input from a special digitizer “pen” that enables students to write directly onto the screen. Beginning with the class of 2014, the newest model Tablet PC’s are also touch screen based, meaning that the screens respond to fingers and hand gestures as well as pen and mouse. The Tablet PC is lightweight and connects wirelessly to the school’s computer network and the Internet.
We believe that success in school and in the “real” world is increasingly dependent on an individual’s ability to find, evaluate, and use information. A One to One Computing Initiative provides our students with daily practice in that type of thinking. Additionally, as educators, we are always striving to meet the different learning styles of our students. The Tablet PC offers a visual approach to learning that has not been available previously.
In many ways, the technology program at Mount Saint Mary Academy is a mirror image of what many colleges and universities currently employ. All students use the OneNote Notebook software on the Tablet PC as their electronic notebook. Most classroom handouts are digital, with students importing them directly into their OneNote Notebooks. Many textbooks are available online or on CD-ROM, so the heavy, paper versions stay in the classrooms and students use the electronic versions at home. Along with standard productivity software like Office 2007, the Tablet PCs are loaded with a variety of academic software that runs the gamut from ArtRage (a digital drawing and painting program), to Geometers Sketchpad, to Logger Pro for digital science probes, and more.
Additionally, the school employs the use of an online course management system called MOODLE. All teachers have Moodle websites where homework and other assignments are posted along with the dates of upcoming tests and quizzes. Many teachers use Moodle drop boxes to collect assignments, grade them, and then return them to the students, all electronically. And speaking of grading assignments, at Mount Saint Mary Academy, all students and parents have access to NetClassroom, an online gradebook program. Students also have Mount Saint Mary email accounts, which they use to communicate with teachers, other students and colleges.
Below are links to several documents that parents and students can reference concerning our Tablet PC Program. Specific questions can be emailed to cparisi@mountsaintmary.org
