Technology

"American Heritage and Academy are dedicated to providing a learning environment equipped for the 21st century."

 

Ready for the 21st Century

The Upper School computer labs have the latest eMacs from Apple computer. Together the labs provide 72 student computers and the latest technologically advanced teacher aids. The Lower School computer lab is equipped with 26 workstations, each student has use of one of these new state of the art machines. During the summer of 2003 our Upper School lab was upgraded with the latest G4 processor eMacs with built-in 17 inch flat-screen monitors. Among the Upper School computer classes are Web Page Design, Desktop Publishing and Yearbook.

Each Upper School classroom has a Macintosh G3 or higher computer which is networked school-wide and linked to the Internet for research. Teachers use computers to record attendance, grades and for e-mail among faculty, parents and offices.

All elementary classrooms are equipped with four student computer workstations and a teacher workstation. Our Lower School teachers integrate technology into their lesson plans for language arts, math, social studies and science curriculum. There is an ongoing review of the software available to our students by both teachers and computer specialists at our school. Book companies are now making more software available that is compatible and relevant to the texts used by our students. At American Academy, each classroom has iMac computers installed for first through sixth grades.

The computer graphics class is at a par with such classes usually found at the university level. Students are instructed in the art of digital compositioning using programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, PageMaker, Painter and animation programs. The students view hard copies of their designs using the laser printer.

As important as the latest hardware and software is, it cannot be used to its potential without the instruction of knowledgeable, highly qualified teaching professionals. Our technology department is staffed by dedicated instructors with years of experience teaching Macintosh and Microsoft applications.

In addition, over the past several years, all classroom teachers have been given the opportunity to attend college level computer classes offered right here on campus to attain or strengthen their own computer base of knowledge.