Technology
Our world is filled with mobile devices, social media and computers. How do we teach our students to represent Christ in all areas of their lives, including their digital lives? Using computers, iPads and Smartboards, we encourage collaborative work by students to produce innovative and creative digital products. God is the ultimate collaborator, organizer, communicator and designer. Cornerstone encourages students not to be merely consumers, but creators using technology representing Christ as they explore. All 2nd-8th grade classrooms have a Smartboard and all grade levels have access to the computer lab. In addition, K-2 have access to a class set of iPad minis. 3rd and 4th graders have access to a class set of iPads and MacBook airs and our middle school students have access to two laptop carts. While technology is integrated in all middle school classes through use of the chromebook carts and Smartboards, the fifth through eighth grades enjoy the benefits of a separate Technology curriculum. The middle school Technology curriculum is designed primarily to ensure proficiency in Google Drive, to hone keyboarding skills, and to learn programming in areas such as Construct 3, Python and Robotics. We are blessed to have three separate types of robotics kits. Our fifth grade works with Hummingbird robots and sixth grades continue to work with the MakeBlock kits, learning the basics of programming while developing their collaborative skills. The seventh and eighth graders work with the VEX robots, which add several dimensions to the robotics curriculum. VEX allows our students practice programming on virtual robots before downloading to a physical robots. Additionally, the VEX kits have programmable remote controls which allow for competition both inside and outside the classroom. The critical thinking required to sort through lines of code and successfully correct errors just to have a robot perform a simple task can give students profound insight into the detail used by God to create each of us. |
"Cornerstone checks all the boxes for our family. The staff provides a safe and nurturing environment for our child to learn and grow into her gifts, with a strong emphasis on leadership, independence and good moral character. Academically they provide the rigor and tools that challenge and build confidence. This has helped to foster our daughter’s innate curiosity and critical thinking and a love of learning. Cornerstone is more than a school, it is a community, and it has given our family so much more than we ever anticipated."
-The Danvers Aarons Family
