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Technology

Spring2019_725Technology is an integral part of a well-rounded Moorestown Friends School education. MFS students are skillful, creative, responsible, and strategic technology users who are prepared to make effective contributions to the rapidly changing world around them.

Technology Curriculum

Technology is especially impactful when it is thoughtfully integrated into the curriculum because it engages the imaginations of 21st century learners, making for exciting, relevant learning environments. Our goal is to graduate students who are not only technologically literate, but who also understand how they might begin to leverage technology for the greater good and to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems. To this end, MFS adheres to the International Society of Technology Educators’ (ISTE) standards for educators and students.  

All three divisions and all departments incorporate STEM and project-based learning opportunities, including instruction in CAD programs, 3D printing, and multimedia creation. The technology and library departments work together closely to offer the latest research tools and techniques.  

Students in kindergarten through fifth grade are challenged by a dynamic, hands-on computational thinking and coding class that includes opportunities for collaborative problem solving, debugging, and algorithmic thinking. Formal computer lab classes also begin in kindergarten and remain a requirement through eighth grade. Additionally, each fifth grader receives an iPad for the school year and uses it to access math apps, classroom texts, email, and Google Apps.

Middle School computer science classes are unique in that they support students at a crucial juncture where they still need instruction using school tech tools but are also hungry for new challenges. Computer classes in grades 6-8 offer HTML, CSS, web design, UX design, and Java while integrating use of Google apps and myMFS, our course portal, where students in grades 3-12 access class resources, assignments, and calendars. Recent tech activities include wearable electronics, 3D printing, and robotics.

Upper School students have the opportunity to take major courses in computer science, including AP Computer Science, AP Computer Science Principles, Computer Science Principles Honors, Robotics, and Communication and Media Technologies. Recent minor course offerings include Advanced Topics in Computer Science, Disruptive Technologies, Intro to Video Production, and Adobe Photoshop. Journalism and Yearbook are examples of additional minor courses that rely heavily on technology and creation of digital media. Coursework prepares students for advanced study in college in a variety of fields, including artificial intelligence, computer programming, and communications.   

Skills taught include: research, website development, CAD skills and 3D printing, desktop publishing, graphic design, digital media, word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, database design, internet safety, and computer ethics. Whenever possible, computer activities take advantage of opportunities to build on material presented in other courses, from language arts to health education. 

Facilities

Moorestown Friends School has more than 1,000 computers and tablets throughout the campus, consisting of thirty laptop carts and six labs. Students will work on Chromebooks, Macs, PCs, and iPads, with computer carts in just about every classroom in the US and MS school. 

MFS is predominantly a Chromebook school; however, there are several PCs, Macs and iPads available for use at each grade level. There is also high-quality video production equipment available for use and an editing studio for advanced students. All fifth graders are assigned an iPad for their first year of Middle School and Lower School classrooms have iPads in each room.

Interactive TV/whiteboards are in every classroom. The MFS campus has Wi-Fi accessibility throughout the entire school and all Upper Students are able to connect with their own personal devices. The MFS Library houses a computer processing center for students to research and prepare written work. The library’s online catalog and all subscription databases are available in school and from home. Students are also able to check out technology devices from the Library. Internet connections consist of two ISPs for reliability with download speeds of up to 1.2 Gig. 

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