Technology

Educational Technology Vision Statement

The Fenn School, in its efforts to prepare boys for a lifetime of learning, strives to balance the time a boy spends in the digital and non-digital realms, prioritizing the unmatched value of in-person, face-to-face interactions with peers, teachers, and parents. Its use of technology complements these efforts by helping boys to become thoughtful, knowledgeable, empathetic, and critical users of technology to achieve their larger educational goals. 

At Fenn, technology should: 

• Enhance the collaboration between student and teacher, making feedback more meaningful, reflection more frequent, and the learning process and growth more visible and tangible. 
   
• Enhance collaboration between students.
   
• Empower students to tailor their learning experiences to their individual needs. 
   
• Foster ethical and responsible digital citizenship, with guidance and support from knowledgeable faculty and engaged parents.
   
• Promote informed, critical consumption of information and media. 
   
• Offer students the opportunity for innovation, creativity, resourceful problem solving, and demonstrating understanding and mastery of a given topic.

Across the campus, Fenn boys are excitedly:

• creating iMovies to reflect on literature and historical events
• producing podcasts of chapters from The Odyssey
• utilizing Google Earth and Skype to become more globally knowledgeable in social studies
• relying on electronic notebooks in science classes
• creating literary musical accompaniment on iPads and GarageBand
• programming TI-graphing calculators in math 
• employing devices such as spectrometers and Vernier temperature probes to conduct science experiments
• mastering our state-of-the-art tech booth in the meeting and performance hall and in music classes
• composing with the aid of Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)
• teaching themselves how to play the piano with the use of virtual keyboards

“We teach boys how to use technology effectively and appropriately, including offering lessons on digital safety and responsible use of technology. Being a good citizen is just as important in the digital world as it is in the 'real' world.” – Jeff LaPlante, Director of Technology  

Using technology at Fenn means being a good digital citizen, and instruction comes largely from advisors, classroom teachers, and the librarians. Internet safety is addressed in the Student Life curriculum in grades six through nine, and programs on internet use are frequently available to parents.