Academics
Information Technology
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tudents have access to about 80 public computers located in classrooms and labs across campus. The public labs—equipped with PCs, Macs, and printers—are located in the basement of Slocum Hall and in the Dietel Library. Students are expected to arrive on campus with their own laptop computer.
Student, faculty, and administrative computers are connected to the school’s network, which is secured by a firewall and a web content filter. Dormitory rooms are wired for network access and equipped with a phone. Wireless is available all over campus, including the dormitories. Every member of the faculty is equipped with a laptop or Tablet PC. A highly-skilled team of trained professionals in the Tech Services office provides technical assistance to students and faculty.
What we believe
We believe that it is important that students have access to the processing power of the computer whenever and wherever it is needed. We believe that a computing device is a tool that fosters academic, social, and personal connections. We believe that a student should leave Emma Willard as a confident and discerning user of technology. We believe that a computer should be available to every student and teacher when there is a benefit to be gained from its use. If that sounds a bit like a chalkboard, a pencil, a smart board, or a desk, then good—that is the point. The computer is another important tool in the teacher and student learning repertoire.
We are now in a 1:N world. The “1” is your daughter and the “N” represents the many “computing” devices she may use to learn, teach, and explore her world. From her smart phone to her laptop, from her Kindle to her iPod Touch or iPad many of our girls are heavily connected with technology when they walk through our gates. We expect that students will arrive on campus with a working laptop computer.
Why do we think all students need a computer?
Here are a few reasons why we think it is important for all students to have a computer:
- Word processing seems like a simple place to start. Students write throughout the curriculum. Can you imagine not having easy access to word processing software right now? Where would that leave you as a student of this century?
- The computer provides connections our students to people they may not otherwise meet and places they may not otherwise visit. For example, sophomore seminar courses recently hosted an addictions counselor from South Carolina via Skype.
- Our storytelling class, as well as many others, uses Flip cameras to record their stories so that they can more easily review one another’s work and have a record of their stories from the semester. These videos are stored and shared via computer.
- Logger Pro is used throughout the science program to facilitate electronic data capture using USB-based measuring devices.
- Geometry wouldn’t be the same without the visual language of Geometer's Sketchpad.
- History, art, literature, language… regardless of the subject, having instant access to vast amounts of information on the Internet enriches our classes and the curriculum as a whole. It also allows us to work with our students to recognize which information is legitimate.
