Digital Literacy at Saint Joseph Regional High School
Digital Literacy at Saint
Joseph Regional High School embodies the standards for the 21st Century
Learner. The young
men who attend
Saint Joseph's are citizens of the digital age and, as such, must be equipped
with the skills, resources and tools to:
1. Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge.
2. Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge.
3. Share knowledge and participate morally, ethically and productively as Catholic members of our democratic society.
4. Pursue personal growth to form the "Vir Fidelis", the Faithful Man, who embodies the teachings of Jesus Christ and the humble example of our patron, Saint Joseph.
Saint Joseph Regional High
School considers our students as producers rather than consumers of technology.
We foster digital literacy that reaches beyond the multitude of technological
devices available to us in our society. In order to fulfill this mission, SJR fully utilizes leading
edge technology that provides our students with the tools to achieve the utmost
success
in a global venue:
1.
Our students are
welcome to bring a laptop, tablet device or Web enabled eReader to school in
order to complete assignments while on campus. SJR does not require a family to incur the additional
expense of any computer device.
Saint Joseph Regional maintains a campus-wide wireless network. Students are given an access key
by our
technology staff in order to utilize our secure network.
2. Saint Joseph Regional High School has a brand new Media Center completed in the summer of 2011. This facility is equipped with thirty-two desktop devices. Students can reserve a desktop device or study space within the Media Center during Study Hall, before homeroom or after school. The Media Center is open from 7:30 in the morning to 3:30 in the afternoon. Students are encouraged to book time in the Media Center via our online reservation system on the SJR Media Center webpage.
3. In addition, SJR has two computer rooms with sixty-four desktop devices. Our faculty members utilize the computer rooms with their students in order to exercise digital literacy within lesson plans.
4.
SJR students
utilize Web 2.0 websites that allow them to store projects on the
Internet. The use of Web 2.0
websites facilitates collaborative and cooperative learning. Examples of Web 2.0 websites are
Wikispaces, where students
edit presentations and group projects on course webpages;
Google Docs, where students upload completed assignments and collaborate with faculty;
and Voice Thread where students create podcasts.
5.
Saint Joseph
Regional subscribes to online databases that augment class materials. Faculty utilizes virtual
book carts
where full text periodicals and books are placed for student assignments. These virtual book carts can be
accessed from any Internet connection and provide authentic learning that is
not tethered to one textbook.
6.
At SJR, our
young men are considered producers rather than consumers of technology. Web
design is imbedded
in all subjects to allow our students to express themselves
on class wikis, a webpage that is edited collaboratively. SJR students produce podcasts that
exhibit mastery of course content. Google Docs is utilized to provide
paperless, real-time collaboration with faculty.
7. The objectives of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills are incorporated into the focus of Digital Literacy at Saint Joseph Regional High School. We prepare our students with life and career skills while developing learning and innovation skills. Global themes such as ecology, economics and marketing are offered as electives. An online Virtual High School program is offered to students to pursue electives in advanced levels of math and science. Our online subscriptions include a current issues database that allows our students to keep abreast with global topics.
8. Saint Joseph Regional High School has a state of the art television and editing studio. Students produce and edit all aspects of a morning broadcast on WSJR and record special events on and off campus.
9. In 2011, our award winning yearbook, AEGIS, won first place in the Scholastic Press Competition. Our publication is produced using Adobe InDesign. This gives our students the opportunity to utilize a professional publication editor to produce our yearbook.
10. An online edition of the New York Times is provided to our students and faculty on a daily basis. This is in addition to hundreds of periodicals and texts available to our community through online subscriptions.
The well-rounded student has always been fostered by Saint Joseph Regional High School. This concept began with the Xaverian Brothers, our founding order of teachers at SJR, and continues now in the third millennium. Saint Joseph Regional High School updates this theme and provides a new dimension to the well-rounded student by including digital literacy to our graduates' skill set.