Our comprehensive educational technology goals for the Middle School start with a basic foundation of literacy and fluency with the computer itself. Students must be able to easily navigate the graphical user interface and understand its components (such as menus and windows), and they must have a basic understanding of how computers work—for instance, they should understand basic concepts like megabytes. Upon that foundation students can build an understanding of the various types of digital information that they can manipulate: numbers, text, pictures, audio, and movies. Just as important as the intrinsic nature of the data is how it is structured and related. Students need to learn skills in search, evaluation, management, and analysis so they can make sense of and filter the abundance of digital information available to them. Students should also be mindful of the context and goal of their work, be it reflection, presentation, building networks, or constructing models. Finally, we believe that all students should understand that through programming or scripting, they can create entirely new ways for computers to work.
In addition to navigating the interface, understanding components, and manipulating information on technology devices, we expect our students to be empowered while navigating the digital world. Students in all grades participate in a digital citizenship curriculum, developed by Common Sense Media, that encourages them to be safe, responsible, and savvy citizens in a fast-changing digital society. Each grade completes eight units which cover such topics as safe online communication, private and personal information, broadcasting on the Internet, and cyberbullying. Through video, small group discussions, and projects, students are consistently reminded about the importance of online behavior.