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Trevor Magazine Winter 2018-2019

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Trevor's Tech by Stan Golanka Director of Academic Technology T revor is a school that looks toward the future. Other schools can certainly make similar claims, but it is distinctly in our DNA. Early on, Trevor identified the potential in computer technology and computational thinking—a way of solving problems, designing systems, and understanding human behavior that draws on computer science's fundamentals. In 1996, Trevor was the first New York City school to implement a 1-1 laptop program. Since then, we have employed many new tools—from Excel spreadsheets to 3-D-printers to iPads—each of which holds the power to inform and transform teaching and learning. We have also adapted teaching methods to incorporate computational thinking in areas such as "pre-coding" in early learning classrooms, coding curriculum beginning in 1st grade, and design-based learning throughout the curriculum. To further this instinct for keeping an eye toward the future, last year, Trevor assembled a team of teachers and administrators—the Tech Fellows— and charged them with creating strategic goals for the meaningful use of technology throughout the curriculum and school. ree interrelated goals now comprise Trevor's strategic plan for academic technology: curriculum; faculty knowledge and professional develop- ment; and students' digital citizenship. Learning to use technology as a tool empowers Trevor students to inquire and become independent learners, to The first branch of the strategic plan for academic technology is to integrate technology into the general curriculum in an authentic, organic manner that supports inquiry-based learning. expand their understanding beyond their immediate world, and to give them access to a diversity of perspectives and experiences. is principle guides the three goals and supports our overarch- ing mission statement. 4 Digital History Upper School history teachers David omas and Dr. Nina Rosenblatt developed a curriculum that integrates the latest cutting-edge tools used by historians in the field. In the spring and summer of 2017, Mr. omas contacted Dr. Gil, the Digital Scholarship Coordinator for the Humanities and History Division at the Columbia University Libraries. Dr. Gil lent his expertise to the creation of the class, specifically directing the digital practicums (which make up about one third of the class time). He guided the teachers in creating the three strands that are explored in the practicums: digitizing content, organizing digital archives, and analyzing text programmatically. (Dr. Gil was so impressed with his Trevor experience that he enrolled his son as a student!) e course was introduced last year: Advanced Digital History: e History of Youth, an elective offered to qualifying juniors and seniors that pioneered the use of real-world tools to create digital archives. For the second year of this class, students are creating an archive that focuses on the history of Yorkville—the Upper East Side neighborhood where the Middle and Upper School is located. As a class, they are curating previously unexamined material and producing new, authentic contributions to the field. Typically, this is a graduate student–or professional historian–level endeavor. Dr. Gil also helped us create a proposal for Trevor's presentation at the International Digital Humanities Conference in Mexico City last summer. Mr. omas, Dr. Rosenblatt, and I went to Mexico City—the only high school invited to this prestigious gathering, where our presentation received rave reviews. e popularity of this class guarantees its incorporation into the curriculum. 4 Computer Modeling Middle School science teacher Michael Danenberg began offering a computer modeling MiniTerm class three years ago, in which students built 3-D computer models that simulated natural ecosystems, including a variety of organisms that interacted (and sometimes ate each other!). Students were also 1. 2 0 T R E V O R D AY S C H O O L n W I N T E R 2 0 1 8 – 2 0 1 9

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