Technology

At Thayer, current technology surrounds our students everywhere they go, thoughtfully integrated into classroom learning and extracurricular activities across the campus and community, and providing support in off-campus settings for study and collaboration.

At admission, all students are provided with a MacBook 13” Air laptop, maximizing opportunities for learning and classwork sharing, anywhere, at any time. With this powerful tool, students can efficiently organize and complete their assignments and easily communicate with classmates and teachers throughout the school year.

Thayer provides students with seamless and secure network access through a fully wired and wireless filtered campus network, a single, virtualized domain and private cloud network, with single sign on (SSO) log-in, and cloud accounts such as Google Apps for Education and Zoom.

Virtual desktop interfaces offer individualized remote access for the Thayer student and faculty community, along with enterprise-level security for student safety and data protection, and access to emerging technologies such as 3D printing, laser cutting, gamification, virtual labs, and online blended learning.

At Thayer, technology is a critical part of the curriculum, providing the wide range of constantly evolving digital tools that allow students to interact, create, share, and engage in a learning environment filled with emerging possibilities.

Computer Science at Thayer Academy

Computer Science (CS) at Thayer provides students with a challenging and dynamic program that exposes them to the theory that composes the core of programming, while also keeping pace with the latest developments in the field. Courses include Programming I (C++), AP Computer Science (Java), and Data Structures in Java. Students in the Data Structures course are required to participate in the American Computer Science League contests.

The Hanflig Technology Center (HTC)

In an era of collaborative learning, technology enriches the academic environment for both faculty and students. The Thayer Academy technology infrastructure is designed to support our teaching and learning strategies. The Hanflig Technology Center promotes the advancement of technology in service of learning and teaching, under the direction of the Chief Information Officer, Theresa Jay, and the Supervisor of the Center, Mike Landry.

HTC Technology Fellow Program

The Tech Fellow program provides an avenue for students to have essential conversations with faculty about digital tools for learning. How can these digital tools improve existing educational practices to transform the learning experience? Tech Fellows passionately promote digital learning with curiosity, self-direction, problem solving, and critical thinking.

Mobile Computing Campus and the Laptop Program

Thayer’s student laptop program provides all learners with access to current technology in support of student work at school and at home. Since the fall of 2015, students have been using school-issued MacBook Air laptops. Thayer’s technology resources aid in the process of learning how to locate information, synthesize it, and form logical and reasonable conclusions. The laptop program promotes collaborative learning and shifts responsibility to students to be more organized, creative, and productive.

Technology Standards & Performance Indicators for Students

At Thayer Academy, we refer to the technology standards outlined in the ISTE National Standards for Students. The technology standards for students are divided into four categories and are introduced and reinforced by academic work. The four categories are:

  1. Creativity and Innovation
  2. Communications and Collaboration
  3. Research and information fluency
  4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision-making

Teachers can use these standards and performance indicators as guidelines for planning technology-based activities in which students achieve success in learning, communication, and life skills.

The Technology Committee

The mission of the Thayer Academy Technology Committee is to inform the Strategic Planning Committee with technology goals and initiatives supporting Excellence in Education through Innovation. The technology department and faculty meet regularly throughout the year to define technology support needed for teaching and design programs that leverage technology to enhance learning.

Future technology plans include seamless integration of emerging technologies such as 3D printing, maker spaces, and adaptive learning technologies across the curriculum, an online learning management system to offer blended learning and augmented reality environments, and a video conferencing center.

Technology Resources for Students

The digital revolution has transformed our school and our daily lives. Thayer Academy stays on the cutting edge of innovation by providing students access to emerging technologies like 3D printing, used at Thayer to create mathematical models, replicas of ancient artifacts, jewelry, and art.