We’re nearing the end of our list of things on which Lakeside Christian School focuses in order to prepare our students for college. At this time, we’ll focus on our complementary technology. Every school has some variety of technology, and some will claim theirs is cutting edge. But cutting edge and expense do not automatically prepare students for college. If this were true, every student with the newest, most expensive tablet would be adequately prepared for college or career. These are the ways in which LCS is preparing students using technology:
Lakeside Christian’s Model- Ascend Math was first implemented at Lakeside in August of 2012. At that time Ascend was only being used with select students who needed math intervention. The implementation of Ascend expanded after a year to include ALL students who are enrolled at Lakeside Christian. Students spend a minimum of 2 hours each week in the dedicated Ascend Math computer lab, with struggling students receiving an additional 1.5 hours of remediation. Student use is supported by upper and lower school lab managers, who work with students one on one as needed, and monitor reports and student progress daily. This strong implementation has resulted in profound gains for the students at Lakeside, with many now working on content multiple grade levels above their actual grade level. So far this school year, 70% of the students at Lakeside Christian have mastered a full grade level of math content, with 20% of students mastering 2 or more grade levels to-date. In previous school years, students have mastered up to 6 years of math content in a single year. Due to gains like this Lakeside Christian has been named an Ascend Math Model site for 3 years running, and has been a runner up for the national Ascend Math Gold Medal for superior implementation and gains.”
“I use Moodle to help my students know when homework is due…I make sure that all of my lessons are posted on Moodle and try to ensure that my completed lessons are also on Moodle so that if students are gone from class, they can make up their notes from what we’ve done in class. I also post homework answers on Moodle so students can check their work. These things help prepare students for college by giving them opportunities to take charge of their learning. Students must take the initiative to go to Moodle to print out notes if it will help them learn. They must also take the initiative to check their work to make sure they are completing homework correctly. Ensuring that students are taking ownership of their learning is imperative to student success.”
“I use Moodle for posting class resources, weekly homework assignments, and assessments. Moodle is helpful to hold the students accountable for their work, putting the responsibility on them for: turning work in on time or making it up (time stamped), seeing assessment results immediately, and locating study materials. It creates a “no excuse” policy for not writing down the homework or forgetting a book at school because Moodle is my virtual classroom.”
All of these areas of technology complement each other and create a supportive web of technology under each student. The actual devices provide for the software and management systems to work together and prepare students for the next phase of life!
If your child’s school does not have this complementary technology, or if you’d like to learn more about it, please schedule a free tour of Lakeside Christian School today!