Technology Policy

Standards: Culture Through Policy Implementation (0301) Schools develop, implement, communicate and review effective policies that help to create a school culture in which IB philosophy to thrive.

Responsibility of Students: Use technology resources appropriately to deepen academic knowledge. Care for the equipment used at school, at home, or in any learning environment. Be principled and respectful of others when communicating in online forums and when using any sort of chatting feature. Cite sources when doing research. Students will be thinkers when they assess the reliability of websites and utilize reliable online sources. Prioritize the use of technology to advance learning, and balance other uses of the technology appropriately.

Responsibility of Faculty: Monitor students’ online presence and teach students about digital citizenship. Provide a variety of technology resources. Teach students how to access information correctly when researching and how to cite sources. Use technology to encourage curiosity when students are inquiring. Balance use of technology with other modes of information to access information. Teach students how to be critical thinkers when determining if a website is reliable. Be principled when upholding the district technology agreement.

Responsibility of Parents: Monitor students’ online presence. Balance use of technology with other modes of information. Be principled and use school technology for academic and not personal use.

Through professional development, teachers will stay knowledgeable on the technology resources provided to the school including but not limited to:

• Waterford
• ABCYa
• Starfall
• i-Ready
• Lyrics2Learn
• Studies Weekly
• Zearn
• BrainPop
• Pebble Go
• Rockalingua
• Code.org
• Imagine Math
• Imagine Learning
• PPLD Power Pass
• Learning Ally
• Microsoft Teams
• Zoom
• Class Dojo
• Nearpod

Students regularly access technology in their classrooms and in computer labs to support learning and inquiry.

Sand Creek has a dedicated Technology/Design teacher whose job responsibilities include classroom teaching in the PYP and MYP, resolving technology issues for students and staff, and serving as a member of the school e-Learning Team. Sand Creek recently established an e-Learning Team in response to virtual learning needs. This team of teachers provides support for online learning and professional development for teachers. The team also hosts bi-weekly meetings to support the challenges of online teaching. The topics of those meetings are determined by teacher needs.

Sand Creek’s technology policy is stored in an electronic format on the school’s Microsoft Teams where all staff can access it. The technology policy is also posted on the school’s website for parents to view. All staff is knowledgeable about the policy and can communicate this knowledge to all stakeholders. The coordinators receive information about updates to program standards and practices via MyIB in Curriculum Resource Center and through IB ARMS, and promote the use of MyIB among staff so they can directly access PYP documentation related to technology practices.

Our technology policy is a living document that is formally reviewed annually by the IB vertical team members and coordinators.