Technology
At The Joy School, we recognize the importance of the use of technology in our students’ academic and everyday lives. All students at TJS have access to a wide array of digital and hands-on learning opportunities and are taught to use technology of all types (including assistive software, touch-screen tablets/iPads, laptops, and other interactive media.) The introduction and incorporation of our technology at TJS is purposefully selected to best meet the needs and struggles of students with learning differences.
TJS teachers work closely with our Instructional Technologist to incorporate technology into their everyday curricula, and recognize new digital devices and online activities, trends, and pedagogy in education.
Assistive Technology
The assistive technology utilized at TJS cover a wide range of modalities, including, but not limited to:
- Digital textbooks and notebooks
- Magnification software
- Speech-to-text software
- Text-to-speech software
- Touchscreen tablets/iPads and/or laptops
- Webbing, brainstorming, and editing tools
- Word prediction software
Speech-to-text software is helpful for our students who struggle with dyslexia or dysgraphia, as it enables them to get their ideas written down with less worry about the spelling or legibility of their written work. Programs like OneNote can help students better formulate, organize, and recognize their thoughts, as well as edit their work independently.
Text-to-speech software can help all students increase their reading fluency and comprehension, as well as listen to their own written work to identify any mistakes they have made or ideas they may have left out. Touch screens, keyboards, and digital pens can help students navigate the digital world quickly, easily, and, at times, more efficiently than through hands-on means.
Assistive technology is introduced to all students beginning in the third or fourth grade through direct instruction of the class teacher and our Instructional Technologist. Students who may need assistive technology at the younger grades (i.e., read-aloud worksheets) can also receive these services as needed.
Lower School Technology
iPads are introduced in our kindergarten through third grade classes, while students in the fourth grade and up have access to laptops in addition to the iPads.
Keyboarding/typing is introduced in the upper elementary grades (third through fifth) to ease the transition from handwritten work to published documents. For students requiring additional support, assistive technologies are available.
Students also engage in a myriad of online curricula that encourages further individualization of materials within the educational environment of the classroom.While teachers are able to customize the use of online curricula to meet the needs of the kids in each of their classes on a year-to-year basis, there are some universal websites that most of our teachers utilize.
Through our Seesaw for Schools program (2017 – present), students are able to increase their engagement, document their progress on various assignments, and showcase their successes through this digital student portfolio that is shared with classmates, their parents, and school administration and academic support staff. They can reflect on their personal growth by revisiting posts containing pictures, video, audio, and text, learn to give and accept feedback, and use digital tools to capture their learning and understanding. In Spring 2020 and during #JoyFromAfar, Seesaw for Schools became one of our main methods of distributing and collecting student work in our lower school classes, in addition to being a portfolio tool.
Reading A-Z, or Raz-Kids for short, offers teachers and parents an insight into student reading and comprehension on individually leveled books. Students listen to a book or read the book on their own, and then answer comprehension questions to earn digital rewards. Teachers and parents can log in to each child's account to check on their progress.
Other programs that the Lower School use includes:
- Bookshare
- Boom Cards
- Brainingcamp
- Discovery Education
- Epic!
- Flipgrid
- Flocabulary
- IXL
- Kahoot
- Learning Ally
- Learning A-Z (Reading, Science, Vocabulary, and Writing)
- Microsoft Office 365 (Edge, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Teams)
- Mystery Science Mystery Doug
- Nearpod
- Prodigy Game
- Quizizz
- Reflex and Frax Math
- Tumblebooks
- Typing Club (Grades 3-5)
- WordQ
Middle School Technology
Students in our Middle School program, sixth through eighth grade, are given touch screen tablets/laptop devices to use at school and at home. These devices come pre-loaded with our Microsoft Office 365 suite of programs that allow for seamless collaboration between students, their peers, and teachers.
Beginning in fifth grade, there is a push for students to prepare for their Middle School education by using OneNote to manage digital workload and communication. OneNote functions as a digital binder that holds all the students' work and is accessible by students and teachers in real-time.
We have also integrated the use of Microsoft Teams across the board. Teams offers a centralized platform for students to organize their work, locate and turn in assignments, and communicate amongst one another and staff. Teams was essential during our transition to #JoyFromAfar in Spring 2020.
Other programs that the Middle School use includes:
- Bookshare
- Boom Cards
- Discovery Education
- EdPuzzle
- Flipgrid
- Flocabulary
- Gimkit
- IXL
- Kahoot
- Learning Ally
- Learning A-Z (Reading, Science, Vocabulary, and Writing)Microsoft Office 365 (Edge, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Teams)
- Nearpod
- NoodleTools
- Prodigy Game
- Quizizz
- Reflex Math
- Typing Agent
- WordQ
