Technology at St. Thomas More School

Technology is fully integrated throughout the curriculum at St. Thomas More. In addition to a comprehensive computer science program, we also utilize technology to remediate, enrich and differentiate learning in all subject areas. Students have access to computers and/or laptops in every classroom, which allow them to use programs such as Academy of Reading, Academy of Math, and Compass Learning. Teachers also work closely with technology specialists to help develop projects utilizing all the hardware and software available throughout the school such as LCD projectors and Electronic Whiteboards.

The computer science program develops a student’s ability to adapt to a technological society by learning about both the capabilities and the fundamentals of computer use.  Every student in kindergarten through eighth grade participates in a weekly computer class taught by a computer specialist.  During class, students learn how to effectively operate the basic as well as advanced functions of the computer.  They learn how to use the Microsoft Office Suite by completing cross-curricular projects.  In addition, students learn how to safely and effectively utilize the Internet as a research tool.


Academy of READING is a skill mastery program based on developing the five core areas identified by the National Reading Panel to build fluency in the foundation skills of reading. The five integral components in developing successful readers are as follows:

  • Phonemic awareness
  • Sound symbol association
  • Phonics and decoding
  • Comprehension
  • Automaticity

At the beginning of the year, each student is assigned a training stream based on a placement test that provides a snapshot of their reading abilities relative to their grade.
As students use the program, their processing speed, accuracy and pace are measured. The ability to achieve all three develops automaticity and fluency in the foundation skills of reading.

Sometimes even the strongest readers experience a sense of frustration, usually during the beginning of the year, with some aspect of the program. Not only does the program measure a students’ accuracy but it also measures processing speed and pace with which they answer. Some students find difficulty developing a pace within the program. This process is normal. Teachers work specifically with students to help them develop a pace that will enable them to achieve success.

As students progress through the program, an adaptive intervention engine adjusts to students' responses, accelerating training when mastery is demonstrated or reviewing concepts when needed. In addition, detailed views of student progress enable formative instruction and allow teachers to track students as they work through the program, alerting them to trouble spots. This formative assessment is one factor that helps to influence our instructional practices for the class and for individual students.

 

The Academy of MATH program builds foundation math skills for beginner through to algebra-ready students in 10 skill areas that align to National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards helping students develop computational fluency.

The program allows students to draw on math concepts to answer operations questions, and then combine their knowledge of concepts and operations to solve higher order word problems. Through use of the program students build computational fluency through mastery in three areas:

  • Meaning of operations and their relationships to each other
  • Knowledge of a large repertoire of number relationships
  • Understanding of the base 10 number system


At the beginning of the year, each student is assigned a training stream based on a placement test that provides a snapshot of their math abilities relative to their grade.
The program uses a sequential tutorial-practice-train methodology providing structured learning and multiple opportunities for practice. As students continue to use the program, the adaptive intervention engine adjusts to students' responses, accelerating training when mastery is demonstrated or reviewing concepts when needed.

In addition, detailed views of student progress enable instruction and allow teachers to track students as they work through the program, alerting them to trouble spots. This formative assessment is one factor that helps to influence our instructional practices for the class and for individual students.



CompassLearning Odyssey® is a computer based program aligned to the PreK-12 curricula standards that provide interactive, self-paced, challenging, engaging activities for students. These activities promote exploration, individual and cooperative learning, problem solving, reflection, and real-world connections. Odyssey applies current and confirmed research about how students think and learn. In addition, teachers are able to differentiate instruction by assigning different activities to different students based on ability and need.


The CompassLearning Odyssey® curriculum includes activities in the following subject areas:

  • Reading/Language Arts - Levels K-8
  • Odyssey Math - Levels K-8
  • Odyssey Social Studies Levels 2-8
  • Science