Goals and Curriculum

A central theme for technology use at River School is to support student learning - especially regarding content instruction. "The three key areas of focus going forward are to expand the use of technology in higher order thinking tasks, support innovative uses of technology, and enhance assessment for learning...and not just as a replacement for rote tasks like drill and practice or autograding multiple-choice quizzes, but as a tool to allow students to engage in activities that enhance their opportunity for creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and real-world application[s]" (C.U.S.D. Educational Technology Plan). Our goal is for students to develop essential skills needed to use today's latest technology and productivity tools in order to create, edit, share, collaborate and publish effectively - and, at the same time, do so in a positive, safe, legal and ethical manner. Towards this goal, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Technology Standards for Students will provide a framework for guiding instruction at Carmel River Elementary School. ISTE standards cover the following seven (7) core areas:

• Empowered Learner
• Digital Citizen
• Knowledge Constructor
• Innovative Designer
• Computational Thinker
• Creative Communicator
• Global Collaborator

A link to ISTE Standards for Students may be found at the bottom of this page.

 Site Technology

Some of our site technology tools include 1-to-1 Dell Chromebooks in 2nd-5th grade classrooms. Each K-2 classroom has at least 5 devices for class use, while the computer lab offers 1-to-1 Chrome device availability when Kinder through 5th grade classes are in attendance; stand-alone audio/visual recording equipment for student and teacher projects; Lego WeDo 2.0 robots to help introduce and support coding in the early grades; and classroom audio enhancement systems to meet ADA requirements.  

Computer/ technology instruction takes place in the Computer Lab; class times are 30 minutes for Kinder, and 40 minutes for first through fourth grades. Fifth grade is in the lab for 50 minute sessions. Classroom curriculum activities are integrated with technology, enabling students to develop, share, collaborate and publish class projects. The computer lab also helps to bolster intervention/support programs such as Reflex Math, ST Math, Imagine Math, Renaissance Place, and Read Live.