Faculty Laptop Program

• Program Details
• Participants
• Workshop Curriculum
• Workshop Conclusion

The Faculty Summer Laptop Program is a two-week immersion into educational technology. A successful initiative, this popular summer workshop instructs teachers on ways to manage powerful educational software and tools – in close partnership of NLTL experts – and allows time for creative and collaborative work with colleagues. Each faculty member who completes this workshop receives his or her own laptop. This type of access and education allows faculty to reshape Dalton’s pedagogy and furthers our mission to provide a modern, progressive education.

In 2002, the school committed to a three-year program to purchase laptops for faculty who participated in this program. Through this program of ownership and training, teachers become better equipped to use technology for curriculum integration and personal productivity. One hundred and forty-five teachers have participated in this program in its first three years.

The Faculty Summer Laptop Program training is designed to allow all users, whether novice or advanced, to work within their comfort level. Teachers who believe their skill level is advanced enough are encouraged to assist with the training of fellow teachers during this time.

This program begins with a formal two week summer training program. It continues with several sessions during the school year for just-in-time training and follow-up. The program offers several two-week sessions during the summer to complete the training. The mornings focus on technology skills, and the afternoons focus on strategies for implementation and opportunities for collaboration and/or curriculum development.

Examples of the sessions include: laptop ownership, file management, productivity tools (word processing, database, spreadsheet), network use, graphics use, student assessment, hypermedia and presentations, understanding of ethical use, information literacy, and course management.