LEARNING FOR THE 21st CENTURY

DIGITAL LITERACY

At BCA, we integrate ICT (information and communication technology) and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics) activities into our digital literacy learning. Our students are engaged, from kindergarten through 8th grade, with project based learning activities that help them develop problem-solving, collaboration, persistence, and computational thinking skills. BCA's computer lab is visited weekly, for a 45 minute block of time, by kindergarten through 3rd grades. These young learners are introduced to the computer, keyboarding, paint and drawing activities in Microsoft Word along with the basics in Excel and PowerPoint. They even do some introductory lessons in coding, learn about digital safety and play in Mathletics. All other BCA students, 4th through 8th grades, are in computer lab on a daily basis. An overview of their learning is presented below.

Digital literacy prepares all students to be active and informed contributors to the world around them whether they pursue careers in the computer sciences or not. Students build valuable life skills. Skills that are life changing, not just skill training.

COMPUTING FUNDAMENTALS

A FOUNDATION FOR

THE FUTURE

Computing is fundamental to understanding and participating in today’s technological society. As such it is a valuable part of every student’s education. Young people must understand technology with increasing familiarity and fluency so that they may thrive in a continuously changing technological landscape. They must be given the skills required to solve problems, to think innovatively, to plan, to create, and to communicate a result. Teaching our students to employ foundational computer science principles and to learn coding prepares them to become creators, rather than just consumers of technology. Learning strong communication skills and personality traits that lead to success in life and the workplace are critical goals for students. Coding lessons do just that by teaching them to plan, organize, write, edit, and troubleshoot. It enhances their perseverance, problem solving, analytical thinking, creativity, and collaboration with others. 

COMPUTER
FUNDAMENTALS
Students learn about computer systems, hardware and software, operating systems, troubleshooting techniques, networks and wifi, file extensions and PDFs, and more.
COMPUTER SCIENCE
LEARNING
Students learn computer science fundamentals through online and "unplugged" (non-computer) activities to teach students computational thinking, problem solving, programming concepts, and digital citizenship. 
CODING
CONCEPTS
Students learn essential coding concepts, such as algorithms, syntax, and sequencing, using age appropriate lessons that are fun and engaging. Students begin learning to code using the visual programming language Blocky.
TOUCH
TYPING
Students learn keyboard basics in kindergarten and 1st grade. Touch typing skills are introduced in 2nd grade. Accuracy and speed are progressively increased into the later grades through keyboarding lessons and drills.
ONLINE SAFETY &
DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP
We equip our students with the online safety and digital citizenship skills needed to understand and combat online issues like cyber-bullying, predators, social media privacy, creating strong passwords, malware, viruses and spam, and much more.
INTERNET &
ONLINE COMMUNICATION
Our students learn the skills necessary for navigating and searching the world wide web. They  learn about how the internet works, browsing basics, research strategies, information validity, plagiarism,  copyright law, and more.
WORD
PROCESSING
We use age appropriate projects to teach Microsoft Word processing basics and layout skills. Students focus on formatting, proofreading, use of columns and tables, incorporation of the drawing ribbon, and the use of pictures and clip art. 
SPREADSHEETS &
VISUAL MAPPING
Students are introduced to spread-sheets and their varied functions using Microsoft Excel. Younger students focus on program basics, formatting, how to create basic formulas and graphing, while older students go deeper into learning about functions and pivot tables.
PRESENTATION
SKILLS
Students learn basic design and presentation skills using Microsoft PowerPoint. Age-related projects are created while learning about slide organization, design and special effects, animations and sound, and how to layout information for presenting to an audience.
DIGITAL
ARTS
An integral part of STEAM is the arts component. Through our computer technology lessons we want to encourage and support creative expression. A variety of lessons have been created to support this endeavor. We teach a module on photography and use Adobe Photoshop to cleanup and enhance photos taken. Adobe Illustrator is also used to create projects ranging from creating a Christmas ornament using illustrations and photographs to creating a newsletter.  BCA's yearbook is completely designed and laid out using these two programs. Animation is also used in class.
CAREER
EXPLORATION
We incorporate career exploration into our curriculum to help our students discover their passions and purpose. We want our students to begin examining their own interests and develop the self-confidence to achieve their future goals (even though those goals may change from time to time.) We help them look at themselves, their strengths, interests, and values, and translate those qualities into possible future careers. We also look at the pursuit of education beyond high school: two and four year colleges, certification programs, tech schools, even military service. Career exploration gives students a clearer understanding of how they may fit into the working world one day.
MATHLETICS &
PRODIGY
It is important for our students to understand math. Math is the foundational concept that our God made, and everything in the universe revolves around it. Think for a moment about the amazing way math works. It does not matter what we attempt to add, one plus one always equals two. Math only works because God made a universe that operates in a precise, orderly manner. 

At BCA, we use several math applications, specifically Mathletics, to provide each of our students reinforcement in their everyday math classes; plus, we design activities to help them understand math's application in everyday activities, from learning to read music, using a ruler in Photoshop, or learning about the rotation of the planets. Math is a must know!
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