At Miss Porter's School this year, we have now for the first time, two full-time computer people; one is the Computer Systems Administrator (handles the network and overall system) and the other, the Computer Systems Assistant, does the email system and Windows hardware. We have a school-wide network into every dorm room, classroom, and administrative office, e-mail for all students and staff, a school web site, and a new intranet which is just beginning to be utilized.

Academic Computing is administered separately, in the Math Department although it may become a separate department. We have slightly over one full-time position consisting this year (one person is on leave, so exact staffing will vary from year to year) of four teachers who each teach one or two classes and do some Macintosh support consisting of software and hardware troubleshooting for the faculty and the school labs. Of our six people, three are women and three are men; three are computer specialists, one is a math teacher, one an English teacher, and one an art teacher. Keeping a lab of 13 Macintosh computers running takes about 3-5 hours per week.

Our course offerings include Introduction to Computer Programming in C++, AP Computer Science, Computer Applications (database/spreadsheet/multimedia), Desktop Publishing, and Computer Graphics. In their first year, all students take an introduction to computing with word processing, which is taught by several additional people, and supervised by one of the four teachers. In addition, every girl is required to take one computer course before graduation (most meet twice a week for one semester).

--Charlotte Hitchcock 2/98

In my job as lower school computer coordinator I am responsible for the Early Childhood Center and three sections of each grade, kindergarten through sixth, for a total of 480 students. My duties involve teaching numerous classes in the lab, troubleshooting lab and classroom hardware difficulties, ordering , previewing, and evaluating software, assisting classroom teachers with the implementation of technology integration and supporting the faculty of 26 in any technology endeavors.

Our technology coordinator is the network administrator. He works under a twelve month contract and is responsible for creating and maintaining the school's web pages as well as the school's local network. Shorecrest has a strong commitment to teacher training and the technology coordinator has developed and delivered a variety of offerings beginning with Macintosh Basics, Introduction to ClarisWorks and currently is extending the offerings to include an Introduction to Netscape, as well as Creating Web Pages. In addition he teaches two classes to students entitled Computing Essentials which vary from semester to semester based on the class enrollment. In the past students in these classes have been involved in developing portions of the school web pages by interviewing and "reporting" on various aspects of campus life. The coordinator's assistant is responsible for troubleshooting, repairing, installing software, and assisting where ever needed. This position is also full time with a twelve month contract. The fourth member of the Technology Department teaches middle school keyboarding and application classes as well as supervises the lab during "free" periods.

The newest addition to technology offerings is the area of programming. One faculty member from the math department is currently teaching a section of Visual Basic and we plan to extend that offering to include advanced programming for the 98-99 school year.

Many faculty members are investigating ways or are currently incorporating technology in their everyday teaching. Both the journalism class, which publishes the student newspaper, and the yearbook staff use technology extensively. Physics classes, geography classes, and numerous other classes are beginning to either visit the labs regularly or utilize equipment in their classrooms.

-- Dawn Weinman

-- Steve Bergen