I truly believe that in order to sustain, enhance, and improve our early education through 12^th grade curricular we must be up to date in our technology. In order to prepare student for their entry into college and career academically, our educational programs must be continuously reviewed, updated, and improved with excellence in mind. Many parents have been concerned about our progress when it comes to technology and its integration in the classroom. In the following paragraphs I will try to explain how quickly we have been able to improve the learning environment at Northside since our announcement at the State of the School in February.

Northside has added new technology in every 3^rd grade through 12^th grade classroom by putting over $33,000 into the updating of our classrooms. We have added projectors and Mimio interactive teaching tools for our teachers and students. Full integration is a unique benefit of the MimioClassroom family of product. Each of the tools is an easy-to-use, powerful technology on its own, but all of their products are designed to work together, using powerful MimioStudio software. That means less setup work for our teachers and more time to teach!

We have turned our ordinary whiteboards into an interactive whiteboard-instantly. The MimioTeach interactive system makes it easy. This device helps connect our computer to a standard projector and access everything on our teacher’s computer from their whiteboard. Our teachers can now create engaging lessons with our new Mimio Studio software. We can also create interactive assessments on the spot. We have added MimioVote assessment systems that lets our teachers gauge student understanding instantly, at any point during a lesson, with maximum class participation. It simplifies assessment, grading, and record-keeping. This system helps display and discuss the results with our students immediately. We have also added the MimioView document cameras to our science labs in order to allow our students to instantly capture pictures and live video. These cameras help us to instantly access editing and storage features, as well as show textbook content, objects, or live demonstrations.

Please stay tuned for a technology article that is being written in University Magazine regarding technology and Northside Christian Academy. Everything we do at NCA is with our students and their future in mind!