It is the philosophy of the St. Matthias High School Technology Department that technology is a tool for teaching and learning which has tremendous benefits to the individual and society. The computer courses at St. Matthias serve to empower young women with the necessary skills, attitudes, and knowledge to help them, succeed in the global marketplace. In an effort to overcome the digital divide, we strive to provide each student access to the latest technologies and the highest quality teaching of those technologies and their applications to the world of academia and business.

There are four cornerstones of our department philosophy:

1.  Every student is capable of learning technological skills at high levels.


2.  Every student should develop a positive self-concept with regards to his or her ability to succeed in the global marketplace.


3.  Every student will graduate from St. Matthias High School having completed assignments that include keyboarding, Internet skills, spreadsheet management, and presentation tools.


4.  Advanced learning opportunities will be available in the digital broadcasting class.

COMPUTER SCIENCE:

Computers I  9                                                                               5 Credits

In this course students will reinforce their knowledge of the performance indicators within the Profiles for Technology Literate Students Standards (http://cnets.iste.org/students/s_profiles.html). Students will learn the Office 2000: Including Word, Power Point, and Excel. Students will learn how to touch type by using the Mavis Beacon typing program. Students will be introduced to on-line resources for collecting, evaluating and locating information that will be used throughout their education at St. Matthias High School. Successful completion of this course will be measured using both written and performance assessments.

Digital Video Production/Broadcasting  11, 12                                  10 Credits

Prerequisite: Completion and passing grade in Computers I and the signature of the Department Chair or the teacher.
This course is designed to teach students video editing techniques which includes creation of original scenes through filming, critiquing various related movies, creation of SM News using as all digital format and the use of liner and non-linear software packages. Students will develop ideas both individually and in small groups, create 5-minute news scripts, storyboards, and produce video shorts for use in school recruitment. Emphasis will be placed on, scriptwriting, broadcasting techniques, acting, producing, directing, narrating and other aspects of broadcasting. Further emphasis will be placed on video shooting and editing in order to produce quality video. Students will learn appropriate vocabulary of the film and television industry and use it to express themselves clearly in writing about film and television.