Aliso Viejo Christian School values technology and recognizes that it is essential in our desire to educate our students to their fullest potential in the world we live in today. Technology is introduced to our students at different ages in a variety of ways.  These students will collaborate with one another and their teachers using interactive white boards (Mimeo Boards) and document cameras in every classroom beginning in Junior Kindergarten and continuing up through eighth grade. Beginning in grades JK-5, our students experience technology once a week in our designated Computer Lab.  They will work with our Computer Technology instructor to explore safe and responsible uses of technology.  As the students gain experience, they are given more independence to explore different software applications and how they can be utilized to complete occasional assignments in their classroom. As students transition into Middle School, their use of technology becomes further integrated into their learning. There are laptop carts in every classroom with enough computers for each student. Each student will have the opportunity to sign up for a technology-based elective during grades six through eight.

Sixth grade begins with Digital Animation and Intro to Coding.  In Digital Animation, students will develop and produce stop motion projects during the school year. Students will work in teams to create, plan, and execute a project using cameras, iPads, and apps. Students will produce all components of the project, including titles, art, music, sounds and photography. Using clay, toys and other objects, students will create a story or a visually attractive sequence showing the movement of inanimate objects. Students will use iPads, Macs, sound recording devices, apps, and much more to produce throughout the year.  In Intro to Coding students learn how to use their problem-solving skills to build their own games using CodeCombat and to be the “creator” of the projects. Intro to Coding is a project-based course, where students will unlock the tools needed to create challenging puzzles and practice their game and web design skills to become the next star coding designer using Python. At the end of this course students will be able to showcase their projects by sharing project links. 

In 7^th and 8^th grade our students have the opportunity to take Legos Robotics, Podcasting and Photography.  In Legos Robotics students will experience a hands-on, minds-on approach, using the Lego Mindstorms EV3 kits, designed to help students take ownership of the learning process. Students will learn to build, program, and test their coding solutions using real-life robotics technology through various challenges. In Podcasting students will explore beginning skills in creating Podcasts that will be shared with our AVCS community. We will work on Macs, IPads, and various other technologies using multiple apps to ignite student’s creativity. Learning ProCreate, Lumifusion for editing, different music apps and stop motion; we will develop and refine basic skills in digital media arts. In Photography, students will develop skills in photography by teaching the necessary skills to take high quality pictures.   Students will learn the aspects and techniques of basic camera skills, the elements of art and principles of design, landscape, low-light scenes, motion, and portraiture. Students will apply these techniques by being responsible for taking pictures of various school events. These pictures will be submitted for possible inclusion in our school yearbook.  

While AVCS will continue to update and utilize current technologies on our campus, our Administration stands by research that has proven that “at AVCS we are much more than the sum total of our laptops and software, our school invests in the approach to learning and teaching of the whole student.”