Connected at Brookwood - Week One

📡 Connected at Brookwood  ⌨️

Technology Update: Week One

Need Tech Help? Tech questions? We're here to help! Email [email protected] and our team will get back to you as soon as possible during the school day.

🧑🏻‍💻 Device Guidance for Homework: For our upper school students (grades 5-8), any internet-connected device will work well with our systems. We use Google Workspace as our primary platform and design everything to be device and operating system agnostic—whether it's a Chromebook, laptop, tablet, or desktop computer. The key is reliable internet access and a web browser.

For Lower School families, there are no expectations for having devices at home for homework. Fourth grade students have some optional opportunities: DreamBox math activities (though these are always given time to complete in class) and the choice to type weekly writing assignments starting in January (handwriting remains perfectly acceptable). If you're unsure about compatibility or have questions about specific devices, don't hesitate to reach out.

🔧 Getting Oriented: As students dive into their classes this week, they're getting acquainted with various learning platforms and digital tools. It's completely normal for there to be a learning curve as everyone gets comfortable with new systems. We're working closely with students to help them navigate these platforms confidently.

One digital tool that we use here at Brookwood is GoGuardian, which is a filtering and monitoring tool that helps us keep students safe online and ensure appropriate internet use during the school day. While GoGuardian is active on our campus, we do not use it to monitor or filter student internet activity at home. The "At Home" setting is turned off for all Brookwood accounts.

When students use their Brookwood Google account at home, Google Admin does provide us with some basic account information such as sign-in activity and usage of Google services (Drive, Docs, Classroom, etc.). This does not include websites they visit outside of Google—such as news sites, social media, online shopping, or any other non-Google websites. We can see when they access their school Google account and which Google services they use, but we cannot see their general internet browsing activity. Our goal is to support healthy and safe technology use during the school day while respecting family privacy outside of school.

📱 Digital Habits at Home: One boundary that can make a significant difference: keeping devices out of bedrooms. Sleep is particularly crucial for elementary and middle school students, who need 9-13 hours nightly for healthy development. Creating a shared charging station in a common area helps families stay accountable to this boundary together. Device-free bedrooms protect essential rest while encouraging other important activities like reading, creative play, and family conversations that screens might otherwise displace.

👀 What We're Noticing: In these first few days, I've been impressed by how responsibly students are handling their devices. They're treating them with care, using them purposefully in class, and putting them away when it's time to focus elsewhere. It's wonderful to see our Empowered Use Policy already coming to life—students being empowered problem solvers while staying careful, gentle, and smart with their technology.

As we settle into routines, we'll continue working together on key habits that support responsible device use: making sure devices are charged and ready for learning, and taking personal responsibility for their care throughout the school day. This sets a great precedent for the year ahead.

Here's to a year of empowered, responsible learning ahead!