Opening Minds Through Tech
Widespread use of technology has become an integral component of the Saddlebrook Preparatory School educational experience. Between our Media Center and its 4,000 volumes and our extensive digital resources, Saddlebrook Preparatory students are offered the best educational tools to complement their classroom learning. Our students, teachers and administration have access to hardware components and software applications that facilitate curriculum, streamline academic processes, enable communication and offer presentation tools.
Media Center
The Saddlebrook Academy Media Center is a student-centered educational hub where students can seek information from the resources they encounter and create products that communicate what they have learned. The Media Center collection offers 4,000 volumes available for in-class use and checkout. This versatile space hosts a variety of meetings and presentations throughout the school year. It is also open for study sessions on select nights.
Digital Resources
Students have access to a variety of digital learning tools through our Mandarin catalog system. Educational videos and resources for projects and research papers are available through Discovery Education. Additional resources include Khan Academy, IXL, the Desmos Graphing Calculator and an online library catalog.
Renweb
Renweb is Saddlebrook Academy’s classroom and administration application. Using the Renweb1 login, parents can access their student’s grades, homework assignments, school and classroom announcements, and more. The all-in-one platform is available through the computer or mobile devices. To ensure that you are able to monitor your student’s progress, be sure to have a current email on file with the school.
Computer Requirements
Every student is required to own a laptop computer to access online textbooks and homework assignments; to communicate with their peers, teachers, and parents; and to craft multimedia presentations. Computers should run either the Windows operating system or Mac OSX and be equipped with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint). All computers should also be equipped with antivirus software and set to operate in English. Teachers may accept Keynote or Google documents at their discretion, but these programs are not a substitute for Office. There may also be additional requirements for a given class. Please check the materials list provided during orientation.
Classroom Use & Online Textbooks
Teachers strive to utilize technology in a manner that enhances the classroom experience. It is not unusual to see a student completing a virtual dissection in science class, perfecting their online portfolio in photography class, or reviewing with Kahoot for that big test in history class.
Our goal is to make the text for every core class accessible online. Students would no longer have to carry several texts with them to a tournament; their computer now acts as a single text for all of their classes. When combined with Renweb, traveling students have the opportunity to keep pace with their classmates who are back on campus.
