Technology & Media

Villa maintains a modern, safe, robust technological environment capable of supporting present and anticipated future needs. The school has designed and implemented a wireless network accessible to a variety of devices throughout the campus. Each Villa student is provided with an individual network account with accompanying file storage space on our server. School policies and best practices are explained to all students, who commit to abide by acceptable use policies, and act with an understanding of ethical and professional norms.

Following the lead of post-secondary institutions, Villa requires students to bring a personal learning device (tablet, notebook, or laptop) to school every day. As a college-preparatory school, our goal is to provide as many opportunities for students to prepare for college as possible. As the preferred policy of colleges and universities, "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) is another way for us to achieve that.

BYOD allows students to utilize their own device as a learning tool while connected to a secure, wireless network with filtered Internet access. Students using their own device gain the advantage of easily storing their work, organizing their notes, and consistently accessing Canvas and other class web pages. During instructional periods, appropriate use of the device will be determined by the teacher. During non-instructional time, students are encouraged to use devices in common areas, such as the library, cafeteria, and student lounge. Students are always responsible for their own equipment.

Smartphones and mobile devices do not meet our minimum requirements, and they are not acceptable devices under Villa’s BYOD or cell phone policies, as outlined in the Student Handbook. Students and their parents can spend what they feel comfortable spending on a device. Rather than building money into the tuition, Villa Joseph Marie grants the families the option to choose what works best for them.

Recommendations gathered from current students regarding devices:

• Device needs a keyboard or the student will have trouble keeping up with the class.
• Devices should be lightweight and have a screen of 10+”.
• A spare battery or charger in school is important.
• Test older devices to ensure they meet the needs of the student for learning at Villa. Any device with a slow wireless card, slow processor, or poor battery life will experience problems.

Please see our Technology & Media FAQ tab below for more information on acceptable and recommended devices.

Canvas is a learning management system (LMS) that allows teachers to provide instructional support, class calendars, assignments, and resources for students in a safe online environment. Canvas is an integral part of blended classroom instruction.

Refer to the handout you received from your homeroom teacher for Canvas student account instructions. If you have lost this information, please see Mrs. Hurlbert in Room 113.

To learn more about Canvas from a student perspective, see the resources below. A login account is not needed to access these training resources.

• https://community.canvaslms.com/videos/1124
• https://resources.instructure.com/courses/32

For instructions on accessing Canvas, please click here.

Canvas is a learning management system (LMS) that allows teachers to provide instructional support, class calendars, assignments, and resources for students in a safe online environment. Canvas is an integral part of blended classroom instruction.

Canvas is a way to simplify teaching and learning by connecting all the digital tools teachers use in one easy place. Canvas tools were developed to be used online, on mobile, and on any device.

Reliability is paramount. That is why Canvas was developed as a true cloud-native solution, and hosted on the industry-leading Amazon Web Services. With a 99.9% uptime guarantee, you can depend on Canvas being available.

Villa piloted Canvas during the 2017–2018 school year and expanded schoolwide in 2018–2019. In 2019–2020, this system allowed our school to seamlessly transition to an online learning model during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Instructure Quick Facts

• Founded in 2008
• Launched Canvas in 2011
• Launched Canvas Network in 2012
• 1,100+ employees
• Used by more than 3,000 universities, school districts, and institutions around the world
• Selected by Cisco Networking Academy to power “the world’s largest classroom”

Recommended Browsers

For optimal performance while using Canvas, use a recent version of Mozilla Firefox, Safari, or Google Chrome. Internet Explorer is NOT recommended.

Through classroom projects and frequent exposure to a variety of technological tools and applications, Villa students attain 21st century skills, prepare for success, and achieve their goals in the competitive electronic age. Additionally, each Villa student is given an individual account for the following media resources, which feature extensive searchable databases ideal for research:

• Destiny Library Manager
• POWER Library
• Bloom’s Literature

These accounts are free of charge and can be used on campus, on any personal device, and integrated into Canvas to further enrich and enhance learning opportunities.

Educational projection technology permeates Villa's learning environment. All classrooms are equipped with a SMART Board for both faculty and student presentations. Many teachers save their SMART Board notes as images and upload them into Canvas for additional student learning.

Villa’s faculty has begun “flipping” classroom lessons to further infuse content with technology. Villa is working to reconfigure learning spaces to create learning environments conducive to technology use.

Villa strongly recommends that every student purchase a TI-Nspire CX II calculator, by Texas Instruments, for use not only in math classes, but across the curriculum. The TI-Nspire CX II provides algebraic capability to symbolically solve equations, factor and expand variable expressions, complete the square, find antiderivatives, and more, making it a robust hands-on learning tool that satisfies math and science curriculum needs. Its power and versatility have enabled it to be used at Villa for such diverse applications as allowing students to edit each others' writing in English class and letting the entire school vote for Student Council officers in a matter of minutes.

Villa Joseph Marie maintains a Responsible Use Policy (RUP) for its Local Area Network, Internet, BYOD Program, and Wireless (Wi-Fi) Network. The Responsible Use Policy is intended to:

• Provide students, employees, and Board of Directors members/affiliates with a resource that will help identify behaviors that are inconsistent with the school’s core values, as expressed through its Mission Statement, Philosophy, Objectives, and Standards of Conduct.
• Provide the school with a basis for taking disciplinary and other remedial action against individuals whose behavior is inconsistent with the non-exclusive values of trust, kindness, and responsibility described in the Mission Statement, Philosophy, Objectives, and Standards of Conduct necessary for the maintenance of a sustaining educational community.

All students and parents/guardians are required to review and sign this form on Family ID.

• Fosters student ownership of their own learning
• Gives students real-time access to information
• Enables a smooth transition between home and school
• Increases student access to online instructional materials
• Allows for personalized learning
• Supplements school resources and equipment

• The device's operating system: Windows 7 (Service Pack 1), 8, 8.1, and 10 are acceptable
• Operating systems for Windows RT and Windows 10S are not accepted/supported
• The device has at least 1 USB port
• The device has a webcam
• To ensure that the device will last for all four years at VJMHS, the device should have:
  • A minimum of 8GB of RAM (Memory)
  • Intel Core i3 and greater processor (or comparable)
• VJMHS is a Windows-based infrastructure.  MacBooks and Apple products are acceptable
• Chromebooks, Android tablets, iPads, Surface Go, and Surface Pro X are not supported
• Supported browsers are Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox which must be used for Canvas, Canvas Conference and MS Office 365