Philosophy
 Department Chair-Radley Manzo

The use of computers in business, engineering, education and at home makes computer technology very important in today’s world. It is important that students learn how to use the computer as a tool. All students will take an introductory course to computers during freshman year and a computer technology course during sophomore year. Students may select an additional computer course during their junior and/or senior year as an elective.
Course Descriptions

Intro to Graphic Design/Comp Tech

The computer technology course is designed to continue a student's understanding of modern day technologies. Students will continue their education into Microsoft Office 2010 by learning Microsoft PowerPoint 2010, a powerful and feature rich presentation application. Students will be instructed in how to plan their presentation and use the features of PowerPoint to produce a robust, easy to understand presentation. The students will also expand their knowledge of computers and technology with hands on experience. Students will explore desktop publishing using Microsoft Publisher 2010. Using this software, students will be exposed to different methods of desktop publishing in relation to the audience they are publishing for.

Students will also get a chance to work with photo tools, such as Adobe Photoshop and be exposed to web authoring using tools such as Adobe Dreamweaver and Adobe Flash. The use of the Windows operating system will be covered on both beginner and advanced levels. Other background information on technology is covered such as the history of technology, security concerns and ethical issues. This course will examine the future of information technology in order to help prepare the students for the world that will await them.
Advanced Graphic Design

Students will explore the world of graphic arts as it relates to advertising and marketing in the real world. All aspects of Photoshop and scanning will be covered. Photographic retouching, collage creations, mock publications and advertisements will also be covered in Photoshop.

Students will explore advanced Photoshop features working with layers, adjustment layers, masking, texturizing and more. Fully interactive websites will be created. Students will use Adobe Dreamweaver to create attractive web pages and organize them into professional quality. All work will be posted to the internet.

The world of web animation will be explored through the use of Adobe Flash. Students will create original animations which will be posted on our website. Students will use Adobe InDesign to create advanced print projects including booklets, calendars and novelty print items.

Students must have completed the Intro course in order to take AGD.

Computer Facilities

Notre Dame Catholic High School is committed to providing an up to date technological education. In completing this goal, we have four computer areas available for student use. All classrooms have computers connected to our network and the Internet. The number of computers in our school has grown to exceed 200. All computers are connected to a Novell Netware network using four servers.

ND has three classroom labs, each with 30 computers running in a Microsoft Windows XP environment. Each computer is linked to our school Local Area Network, which allows each computer to access common files off the school servers. All computers have direct Internet access and e-mail connections. All computers are connected to networked printers. Students have access to Hewlett Packard and Dell LaserJet printers, available in both color and black & white, in each lab. Scanners are readily available for student use in both the computer labs and the library. Video projectors have been permanently installed in all computer labs and are available for all classrooms to use. Regular classes can be held in the computer labs for special instruction such as S.A.T. prep courses, mathematics programs, student presentations and Internet research use in all disciplines. Computer and video presentations can be made in our Smartboard classrooms.

A fourth computer area is open during the entire school day for student use. The 40 computers in the library have the same software as each of the classroom labs, allowing students to continue working on their projects when not in class. CD-ROM and DVD-ROM software including multimedia encyclopedias, foreign language aids, religious education and science education are available to all students on all computers.

Students may use the Internet in the Library for research and personal use. Parents can feel safe because we use Surf Control as an Internet filter to watch all connections and sites used on the Internet. Our school has an "Acceptable Use Policy" for the use of our computers and network. Novell BorderManager provides a secure firewall preventing outside hackers from accessing our network. Our proxy cache accelerates users' access to information on the net.

Notre Dame has SMART Boards available for teacher and student use permanently mounted in classrooms. A SMART Board is an interactive whiteboard that is connected to a computer and a data projector. The interactive electronic whiteboard is great colorful tool for demonstrations. Research indicates that students respond to displays where color is employed, and marking can be customized both in the pen and in the highlighter features to display a number of different colors. Students can work together with individuals contributing at the board, other participants at the computer, and the group as a whole discussing the activity. It is interactive. Users can be contributing directly by input both at the computer and at the board.
Notre Dame High School | 220 Jefferson Street | Fairfield, Connecticut 06825 | 203.372.6521