January 5, 2010

Dru Urquhart, Director

Academy News

New AITR PowerPoint
Frequently Asked Questions
Academy Application

Academy Teachers will be available at the 8th Grade Orientation to answer questions:

Jan. 18th at 5:00 p.m. in Atrium - 8th Grade Orientation Night & Club Info

Next school year (2010-2011) the Academy of Information Technology and Robotics will be a totally integrated academy. Students will explore all subjects together in a “school within a school” setting utilizing a project-based curriculum. We will be teaching our students how to learn, how to think critically and how to solve problems. We will be allowing them to explore, create, apply what they have learned and invent. We will be learning with them, asking questions without straightforward answers; listening and doing. We will cross the barriers between subject areas showing students the relevance of what they are learning and how all subjects are inter-related.

In the New AITR:

• Students will use laptops throughout the day and at home.
• AITR teachers are part of a team that includes one teacher from each core and each non-core subject area.
• Each AITR team teacher is assigned 25 students. The teaching team has the same students all four years of high school.
• Teachers have learning labs: Science Labs, English Labs, Math Labs, Social Studies Labs, Technology Labs, etc. Labs are adjacent to each other in the same area of the school.
• Students complete an interdisciplinary team project every five weeks and present during week six.
• Students will be assigned online learning modules related to the project in each subject area to help acquire the necessary background knowledge to complete the project.
• Teachers will hold workshops and seminars in their subject areas relating to the current assigned projects.
• Projects are graded by each student’s team teachers using rubrics based on Sunshine State Standards for each subject area represented in the project. Grades are also distributed by subject area in the project.
• Students can arrange to meet in labs, common areas or outside of school to work as teams on the interdisciplinary projects.
• Teachers will act as mentors and facilitators for the projects, monitoring student progress and holding progress meetings with the student teams.
• Students will take common assessments twice a year to assess learning – FCAT or SAT style general knowledge exams. There will be remediation available to students who require it.
• Students will be involved in a year-long project or activity in their area of interest.
• Students will work towards Industry Certifications in one of three technology areas: Software, Hardware or Gaming/Simulation.
• Students will complete a business internship during their Junior or Senior year.

Robotics

Students will have the opportunity to join our Team Daytona Robotics team.   The team participates in two competitive leagues  FIRST FRC and FTC.  Students will work in the areas of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, programming, CAD, Web Design, graphics, animation and project management during the busy competition seasons.  FTC is the Junior Varsity team consisting off freshmen and sophomores and FRC is Varsity - juniors and seniors.  Students meeting participation standards for Varsity will receive a Varsity Letter in Robotics.

In order to be eligible for $19,000,000.00 in scholarships, Academy students are required to have accumulated 200 hours of service on the Robotics Team over the four-year Academy program.

Microsoft IT Academy Program

The AITR is a member of the Microsoft IT Academy program.  The Microsoft IT Academy program enables academic learning institutions to connect the world of education to the world of work by enabling faculty and students to acquire new technology skills in an academic setting. Microsoft IT Academies benefit from world-class Microsoft curriculum and cutting-edge software tools to experience real-world challenges in the classroom environment.