Saint Viator High School

This year, I transitioned into a new role as the Director of Instructional Technology at Saint Viator High School. While the title varies across the landscape ranging from Director of Technology and Instruction to my personal favorite, Director of Innovation, the necessity of the position remains constant. For the first time in the history of educational technology, the primary obstacles are no longer funding, hardware or space; rather, they are rooted in ethics and shifting paradigms. Technology is now ubiquitous; our responsibility is to determine exactly where it belongs in a student’s journey.

Understanding that these complex questions require a variety of perspectives, we established an Educational Technology Team. Composed of representative faculty from every department, this team set out to bridge the gap between tradition and transformation through three strategic goals:

1. Evidence-Based Inquiry: Gathering data from leading experts in the field.

2. Mission-Alignment: Drafting a technology philosophy grounded in Saint Viator’s values and vision.

3. Cultural Growth: Cultivating a faculty open to exploring resources that enhance, rather than replace, foundational teaching.

Evidence-Based Inquiry: Insights from the Field

To ensure our strategy was informed by the most current research, we leveraged our partnerships with educational leaders and vendors. This phase provided our team with a multifaceted look at the intersection of human intelligence and digital tools:

Visual Storytelling & Interpersonal Connection (Steve Douglass, Lake Forest HS): A spotlight on using technology to capture community narratives, requiring students to balance high-tech editing skills with high-touch interpersonal interviewing.

Bridging the Gap Between Academia and Industry (Dr. Sabb Quidwai, USC): A critical look at the contrast between how schools view AI and how the workforce utilizes it, emphasizing the need to prepare students for an AI-integrated economy.

Professional Narrative & Presentation (Matt Fuller, Asst. Superintendent of Technology): An exploration of how purposeful visual structure—specifically through tools like Keynote—allows students to present their work with professional-grade engagement.

The Science of Learning (Learning & the Brain Conference): A rigorous dive into neuroplasticity and cognitive health. Perspectives from experts like neuroscientist David Eagleman and psychologist Jean Twenge provided a sobering but essential look at "cognitive crises" and best practices for protecting the developing adolescent brain.

A Philosophy Grounded in Mission and Vision

After months of synthesis and spirited debate, the Ed Tech Team translated these insights into a unified vision. We recognized that technology must serve the student, not the other way around. Our resulting philosophy captures the path we intend to navigate:

At Saint Viator, technology is a purposeful catalyst for academic excellence and deeper inquiry, integrated only when it enhances analog learning or is essential to the educational intent and Viatorian mission. Technology must amplify learning and never replace the sanctity of deep, focused thought. We integrate technology with clear pedagogical intent; it must make the learning deeper, more creative or more collaborative.

Our goal is to produce intellectually formidable graduates prepared for collegiate success with a foundation in:

1. Critical Thinking: Leveraging technology, including AI, to foster creativity, critical thought and deep inquiry.

2. Collaboration: Utilizing digital resources to unify humancentered design and collaboration.

3. Digital Agency: Empowering students as ethical users to navigate the modern world with confidence and virtue.

Cultivating a Culture of Enhanced Foundational Teaching

The final pillar of our work focuses on the various areas where we plan to extend the philosophy to build a culture that is both progressive in its resources but conservative by staying grounded in best professional practices and current research. Our tasks our outlined as such:

• Formulating an Acceptable Use Policy: Developing a comprehensive framework for artificial intelligence usage that strictly aligns with the institution's pedagogical philosophy.

• Facilitating Targeted Professional Development: Providing specialized training for educators focused on the design, refinement and implementation of AI-resistant assessment prompts.

• Implementing Scenario-Based Faculty Training: Establishing protocols and situational training for teachers to effectively navigate and adjudicate suspected violations of the AI acceptable use agreement.

• Integrating Instructional Modalities: Delivering professional development centered on evidence-based best practices for seamlessly synthesizing analog and digital student workflows.

• Fostering Collaborative Knowledge Dissemination: Cultivating opportunities for staff to attend external seminars and conferences to advance institutional digital literacy and share refined professional practices with the broader faculty.