four students working on their laptops in the Duncan Center

Technology ResourcesFrom state-of-the-art Impact Studios to an on-site Apple repair office, Kent Denver has a team of technology experts ready to assist our Sun Devils with any technology needs.

two students working on their laptops in class

Student Laptop Program

Having access to a computer has become essential to students at every grade level. In the classroom, Kent Denver teachers leverage computer-based activities to enhance the overall learning experience. Outside of class, students are able to access the internet via our secure, filtered and monitored Wi-Fi network to continue relevant educational pursuits.

Additionally, Kent Denver uses an intuitive online learning management system called Canvas that allows teachers to post course descriptions, homework assignments and other relevant information online. This system empowers students to ask questions after school, upload homework quickly, easily—and always on time.

All Kent Denver students are required to bring an Apple laptop to school each day, and we are pleased to offer a student laptop purchase program that allows families to purchase a computer that meets their academic needs at a competitive price.

Kent Denver's Laptop Program

Technology Spaces

Kent Denver's Innovation, Information and Technology groups (IIT) manage the school's two libraries, two impact studios, robotics laboratory, student-run cafe and authorized, on-site Apple repair office. Explore each of these spaces below.

birds eye view of students working in the duncan center — Duncan Center
Located in the Upper School, the Duncan Center is a true 21st century academic facility with spacious classrooms, collaboration studios and a global teleconferencing center.

four students working on laptops inside Centennial Center — Centennial Center
The learning hub for Kent Denver’s Middle School, the Centennial Center features collaboration studios, work stations, reading nooks and more than 1,000 books. There's also an Information and Innovation Team technology support desk.

Students working in the upper school impact studio — Upper School Impact Studio
Kent Denver's Impact Studios are amazing innovation spaces that provide everything students need to design, build and create! Dedicated educators help students explore possibilities in design, sustainability and entrepreneurship with high-tech equipment, including a CNC machine, metal lathe, 3-D printers, digital laser cutters, Virtual Reality equipment and numerous digital and analog tools to design and build almost anything!

student working with teacher in middle school impact studio — Middle School Impact Studio
Housed inside our Visual Art Center, the Middle School Impact Studio gives students the tools and guidance to start making something! Dedicated faculty teach students to use a variety of tools—all with the middle school student in mind—including 3-D printers, smaller versions of a CNC machine, Laser Cutter and Engraver, and numerous woodworking tools.

Students practice with their robots in the robotics lab — Robotics Lab
Through our award-winning Robotics Signature Program, students work together to design, build and program complex robots for competitions inside our state-of-the art robotics lab.

student ringing up a fellow student at bogue cafe — Bogue Cafe
Inside Bogue Commons, students can purchase snacks and drinks from the student-run Bogue Cafe.

Technology Use Resources for Parents & Guardians

Technology is a wonderful tool—however its effects are significant. Technology use forms many of our subconscious daily routines and often removes our decision making control.

Adolescents form technology use habits as they also explore their identity, desiring independence and pushing boundaries. Social media takes this experimentation and creates a public, permanent, searchable archive that can be accessed with the push of a button. Yet this public sandbox is attractive to adolescents in ways we do not always understand.

Fortunately, there are steadily improving resources to help families, educators and adolescents be more intentional about their technology and media use. Common Sense Media is one such nonprofit committed to providing resources. Their mission is to “help kids thrive in a world of media and technology.”

Kent Denver has curated some of Common Sense Media’s best resources and contextualized them for our setting. These resources are divided into four categories: understanding the technology, developing family agreements, having ongoing conversations and asking questions.

Understand the Technology

Adolescents want to dialogue about technology and media use with those who understand it. When adults do not, adolescents can dismiss them with a “you just do not get it” tone.

For adults, it is hard to stay up with the changing landscape. Researching last week’s popular game now seems irrelevant given this week’s top hit.

Common Sense Media offers a searchable database with overviews, ratings, reviews, concerns and conversation starters for all types of media, including more than 2,500 current video games, apps and websites. Many of the reviews have a “Families can talk about...” section with some conversation starters around the media. Search the entire Common Sense Media Database.

Develop Family Agreements

Having clear conversations with your child around technology and media boundaries is critical. Adolescents, no matter how much they complain, consistently report that they rely on family boundaries to help them when confronted with challenging situations around technology and media. Common Sense Media offers two tools to help with this:

Family Media Agreement

There is an age-appropriate version for elementary, middle and high school students. The Family Media Agreement centers around the big ideas of technology and media use, including staying safe, thinking first and staying balanced.

Have Ongoing Conversations

Ultimately, the best way to help your child navigate technology and media use is through ongoing conversations. This means creating space to discuss your child’s questions and experiences around technology and media use.

Consider using the following prompts from Common Sense Media around various topics to nurture age appropriate conversations about technology and media use at home.

Also, the following "tip sheets" are helpful for specific topics:

Ask Questions

Certainly as families have conversations more questions will surface. Common Sense Media has a Parent Concerns area of their website designed to assist with this. This area provides age-appropriate guidelines, as well as videos and articles to help guide further conversations.

As other questions arise, consider exploring the full database of Common Sense Media’s Parent Concerns or contacting Kent Denver’s Innovation, Information, and Technology Team.