SmartLab

What is a SmartLab? A SmartLab is a fully integrated, customized facility where students explore many disciplines through applied technology and project-based learning. It is carefully designed and provisioned for each grade level, meeting the targeted needs of the campus. Applications in the lab serve to reinforce academics across many disciplines and to build next generation skills. St. Mark is the only Catholic school in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area with a SmartLab on its campus.

Students are able to experience firsthand a variety of disciplines including graphic design, robotics, Photoshop, biomedical applications, digital animation, scientific data analysis, software engineering, music studio applications, circuitry, mechanics and structures … the list goes on and on. They have the opportunity to rotate from project to project, and are encouraged to discover, explore, and apply a wide range of technologies to their project work. Further, an appropriate level of challenge is provided to each student, addressing all learning styles. From students who need extra support, to average learners, to students identified as gifted/talented, there is something to enable everyone to work at their own level and pace.

Everything from furniture and technology, to hardware/software and construction kits, to curriculum and assessment, works together to support hands-on, minds-on learning. Walk into the SmartLab and you’ll see students buzzing with energy and enthusiasm. Autonomy is encouraged, collaboration is the norm, and problems are celebrated as a path to mastery.

Imagine students constructing a large-scale mechanical Ferris wheel with K’NEX, or designing a home, or composing music, or creating a model dinosaur using computer software, or conducting scientific experiments using specialized probes … the sky is the limit!

Furthermore, as technology changes, so too does the software and technology offered in the SmartLab, insuring that lessons and equipment will change with the times and will never become stagnant.
       
The SmartLab not only serves to provide students with the most cutting edge, engaging and educational learning tools available, but also affirms St. Mark's place as a true leader in advanced education methods.

To get an idea of what a SmartLab looks like, please play the video below about Creative Learning Systems, the company that St. Mark worked with to create this unique learning environment. Everything you see in this video is included in the St. Mark lab including the computers, 3-D printer, over 300 project kits, and much, much more. CLS builds only five SmartLabs nationwide each year, and St. Mark was extremely privileged to be one of them in the 2017-18 school year.