FEBRUARY

First Grade Students

The students have just completed working in the Paint Program. They learned how to select and draw some of the different shapes in the program.  They learned how to use copy, paste, change line thicknesses, find a new piece of paper, save their work, edit colors, and use the text tool.  The next nine weeks they will be introduced to the Stickybear Typing Program and they will learn about the keyboard, correct hand position, and how the typing program works.  The Stickybear Typing program allows users to improve typing skills and achieve keyboard mastery.  Stickybear Keypress, a program within Stickybear Typing, allows typing practice from the simplest drills in home key position to complex exercises that require the full keyboard.  A good typing program provides immediate feedback for incorrect keypresses and allows a student to progress automatically through levels as each is mastered.  Each of the program's 30 levels introduces the student to the keys covered in the lesson, and then offers practice using them.  The lower half of the screen displays the keyboard; as keys are highlighted one at a time, the student must press the corresponding key on the computer's keyboard.  A correct keypress prints the letter at the top of the screen.  Incorrect keypresses make a low "bloop" sound, and the letter doesn't appear.  At the end of each two screens of typing practice, the student gets a progress report which shows the starting level; current level, number of words typed per minute, and number of errors.  I encourage the students to practice keyboarding at home.   There are several free online keyboarding programs available.

Second Grade

The students have been working in the Kid Works Program.  They know the components of the writing portion of the program and know to how to access the Edit Menu and use the copy and paste buttons. They know where the Home, End, and Arrow Keys are on the keyboard.  Students have just started their Grade School Memories Journal.  The journal will consist of three typed sentences and a drawing to go along with the sentences.  The sentences are created by the students.  They have to type about three current events that happened each month at school and a drawing to go along with the sentences using both drawing and sticker book tools. The journals will be printed in booklet form and they will take them home at the end of the school year.

Third Grade

The next several months the students will be working in Microsoft Word 2010.  The students know where to find the Spelling and Grammar tool which is now under the Review tab on the ribbon and how to use it when editing a document. The students will learn how to retrieve some documents from one drive and save them in another drive.  They will learn how to change font, font size, bold, and center.  They have been working with inserting clipart and manipulating it into their document by making choices of sending it behind or in front of text using the wrap text tool.  Using the tools in Word, the students will be working independently on assigned sentences for the next nine weeks.  These assignments will be completed in class. 

Fourth and Fifth Grade Students

The students will continue practice in Ultra Key Typing.  Ultra Key builds good typing skills, speed, and accuracy through structured lessons. The students will learn about record keeping and will be recording their typing scores. I also have a free typing program listed on my blog that students can use at home for extra practice.

Fifth Grade

There are many tools in Microsoft Word.  The students will be introduced to more of these tools and they will be working on several different assignments during the next nine weeks to better prepare them for their state project.  The students will be given a list of mixed up sentences.  They will learn how to put theses sentences in numerical order by the clicking and dragging method or cut, copy, and paste. They will learn how to insert and type within a header.  They will review the process for spelling and grammar check and inserting a clipart image, resizing, color correction and working with the different choices of color tone.  By learning how to use the various tools in word processing, these skills will enable the students to be able to use the computer more efficiently in doing their assignments and various projects throughout their classroom curriculum.

February – Focus Strand - SLE – Global ambassador who is a peacemaker.

Common Sense Media Bulletin Board

outside the Computer Lab

Please take a minute and read what is going on in Cyberspace. There are so many things changing on a daily basis. Please talk to your children about Facebook. There are 1.71 billion monthly active users on Facebook. There are approximately 7.5 million kids under the age of 13 on Facebook. Facebook isn't supposed to be used by children under 13. 

A great website - commonsensemedia.org

“Their mission is dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology.” Please take a minute to look at their site and sign –up for their weekly communication.

Why Do We Need A Technology Lab?

1. A technology teacher provides a structured curriculum with complete and specific instructions in computer skills that are taught in a lab environment. This enables the students to become more confident in their technology skills and it improves technology use in the classroom. It validates the importance of the subject being taught.
2. In a lab, students have the opportunity for hands on experience to learn about new applications and review past lessons. This is a great advantage to students so they can become more confident in their technology skills.
3. Technology labs free classroom teachers so they can focus on their goals and not loose valuable instruction time teaching computer skills.
4. Structure, consistency, and repetition build skills each year whether it is a new application, documents, presentations, or understanding and increasing their time and accuracy in mastering keyboarding.
5. The importance of the technology lab offers student support, skills, and the knowledge they need to use these skills beyond the classroom.

Have a Lovely Month!!!