Happy New Year!

                     2013

 

First Grade
 

The Paint Program will continue through mid-January. The students have learned how to select and draw some of the different shapes in the Paint Program. They have also learned how to copy and paste some of the different shapes. They know how to change line thicknesses, find a new piece of paper, save their work, edit colors and use the text tool. They will be reviewing the tools this month and will end the Paint program by creating a winter wonderland scene with a snowman and text. They are encouraged to go home and practice what they have learned in their computer class.

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 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. They just completed the sticker book portion of the program and now they are ready to start 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 and they have to type three things 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.  I will discuss the overall view and how menus have been replaced with ribbons.  I will show the students where to find the Spelling and Grammar tool which is now under the Review tab on the ribbon. Those who have 2007, I will explain it is under “Tools” on the Menu Bar or the icon on the Standard Tool Bar. They will learn how to retrieve some documents from one drive and save it in another drive. The students will be able to know where to find Spelling and Grammar or Spell Check and how to use it when editing a document. The students will learn that spell check is not 100% accurate and that they have to reread documents to see what spell checked missed. They will learn how to insert clipart and manipulate it into their document sending it behind text and working with the wrap text tool.

Fifth Grade

The students will start 2013 with continued 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. All scores will be recorded for a grade.

 

i-Safe Bulletin Board outside 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 500 million registered users. There are approximately 7.5 million kids under 13 on Facebook. Facebook isn't supposed to be used by children under 13.

 

Common Sense Media

A great website to become familiar with is 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.

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 great week!