The students continue to work in JumpStart First
Grade. The program combines reading,
math, language, science, art and music for age appropriate curriculum. Each learning station has different skill
levels to meet each student’s learning abilities. The student’s will be given an assessment
test. This will determine their skill level for the program. Using this program helps them develop
confidence with mouse manipulation, keyboarding and classroom curriculum. This
program will be concluded at the end of the month.
Second Grade
The students are working very hard on their Second Grade
Memories Journal 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. 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 events that happened each month at school and a drawing to
go along with the sentences using both drawing and sticker book tools. Along
with the all the manipulation of the tools in the program, they are also
working to improve their typing skills. The journals will be printed in booklet
form and they will take them home at the end of the school year.
Third Grade
The students continue to learn more about the tools
in Microsoft Word. The 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. They know how to retrieve some documents from one drive and save them
in another drive. Students know how to change font, font size, font color, 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. They have worked with the rotate button with their clipart
and color choosing washout backgrounds sent behind text. The students will be
tested for the next several weeks on the tools they have been introduced to in
Word by working independently on assigned weekly sentences and clipart. These assignments
will be done in class and graded.
Fifth Grade
There are many tools to learn in Microsoft Word. Students
just completed and learned how to create a table, set margins, move and type
within a cell, choose effects, fonts and insert clipart. The students are now
working on several assignments learning how to put sentences in numerical order
by clicking and dragging or cut and paste. They have been working with spell check
on the Review Tab and learned how to insert and type within a header. 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.
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.
Another great month of learning new computer skills!
