6th Grade Update- November in Review

6th Graders have spent November learning how to create a Jeopardy game in Microsoft PowerPoint.  Unlike the traditional, linear PowerPoint slideshow presentation, the Jeopardy format uses internal links to create a non-linear presentation.  Students are currently creating a game about themselves to practice creating and using links within PowerPoint.  In December, they will create a Jeopardy game for history as a way to review material and study for their final unit test of 2012.

4th Grade Update- November in Review

4th Graders have spent the last month in technology class continuing their touch-typing practice.  By the first week in December, every 4th grader should have completed "Type to Learn 4" lessons 1-11.  More than half-way through the program!  They also learned to how insert tables into Microsoft Word to create their own logic problems.  

5th Grade Update- November in Review

5th graders have spent the month of November finishing their Explorers PowerPoint presentations.  They have also completed an Internet Safety unit using Common Sense Media’s new program called “digital passports.”  The program includes five lessons on the following topics: communication, privacy, cyberbullying, searching online, and giving creative credit.  Coming up in December- creating a Plimouth Plantation virtual field trip using photographs, GarageBand recordings, and iPods!

5th Grade Internet Safety- Search Shark

5th graders have now completed their 5th and final Internet Safety online lesson called "Search Shark" where students learned how to choose effective keywords for online searches.  Students practiced selecting relevant keywords after being given a search prompt, and through an online game and class discussion they learned how better to narrow their search results.  Please visit this page for related parent tips.

5th Grade Internet Safety- Privacy

Today during technology class all 5th grade students are discussing the Internet Safety topic of privacy. We are using Common Sense Media's "digital passport" program.  If you are interested in some parent tips, please visit this site.

5th Grade Update- October in Review

5th graders are in the process of finishing up their Explorers PowerPoint presentations, as their oral presentations start next week.  It has been quite a whirlwind of a project with the Plimoth Plantation field trip and the parent-teacher conference day both happening this past week and resulting in a couple of cancelled technology classes.  This class really picked up PowerPoint rather quickly, allowing us to spend three classes on Internet Safety before beginning work on the Explorers presentations.  I am very proud of how much work they got done in relatively few classes- good job, 5th graders!

4th Grade Update- October in Review

The focus of the last month or so has been word processing-  4th Graders have spent the last month working on their touch-typing skills and should now be working on lesson 10 in "Type to learn 4" due next week.  We are about half-way through our typing lessons!  They have also typed up their hopes and dreams and a list of five things I don't know about them in Microsoft Word.