Computers

  By Amy

   By Haley

  By Shania

Computers Grade 4, 5, 6

Students are learning a programming language  called “Scratch” created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology through a grant from the National Science Foundation.  The students choose characters called sprites, and select scripts to make their sprites do a variety of different things.   Students use their imaginations to make changes to scratch projects, as well as to explore and create their own projects.  Students learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.   Here is a link about how “Scratch” teaches 21^st Century Skills.

Scratch and 21st Century Learning Skills

As this is new to many of the students, and there are a wide range of abilities, students in each grade have different learning outcomes and objectives using Scratch.  Here is a link to the home page for scratch .   http://scratch.mit.edu/

We have also enjoyed using an Animated Educational site called Brainpop. FBCS has a 30 day free trial of Brainpop, and students have used it in a variety of subjects throughout the curriculum.   Brainpop offers videos featuring a character called “Moby” in a wide range of subjects, and provides quizzes, activities and games to reinforce what the student has learned.   If a student doesn’t fully understand a new concept the first time they are introduced to it, they simply re-watch the video, and re-take the quiz.   This makes learning individualized and allows students to be independent learners.   Or course they can still ask for help from a teacher!

Students are also making videos on the Cool Pix cameras, and learning how to download  and edit them on the computer.   We have watched several student- made videos on “School Tube” as well.   Students may enjoy doing this at home also. It has been a really busy time in the lab, but it is fabulous to see students take charge of their own learning, and going above and beyond the expected learning outcomes in many cases, and I am learning right along side of them.   Parents - try it yourselves, and check out some of these sites!

Media is a big, no scratch that… a HUGE part of our lives and it can seem overwhelming at times with DVD’s Cd’s, the Internet, online games, iPads, iPods, Kindles and of course the old fashioned television. Whilst it is important to grow up with knowledge of computers and all the new technology, it’s also important to have time away from it too and to limit our children’s time.

We teach Internet safety to Grades 2 and above but media nowadays is creeping in at an alarmingly young age. There are savvy 2 year olds on iPods and iPads and 3 year olds that know how to select a video on YouTube!

www.commonsensemedia.org is a site dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing trustworthy information and education, in order for kids to thrive in a world of media and technology.

The Family Media Agreement is a checklist you can use to guide conversations with your child about media use. It’s designed to help you establish guidelines and expectations around media use. You can use it as a checklist to guide conversations or as a signed agreement. Either way, it’s a great way to help you and your kids get on the same page about media and technology use.

click here for the agreement.

Hope this makes you chuckle -

Life before the computer

Memory was something you lost with age

An application was for employment

A program was a T.V. show

A keyboard was a piano

A web was a spiders house

A virus was the flu

A hard drive was a long trip on the road

A mouse was a small furry rodent and of course…

…a mouse pad was somewhere a mouse lived!

Students in grades 4-6 have started lessons in photography this quarter. We have been learning basic use of a camera, and have been taking photos using a variety of techniques. Students will finish up the Photography Unit later this month, and will submit a digital photography portfolio for assessment. Here is a list of objectives that we are covering in this unit.

Objectives:

• Students will demonstrate basic functions of a camera using Nikon Cool Pix Cameras – including: on, off, flash, close up setting, zoom, playback, delete, focus, install batteries, install memory cards, download photos, re-charge battery
• Students will demonstrate how to download photos, copy, and paste into files, and rename
• Students will demonstrate photo editing – rotating photos, adjusting lighting, tuning, and effects such as b/w, focal points, tinting etc, favorites, using Picasa 3
• Students will demonstrate various photo taking techniques such as framed windows, symmetry, close ups, and make a portfolio
• Students will creatively take photos of objects, and arrange them for interesting photographs
• Students will demonstrate their knowledge of photography vocabulary
• Students will evaluate photos to determine what makes a good photograph

Here are some samples so far! Enjoy!

Computer Classes Grade 4-6

Students in grades 4-6 have been focusing on two areas this term. The first area that we have focused on is typing skills. Typing (keyboarding) is an essential skill for students today! Our students have been working through a series of lessons using a program called “Mavis Beacon”. Several of our students are very close to finishing the advanced level! We have about three weeks for them to work towards completing their typing goals this term. Each grade level takes keyboarding skills every year!

The second area that we have focused on this term is digital photography. The objectives for this term were posted earlier. Students have been taking a variety of photos and will be gathering photos for their digital portfolio, which is due at the end of January. I have been very impressed with their creativity!

Next term students will look at internet safety; how to use digital photos for a variety of projects; and using the internet effectively to conduct research, evaluate information, and use the information in projects.

Our FBCS students love computers! It is a pleasure to teach to children who are so willing to learn and let’s face it, most children are facinated with our technology today. Having said that we need to know how to use a computer from a practical sense and also how to be safe when using it. Parents, click here for a great article on internet safety.

Kindergarten has come on in leaps and bounds recently. They are all confident turning on the computer, can all log on using thier username and password and can open and close programs and safely log off again. They are confident with mouse control and can double and single click with it, they also know how to use the scroll feature! We use a lot of educational based games to teach at this stage and are moving on to Microsoft Word to start to learn some keyboarding skills. All students know that an adult should be nearby and can ask if something unexpected occurs. This is a great skill to reinforce at home as well as no eating or drinking next to the computer. Also remember computer time counts as screen time and this should be limited at this age - here is a great article with some good advice.

Grade 1 are getting comfortable with Microsoft Word and can change font size and color. They can make capital letters and underline text too. Adding clip art and resizing it has been fun and we have been saving out work in our own folder. We continute to use educational games and are getting familar with where the keys are on our keyboard, so much that we are ready to start to learn our home keys and we use Tux Typing to play games to do this.

Grade 2are improving thier typing skills in PAWS TYPING and have been creating some fantastic work in Microsoft Word by underlining and aligning text and sentances. They can use bullet points and numbers and make it attractive with clipart. We have been continuing with Internet Safety and have been using Net Smartz Kids to learn all about how to stay safe, when to ask an adult and how to avoid spam mail too.

Grade 3have been producing some amazing work in Microsoft Word and have also learnt how to make a Power Point presentation. They excelled with this and presented their slideshow to the rest of the class. They have learnt to make bullet points, add pictures, sound clips, to make the transitions fun and to animate text too! We’ve also been adding to our online safety knowledge by learning all about the Wizziwigs on www.netsmartzkids.org

Yes it’s true - Coach Claire likes computers. Both myself and the students are having lots of fun!

Kindergarten have been learning about the parts of the computer and rules in the lab, as well as mouse control and we just started Microsoft Word! We are learning to log on and how to open programs. Here are the things we are working on -

Grade 1 are building on the foundation from last term and are able to log on and open a program, they have great mouse control and have been creating some great drawings in Tux Paint. They are learning to insert clip art into a word document and are getting better at finding the right keys when typing.

Grades 2&3 have been learning about internet safety and did an online quiz on the cbbc website.

They created their own internet safety word document and have been improving thier typing on Paws Network and online in Dance Mat Typing at bbc.co.uk/schools.

Here’s to more computer fun in term 2!

IT Update Grades 4-6

Likewise Coach Claire…. I am also enjoying the computer lab! It is peaceful and quiet, without the colorful sounds of band instruments, recorders, handbells, and a myriad of other musical activities! Mr. Brent has left a great legacy behind and big shoes to fill! We are so grateful for all that he has done for FBCS!

Here is what is lined up for grades 4-6!

Students in grades 4-6 will continue improving their keyboarding skills through a program called “Mavis Beacon”. This program is specific to each student and tracks their progress. Keyboarding is one element of the curriculum that is taught from grades 1-6.

Students will also learn new skills in Microsoft Office programs such as Powerpoint, Word, and Publisher. Improving their knowledge and skills will assist them in creating presentations and reports in other subjects.

We are excited that we have been able to purchase a set of Nikon Cool Pix cameras for the computer classroom, to enable students to learn about digital photography, photo editing, and inserting photos into presentations.

Internet safety and cyberbullying are also addressed in age-appropriate ways throughout the IT curriculum. Some useful websites are: NetSmartz.org, Bullying.co.uk.

I am looking forward to exploring IT with students this year!

Janet Durksen