Thursday, February 21, 2013

Computer Class Update: Week 18

Here is what we have been up to and what we are working on this week....

First Grade
Project #5: ABC Book
The first graders finished creating an ABC book for their class. Each child was responsible for three or four letters of the alphabet. They went to an online photographic dictionary (http://photographicdictionary.com/) to find pictures that started with their letters. They then copied and pasted them into a MS Word document that they printed up. Last week we created covers using Tux Paint for our ABC books. This week we created covers for the book and took a short 5 question quiz on where we would find certain pictures in an ABC dictionary.

Online Practice: www.scootpad.com
When students finish their assignments, I continue to have them work on scootpad.com to practice their reading and math skills. This is a great website you are welcome to work on at home as well.

Second Grade
Project #6: Photostory about our Class
The second graders have been working on putting together a Photostory about a day in the life of a second grader at St. Michael's. The students arranged the photos they took in class in the order of their choosing. Then they added captions to each picture. The final step in the project was to add background music. This week we watched the videos in class.  The students really enjoyed seeing each other's creations.  I posted the videos on the blog http://mrswinstanley.blogspot.com, so feel free to check them out!

Third Grade
Project #4: All About Me
The 3rd grade students have been learning how to access their Google Docs accounts. This is an online office-like suite of tools that the students can use anywhere they have an internet connection. They are learning how to share their documents with the teachers and peers. The students have been using the word processing component of the suite to type up All About Me paragraphs.This week we practiced using the commenting feature of the product to do peer editing. We talked about how to give constructive criticism and what comments would be respectful vs. disrespectful.  Thank you for sending back in the Google Contract.  I sent home another copy with any students who have not yet turned it in.

Fourth Grade
Project #4: Class News
The fourth grade students are working on a project of creating a class newspaper/newsletter about what is happening in fourth grade at St. Michael's. Each child chose an area they wished to write about including everything from what they are learning in their various subjects to special, recess and lunch. The 4th grade students have also been learning how to access their Google Docs accounts. This is an online office-like suite of tools that the students can use anywhere they have an internet connection. They are learning how to share their documents with the teachers and peers. This week we practiced using the commenting feature of the product to do peer editing on our newspaper articles.  I will be combining everyone's articles into one newsletter and we will be working on formatting the newsletter together next week. Thank you for sending back in the Google Contract.  I sent home another copy with any students who have not yet turned it in.

Fifth Grade
Project #4: Our Digital Footprint
The fifth graders are working on a project to explore the idea of our Digital Footprint. We are focusing on what information is okay to share online and what should be kept private. Students are learning that once they post something on the Internet it is practically permanent so they need to be very careful and deliberate about what they want to say. How they portray themselves online will be their digital legacy that will follow them through life. We have been doing some of the activities from the Common Sense Media lesson "Follow the Digital Trail" (http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/lesson/follow-digital-trail-2-3). The 5th grade students have also been learning how to access their Google Docs accounts. This is an online office-like suite of tools that the students can use anywhere they have an internet connection. They are learning how to share their documents with the teachers and peers. This week we took what we learned about Digital Footprints to create a Google Presentation with a partner to illustrate the difference between a large and a small digital footprint.  The students learned about the chat feature, commenting, and how to work simultaneously on a document.  Next week we will finish our presentations and discuss how to use the commenting and chat feature in an academic way and foster constructive criticism.  We will also discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of working together on a document. Thank you for sending back in the Google Contract.  I sent home another copy with any students who have not yet turned it in.

Typing: Second - Fifth Grade
We have also been working on our typing skills. I am stressing to the students the importance of using the correct fingers while typing. This has been a bit of a challenge for some of the students. Please check out the Typing Practice tab for online resources your child can use to practice their typing at home as well.

If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Have a great weekend!