Students receive concentrated days of keyboarding instruction
at the start of each school year. 5th graders come for the first
6 days of school, 4th graders come for 6 days and 3rd graders
come for 12 days. This gives each student intense time to learn
touch typing. It is then suggested that each homeroom schedules
a keyboarding session once a month to reinforce those skills.
The software, UltraKey, is loaded on all computer in the building.
Students are expected to do all their typing using proper fingering.
To become Master Typists they must pass all their
Skill Checks without looking at the keyboard. The students' "final
exam" is to simply type the alphabet correctly.
The 3rd grade utilizes the PC platform, both students and
teachers. They will utilize the PC lab at all times. There is a new program by
Scholastics called Keys which makes the Office suite a "kid friendly"
front for the students. They will use the MaxWrite (Word) piece to word process. 4th grade
will also be using the Keys software for word processing class assignments.
Students use the painting piece in the Keys
program
to illustrate their writing. They will then integrate a multimedia MaxShow (PowerPoint) project into another class assignment. Scavenger hunts are always a fun
web activities for the students that also integrates internet skills into the
classroom curriculum.
After completing their yearly unit on keyboarding, the fifth graders, begin to learn to apply computer painting as an enhancement to their word processing documents. The students also learn the fundamentals of databases, spreadsheets, and graphs using the Office Suite, and they then integrate these tools into class assignments. The fifth graders will complete a multimedia computer project using, Powerpoint software as part of their class's study of the Civil War. Research using the internet independently begins at this level but is still initially guided by teacher.
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Main Computer Lab - PC Lab: This lab is a brand new lab with 7 LAM Systems machine running in a 4x1 set up. This lab is the primary lab for 3rd and 4th grade students. The computers are all networked and students can access their work from the server. User names and passwords have been given out to all students. Software: Microsoft Office, UltraKey, Internet Explorer, Kid Pix 4, Inspiration 7.5, TimeLiner 5, Kidspiration 4.0, Scorewriter and Math Essentials I & II are loaded on all Lab and Classroom machines.
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Classroom computers: Each classroom has 4 computers. They may access work started in the lab back at their classroom stations. All teachers have Dell laptops and all have e-mail accounts. A TV is available in each classroom and their computer is connected to it for projection use. There are seminar spaces set up for large group instruction and a computer and projection unit available for a lesson in that space integrating technology.
Teacher Resources: Great Web Sites for Teachers
WebQuest workshop resources: Seal School
Rocks and Minerals Scavenger Hunt:
Ed 330 Susquehanna University
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Keyboarding Sites
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/
http://www.nimblefingers.com/index_1.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/18709/data/contents.html
http://www.davis.k12.ut.us/cjh/appliedtech/Business/Keyboarding/Index.html
Keep Practicing Over the Summer!!!
Questions or comments send e-mail to: omalleyl@seal-pa.org