Computer Whiz Winners-October

Every month Mr. Morton announces a "Computer Whiz" winner to a student in each 3rd, 4th and 5th grade class that is going above and beyond to showcase First Class Eason Behaviors in the computer lab, and throughout the school day, each and every day. Mr. Morton is just looking for someone that is showing Respect, Responsibility, Safety and Caring as a student, because they "want" to, not because they "have" to.

For the month of October the winners are:

3P- Morgan L.

3Sc- Charlie A.

3St- Nevaeh D.

3W- Gavin B.

4B- Ben J.

4H- Emilie B.

4N- Jack G.

4P- Hannah C.

5B- Kaelin C.

5C- Max B.

5H- Tyrese M.

5S- Kara S.

Pictures

Pictures are up on the Technology & Keyboarding web site showcasing 3rd & 4th grades, and Integrated Classrooms. Please check them out, as more pictures will be added throughout the school year.

K-2 Integration

New pictures of your student(s) integrating technology are located at:

http://www.waukee.k12.ia.us/easonelementary/computers/Integration%20Pictures/index.html

Please take a look throughout the year. Thanks.

4th grade Welcome to the Web

The 4th grade students just finished their first section within the Welcome to the Web, titled Getting Started Online. They learned about the back button, the keyboard short cut to go back to the previous page (delete or backspace button), what makes a hyperlink (underlined, pointer hand) and what the purpose of a hyperlink is (takes you to another web page), and what the E in e-mail stands for (electronic). Please ask your students about the information as it is important for them to know and understand. Next they will be learning more specifically about Staying Safe online.

3rd grade keyboarding

The 3rd grade students have mastered the use of the Home Row. They should know how to properly type the A, S, D, F, J, K, L, ;, return and space bar keys with all 10 fingers. Some students have even been introduced to the online typing games, which can be practiced anywhere they Internet is available. Soon the students will be taking their first Word Per Minute (WPM) typing test to see how words per minute they can type in 1 minute. They will compare this score with 3 other wpm tests throughout the school year, with their goals being to 1) equal or surpass their handwriting speed and 2) equal or surpass 5 wpm. Ask your students at the end of this week and next week what their wpm score was from their first wpm test.

4th Grade PreTests

The WCSD elementary technology teachers are experimenting with something new this year for the 4th grade students. We want to better understand if the students are fully comprehending information related to general Internet Safety that is practiced at school and at home, and information related to their Internet Unit titled Welcome to the Web that talks about the basics of the Internet and some Internet Safety.

To better find out if students are fully comprehending this information, the WCSD elementary technology teachers have developed a PreTest for both Internet Safety and for Welcome to the Web. I have begun administering these tests, which include 15 and 14 questions respectively, to the 4th grade students the past 2 cycles. The WCSD elementary technology teachers will then look over their data together to better understand what are focus should be on with the 4th grader students for the school year, with the task of administering the same 2 PreTests as PostTests when the students finish their Welcome to the Web unit, and finish learning all about Internet Safety.

It is our hopes for the students to gather, retain and use their knowledge with Internet Basics and Internet Safety to do better on the PostTest, but most importantly to apply this knowledge within the home setting.

5th Grade Countries

The 5th grade students are starting their, "Where Should I Go This Summer," project. They have been introduced to the project, have been shown examples of various parts of the project from last years student work, and have been grouped with their partner(s). Next time I see them they will be picking out their country that they want to research and learn more about, will be introduced to how we are going to start the project and then will start finding out different travelers information such as airfare, hotel, food, activities, etc. that they will import into a Microsoft Excel template. With the information they gather and technology skills they use, they should be able to help their parents plan a upcoming vacation getaway to another town, state or country within the near future.

There will be times that I ask the students to complete some work at home, so if an assignment is in their assignment book for Technology/Computer Lab please make sure the students stay on task to finish the assignment within the required time frame. Thanks.

Here is a Parent Letter explaining more about the country

and

Here are the Countries they get to choose from.

Computer Whiz Winners-September

Every month Mr. Morton announces a "Computer Whiz" winner to a student in each 3rd, 4th and 5th grade class that is going above and beyond to showcase First Class Eason Behaviors in the computer lab, and throughout the school day, each and every day. Mr. Morton is just looking for someone that is showing Respect, Responsibility, Safety and Caring as a student, because they "want" too, not because they "have" too.

For the month of September the winners are:

3P- Charlie S.

3Sc- Grace C.

3St- Nate D.

3W- Chloe W.

4B- Julia L.

4H- Jacob H.

4N- Felicity W.

4P- Nick M.

5B- Max T.

5C- Elizabeth S.

5H- Christian E.

5S- Gaby L.

Kdg.-2nd Grade

The Kindergarten, First and Second grade classes have readily been coming into the computer lab to integrate technology into their curriculum. So far they have learned about the computer and just basic terminology related to the computer. They also have explored a couple different web sites such as Starfall and BookFlix. Starfall is a great reading/writing web site that can be used on the Internet at home, at the library, at a friend's house or any place where the Internet can be accessed. BookFlix is a reading web site where some the books turn into movies for the students to watch and listen, and some of the books are electronic and the students can either read them online or they can have them read to them aloud. BookFlix is password protected so please contact your teacher, Mr. Morton or Mrs. Forret for the username and password to be able to use it at home.

Right now the students are using KidSpiration to create an "All About Me" activity that they will print and either bring home or put in their portfolio for you to look at. Thanks.

3rd grade keyboarding

The third grade students have been focusing their efforts after MAP testing on keyboarding. A majority of their curriculum is learning how to type properly, which allows these skills to be transferred to numerous activities in the future. So far the students have mastered the A, J, S, K, spacebar and return keys. They should be able to practice using these keys to type properly at home. Right now we really emphasize using the correct fingers as we know it is easy to use just a couple fingers on each hand since they have not been taught many keys yet. Really focus on them putting their hands on the home row and using the proper hand and fingers for the keys they have learned and will be learning. Thanks.