What To Do In the Lab?
Word Works! As we are teaching our children to use the lab we often underestimate our little ones. Our youngest members of the elementary are very capable of using MSWord in the lab. They love to learn the menus. A good place to start is:
1. Begin a new page
2. Type their name
3. Import a picture….Yes that’s right. Place a picture in their folder before you go to the lab.
4. Write a sentence or two about the topic
5. Oops….don’t forget the date
6 Either print or save or both. At first printing is the best. Saving is another skill that will take a couple of lab periods.
Your kids will shine…..They will have a story to save…..They have something to show for their work.
Next time we will talk about journaling to the internet.
Happy Surfing….Mrs. Cutler
What Can Technology Do for You?
I think it is easy to live in our rural area and think of computers as a tool to communicate. We are all familiar with email, instant messaging and informational websites. Each day we may use our computer for this purpose and it has become a part of our lives. Recognizing what comes next is the hard part for all of us. Our students need to become good “users” of computers but they should also have opportunities to become “productive developers”. Point your child in the direction of web development. Ask them if there is something important that they could share on the web. Put them in the drivers seat. Could they offer some sort of service. Here is an example. If your child likes dogs and cats teach your child to share tips on how to care for a “lab”. Learn to develop spaces to share without using MySpace or a place that is independent of others. Be creative. Perhaps a daily “blog” for journaling would be appropriate. Most of all teach them how to share while remaining anonymous. Your child will learn problem solving skills and web development skills. It’s a win win for everyone! I am linking to a blog with a good discussion on Digital Citizenship. http://www.classroom20.com/group/office20con/forum/topic/show?id=649749%3ATopic%3A46892
Our Projectors Shipped!
Our projectors left California on September 1st. The tracking number is 648306178554012 in case you might like to go to the Fedex page and follow their progress! Jerry Locke stopped last week and examined the cables. He is finding conduit that will “look” good and do the job. We are again one step closer to a new kind of classroom. 
