twit+2013-2014

__TWiT: This Week in TechClass__

Welcome to the TWiTpage. This webpage is updated daily. media type="custom" key="25266298" width="90" height="90" align="right"Feel free to email Mr. Bentley with questions and comments at bentleye@goperry.org.

Students have TechClass every third school day. For this reason, the following agendas do not always begin on Mondays.)


 * Student Surveys:**

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= Notes for Guest Teachers =

During this and the following weeks of TechClass... >>>
 * Monday, March 10, 2014 **
 * **Third & Fourth Grade:**
 * Students are using Sketchup, a computer-aided design program, to create objects with realistic measurements and accurate proportions. As students did not have enough personal connections with the previous project, we are changing our project. Students are to create a house with the following attributes, using this tutorial and our classmates as learning resources.
 * Rooms are to be in dimensions in multiples of 10.
 * A single car garage needs to be 20’ by 20’.
 * Doors are to be 7’ tall by 3’ wide.
 * Doorknobs are to be circles with a 2” diameter.
 * A floor/story needs to be 10’ tall, not including the roof.
 * Steps are to be 6” tall and 1’ deep.
 * Chimneys are to be vertical and realistic in height, width and depth.
 * Windows are to be a reasonable height from the floor so that a person can look out that window without having to bend over or climb up a ladder.
 * **Second Grade:**
 * In recent weeks, students have learned to take screen shots of locations on Earth (using Google Earth). They have used MS Paint to crop their images. They then saved them in the "earth" folder (which they created) in their "My Documents" folder.
 * Their next challenge is to create an online slideshow using PhotoPeach.com.
 * ** First Grade: **
 * Students are exploring new educational websites such as...
 * http://www.shelsilverstein.com/fun/games/
 * NETS Websites
 * http://www.brainpopjr.com/
 * ** Kindergarten: **
 * Students continue to practice using the mouse correctly and navigate between windows and tabs. Students do this through choice time. Specifically, they can choose any of the following websites to explore: abcya.com, pbskids.org, Starfall , Fraboom.com, TVOkids.com and Bees and Honey and Oochy and Oochina.

During this and the following weeks of TechClass...
 * Tuesday, February 25, 2014 **
 * **Third & Fourth Grade:**
 * With the help of this new tutorial Students will draw a rectangular prism (3D box) with exact measurements in Sketchup (a computer-aided design program created by MIT for kids). Here is where one can download this free program.
 * After students have created a rectangular solid with given measurements, students will put this skill to use by constructing a retaining wall / observation bridge with the assistance of these online tutorials:
 * How to use the Add Location Tool in Google Sketchup
 * How to create a retaining wall / observation bridge on Mt. St. Helens
 * **Second Grade:**
 * In recent weeks, students have learned to take screen shots of locations on Earth (using Google Earth). They have used MS Paint to crop their images. They then saved them in the "earth" folder (which they created) in their "My Documents" folder.
 * Their next challenge is to create an online slideshow using PhotoPeach.com.
 * **First Grade:**
 * Students are exploring new educational websites such as...
 * http://www.shelsilverstein.com/fun/games/
 * NETS Websites
 * http://www.brainpopjr.com/
 * **Kindergarten:**
 * Students continue to practice using the mouse correctly and navigate between windows and tabs. Students do this through choice time. Specifically, they can choose any of the following websites to explore: abcya.com, pbskids.org, Starfall , Fraboom.com, TVOkids.com and Bees and Honey and Oochy and Oochina.
 * . Students also explored

During this and the following weeks of TechClass...
 * Tuesday, February 11, 2014 **
 * **Third & Fourth Grade:**
 * With the help of this tutorial, Students will draw 2D and 3D shapes with exact measurements in SketchUp . a computer-aided design program created by MIT for kids. Here is where one can download this free program.
 * After students create a rectangular solid with given measurements, Students will continue working on their house project.
 * They are using the following tutorials to assist them.
 * house with a chimney.
 * steps, a door and windows
 * decorate the house
 * take screenshots
 * **Second Grade:**
 * Students will continue to work toward the creation of a collection of screenshots to be taken from Google Earth. These screenshots will show where they live in the world. They will use the computer's clipboard, the alt, control and print screen keys.Students will create a new folder. They will use Paint to crop and save their screenshots in this folder.
 * **First Grade:**
 * Students will learn how to maximize, minimize, resize and move windows. This allows students to do what most computer users do: multitask! We will use this tutorial created by Mr. Bentley.
 * **Kindergarten:**
 * Students are to practice using the mouse correctly and navigating between windows and tabs. Students do this through choice time. Specifically, they can choose any of the following websites to explore: abcya.com, pbskids.org, Starfall , Fraboom.com, TVOkids.com and Bees and Honey.

During this and the following weeks of TechClass...
 * Thursday, January 30, 2014 **
 * **Third & Fourth Grade:**
 * Students will explore the new version of Sketchup, a computer-aided design program created by MIT for kids. Here is a promotional video provided by SketchUp. Here is where one can download this free program.
 * We will create a house with a chimney. We will add steps, a door and windows. We will then decorate the house. Then we will take screenshots of the houses to share with others.
 * **Second Grade:**
 * Students will create a collection of screenshots from Google Earth to show where they live in the world. They will use the computer's clipboard, the alt, control and print screen keys.Students will create a new folder. They will use Paint to crop and save their screenshots in this folder.
 * ** First Grade: **
 * Students will learn how to maximize, minimize, resize and move windows. This allows students to do what most computer users do: multitask! We will use this tutorial created by Mr. Bentley.
 * **Kindergarten:**
 * Students w ill continue to use Mousercise, a website that takes the student on a tour of all the ways a mouse can be used. During this time, Mr. Bentley will be teaching proper hand placement.
 * Students are to practice using the mouse correctly and navigating between windows and tabs. Students do this through choice time. Specifically, they can choose any of the following websites to explore: abcya.com, pbskids.org, Starfall , Fraboom.com, TVOkids.com and Bees and Honey.

During this and the following weeks of TechClass...
 * Wednesday, January 22, 2014 **
 * **Third & Fourth Grade:**
 * Students are back to typing at TypingWeb, an online typing program. They will be sharing their progress with Mr. Bentley. Also, 4th graders will be using Type Toss, a typing game that uses full (easy) words using all three rows of letters on the keyboard. The score from this "game" is recorded and compared to students' future scores to show growth in fluency and speed. Students are motivated by competition, and what better opponent that their former self!
 * **Second Grade:**
 * Students will continue to explore our world by using the program Google Earth. They continue to learn about and use various tools and options in this program. We read together the book, //How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World// and followed the character's journey as she collected ingredients. In the process, we identified and located the continents and oceans. [[image:thetreehouse/mousing around.png align="right" link="@http://pbclibrary.org/mousing/mousercise.htm"]]
 * **Kindergarten & First Grade:**
 * Students will use Mousercise, a website that takes the student on a tour of all the ways a mouse can be used. During this time, Mr. Bentley will be teaching proper hand placement.

During this and the following weeks of TechClass...
 * Monday, January 13, 2014: **
 * **Third & Fourth Grade: **
 * Due to an internet outage, our 3rd and 4th grade students took a short break from typing to learn about the toolbar in the program Microsoft Paint and then created a character using those tools.
 * **Second Grade: **
 * Our 2nd grade students continued to explore our world by using the program Google Earth. They continue to learn about and use various tools and options in this program.
 * **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Kindergarten & First Grade: **
 * Our youngest students continue to play a variety of educational online games. As they do, they are learning how to use the mouse correctly and move about the Windows environment.

During this and the following weeks of TechClass... Our <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5;">youngest tech students will be using Starfall to further their learning of language. Specifically, students will focus on each letter of the alphabet learning to recognize upper and lower case, the sound of the letter and words that begin with the letter. Students will also recognize word families (ex.: rat, bat, cat) and vowel digraphs where two adjacent vowels create one s ** First Grade & Kindergarten: **
 * Thursday, December 12, 2013: **
 * **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">Third & Fourth Grade: **
 * Our 3rd and 4th grade students have been mastering their skill at typing; first the home row, then the top and bottom rows. Although we have taken practice tests on the home row, this week we will be taking Our Very [[image:thetreehouse/Type Toss inside easy words.png width="299" height="146" align="right" link="@http://www.atypingtest.com/homerowkeys/typing-test-home-row-keys.html"]]First Homerow Typing Test. As you might expect, students are developing their typing skills at different rates. Students who have completed the Home Row, Top Row and Bottom Row courses at TypingWeb.com will be tested with Type Toss, a typing game that uses full (easy) words using all three rows of letters on the keyboard. The score from this "game" is recorded and compared to students' future scores to show growth. Students are motivated by competition, and what better opponent that their former self!
 * **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.09090805053711px;">[[image:apple pie book cover.jpg width="134" height="172" align="left"]]Second Grade: **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.09090805053711px;">Our 2nd grade students will be exploring our world with Google Earth. We will begin by learning to use the various ways to navigate our world (pan, rotate and zoom).
 * **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">[[image:thetreehouse/starfall screenshot.png width="222" height="93" align="right" link="@http://www.starfall.com/"]]Kindergarten and First Grade: **

During this and the following weeks of TechClass... > <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Students have been using TypingWeb, an online typing pr <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">ogram to learn to type. Each student has their own login/password so as to track their progress. In class, students have had several weeks engaged in learning activities to learn the home row of the keyboard. We are now assessing their progress using online home row typing tests. As students progress, we are continuing our typing program to include the top and bottom rows > of the keyboard.
 * Friday, November 15, 2013: **
 * **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Third & Fourth Grade: **

> <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Students are exploring a variety of multifaceted > websites to find learning activities that are both fun and educational. Among the websites are pbskids.org and fraboom.com, an educational online museum that provides an array of exhibits, interactive books and even live interactive classes. > > **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> First grade and Kindergarten: ** > <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> TVOkids.com is a wonderful online resource that meets the needs and interests of our youngest students. While exploring and enjoying this website, students are learning to “mouse” over objects, click on moving objects, and click and drag objects. Kindergarten students started out with Bees and Honey.
 * **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Second Grade: **

During this and the following weeks of TechClass...
 * Wednesday, October 2, 2013: **
 * **Third & Fourth Grade:**
 * Students will log in using their own individual student network login/password.
 * Students who had not done so, will complete the Mousercise! test.
 * Mr. Bentley will ensure that all student earbuds/headphones have labels with the student's first and last name.
 * Students will be shown the 4 Window Challenge tutorial and given time to do it. During this challenge, students open four windows and move/resize them so all can be seen at once on the desktop.
 * Students will be introduced to TypingWeb, an online typing program. Each student has their own login/password so as to track their progress. Students can and are encouraged to log on outside of school to improve their typing skills.
 * To support students in their learning, students are encouraged to use this online homerow typing practice.
 * To ensure students are making proper progress, we may the homerow test from ATypingTest.com.
 * Students will learn create and access bookmarks to find a "favorite" webpage.
 * **Second Grade:**
 * Students will log in using their own individual student network login/password.
 * Students who had not done so, will complete the Mousercise! test.
 * Mr. Bentley will ensure that all student earbuds/headphones have labels with the student's first and last name.
 * Students will be shown the 4 Window Challenge tutorial and given time to do it. During this challenge, students open four windows and move/resize them so all can be seen at once on the desktop.
 * Students will learn to use the "bookmarks" to find a "favorite" webpage. Students will create and delete bookmarks. Students will show/hide the bookmarks bar.
 * Students will learn to close a tab in a web browser.
 * Students who finished early and were unneeded by others were given choice-time on abcya.com.
 * Students learned to log out of the network.
 * **First Grade:**
 * Students will work together to get every student ready for class in under 10 minutes.
 * Students will log in using our class network login: pek2class
 * Students will navigate to our class webpage: www.thetreehouseclassroom.com
 * Students will take the Mousercise! test.
 * Students will be given choices on abcya.com so as to continue to learn how to properly use the mouse and effectively move about the website.
 * Students will learn to use the "bookmarks" to find a "favorite" webpage. Students will create and delete bookmarks. Students will show/hide the bookmarks bar.
 * Students will learn to close a tab in a web browser.
 * Students will NOT log out so Kindergarten students, who arrive after them, can immediately access the network. Once Kindergarten students are able to login, first grade students will learn to log out of the network.
 * **Kindergarten** :
 * Students will navigate from this webpage to abcya.com, will select the K for Kindergarten, then choose from four choices toward the top of the page. Students will then be given choices on abcya.com so as to continue to learn how to properly use the mouse and effectively move about the website.
 * Students will learn to open an internet browser through a shortcut on the desktop and through an icon on the quick launch bar.
 * Students will learn access the bookmarks to find a "favorite" webpage.
 * The computers were left logged on by the first graders for our kindergarten students. Students learned to log out of the network using the keystroke: CTRL+ALT+Delete, which is quite complex for Kindergarten students.

During this and the following weeks of TechClass...
 * »Thursday, September 19, 2013: **
 * **All:** Students will pause on our hero unit to first learn needed computer skills. We will use many of the activities at abcya.com to meet the following learning goals.
 * **All:** During this class, we will continue to learn how to:
 * Begin-of-class procedure. Students are to find their seat, adjust chair, login and navigate to the TWiTpage. A seating assignment map will be created. Our goal: Ready for class in under 3 minutes.
 * Login to our school's network using either individual student accounts (upper el) or class accounts (lower el).
 * Manage headphones / earbuds.
 * Click, double-click, click-n-drag, right-click and scroll using a mouse.
 * Mouse Tutorial
 * Mousercise!
 * Mousercise Games
 * Kindergarten: Abcya's Alphabet Bingo
 * Problem solve involving a computer that is not doing what you want it to do.
 * Save a file (name, type and location) to our school network (upper el).
 * Identify and use hyperlinks.
 * Decide when to use the restroom (For Kdg: As soon as they THINK they might have to! :-)
 * End-of-class procedure. Students save work, close all programs, log off, push in chairs and safely line up.

During this and the following weeks of TechClass...
 * Monday, September 16, 2013: **
 * ** All: **
 * Students will continue to learn/practice class procedures and routines. Students are reminded that they need headphones for TechClass.
 * **Third & Fourth Grade**:
 * Students will pause on our hero unit to take an elementary technology vocabulary test. While others took the test, students explored the typing tutor activities at abcya.com.
 * ** Second Grade: **
 * Students will pause on our hero unit to first learn needed computer skills. Students practiced using the mouse and keyboard while using the Paint program at abcya.com. Students who were up to the challenge attempted to save their work on the network drive.
 * ** First Grade: **
 * Students will pause on our hero unit to first learn needed computer skills. Students focused on mouse skills and learning the windows environment. They used the Paint program at abcya.com.
 * ** Kindergarten ** :
 * Students will pause on our hero unit to first learn needed computer skills. Students focused on mouse skills, headphone, chair and restroom use and other class procedures and routines. Students used the Paint program at abcya.com.

During this and the following weeks of TechClass...
 * Wednesday, September 11, 2013: **
 * **All:**
 * Students will continue to learn/practice class procedures and routines. Students are reminded that they need headphones for TechClass.
 * Students were told about September 11th being Patriot's Day aka Day of Service and Remembrance. The "telling" varied dependent on grade level. All classes focused on making the day a day that we do good deeds for others. Resources from 911Day.org were used for grades 2-4, again dependent on grade level. Lower el students learned to use the Paint program so as to later make a picture for a hero. Upper el students spent more time on the hero concept and used a polling website to collect good deed ideas.
 * For more details, see "Week beginning Friday, September 6, 2013" for more details and links (immediately below).

During this and the following weeks of TechClass... >>> Students will practice using the mouse and keyboard by creating a decorative note, labeling it with their first name and age, and sending it as a gift to a hero. They will be using the Paint program at abcya.com.
 * Friday, September 6, 2013 and continuing through September: **
 * ** All: ** Students will continue to learn/practice class procedures and routines. Students are reminded that they need headphones for TechClass.
 * **Fourth Grade**:
 * Students will use www.pollEv.com/treehouse to help our class share about ourselves, our interests, ideas and our opinions. Students will learn about heroes. Students will practice using the mouse and keyboard by creating a friendly letter to a hero. They will be using the Letter Maker program at abcya.com.
 * **Third Grade**:
 * Students will use www.pollEv.com/treehouse to help our class share about ourselves, our interests, ideas and our opinions. Students will learn about heroes. Students will practice using the mouse and keyboard by creating a word cloud of "hero words and phrases. They will be using the Word Clouds program at abcya.com.
 * ** Second Grade: **
 * Students will learn about heroes. Students will use www.pollEv.com/treehouse to help our class share about ourselves, our interests, ideas and our opinions.
 * ** First Grade: **
 * Students will learn about heroes. Students will practice using the mouse and keyboard by "drawing" a picture, labeling it with their first name and age, and sending it as a gift to a hero. They will be using the Paint program at abcya.com.
 * **Kindergarten** :
 * Students will learn about heroes. Students will practice using the mouse by "painting" a picture and sending it as a gift to a hero. They will be using the Paint program at abcya.com.


 * POLLS ** :

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During the first week of TechClass...
 * Tuesday, September 3, 2013: **
 * **First through Fourth Grade:** Students visited the TechClass computer lab and met Mr. Bentley, our Technology Teacher. Students were taught beginning- and end-of-class procedures so as to maximize academic learning time during class. The beginning-of-class procedure included how to properly use classroom chairs, logging on to the school's computer network and using Google Chrome to find our class website:www.thetreehouseclassroom.com. The end-of-class procedure included closing programs, logging off computers and preparing to leave the room at the end of class.
 * **Kindergarten**: Students visited the TechClass for 15 minutes to meet Mr. Bentley, their Technology Teacher. Students then moved digital letters and numbers onto a digital refrigerator on abcya.com. This allowed Mr. Bentley to get a sense of each student's mouse skills.