1st day of class

Hello everyone & welcome.

Today we're going to get acquainted, share introductions, talk about what we'll be doing this session and get started on improving our computing skills.

Today you will

• take an online survey about your interests, computer experiences and what you expect from this class
• test your knowledge of computer parts, , not online but on a real paper worksheet
• use an interactive form application to write about yourself
• practice keyboarding and try out some typing games.

Let's get started...

• Take a Survey - answer the question and click the "submit" button to send it to me.
• Complete the worksheet and check it against the answer key.
• Create an instant "All about me" statement. Open a document to copy, paste and save as a document.
• Typing pages - typing lessons, keyboarding tutorials, and typing games.
  

Just for fun...

• Learn the Net - ten things you can do online
  
• Wacky Web Tales. (copy and save this too if you want to)
• Play some Games online
  

When you finish reading this message, please click the comment link below. Say hello and introduce yourself in "comments."

Later, you also copy and paste your "About me" statement to comments if you want to.

Welcome

Welcome to this class about computing in the after-school program and to our class blog. It is not my blog or just the "class blog." It is your blog too. I will post information about the class and what we will be doing each session. There will be links - but not just for assignments. Some will be for projects and some just for fun.

You are here to learn more about computers and using them - and having fun while you do. Briefly, we can divide class topics into four categories:

1. knowledge about computers, programs, and computing: identifying and naming the parts of the computer; understanding what they do; computer vocabulary
   
2. operations and skills, i.e. opening and closing window; tool bars and menus; keyboarding, using the mouse, key functions to navigate screen or file;
   
3. applications - tools or programs used to do different things with computers (computer assisted writing, word processing: creating and formatting documents, using communication tools and programs, creating web pages, finding, capturing, saving and editing images, web, Power Point and video presentations)
   
4. critical thinking about computing and the internet, e.g. researching topics online, reading online articles critically, evaluating web site and the information on them, checking facts, synthesizing information
   

I made a survey for you to take online so I can get a better idea of what interests you, your computer experience and what we should work on. But first, let's get acquainted. Use the comment form at the end of this message to introduce yourself.

Follow this link to write an instant "All about me" poem. Just fill in the blanks and then click the "Create" button at the bottom of the form. Presto! You have an instant poem that you can copy and paste into the comment form or save to post as a separate message. Let's practice by doing a make-believe "all about me."

You will all be invited to join the class blog as a contributor. You can also email me at teachervanessa@mountainair-online.net from your own email account. If you do not have an email account then you will need to open one.

But now take the survey if you have not already.

Don't forget the typing pages. Keyboarding may not sound exciting, but it is very important. The faster and more accurate you type, the better and more efficiently you will be able to use a computer. We'll spend some time keyboarding every session. There are also typing games to take out some of the sting out of keyboarding