Middle School Computer Lessons, Office tools in the classroom: What is the best choice?

Middle School Computer Lessons, Office tools in the classroom: What is the best choice?

Does your school use Office (probably the 2003 version) or Office 360, maybe Google Docs? What one is the best choice for the schools of today? More importantly, how will you adjust your instruction to whatever tools you have. The lessons at www.middleschoolcomputerlessons.com are presented in a way so that they can be used with any office or office type program PC, or Mac, Microsoft or Google.

Also, you will need to consider what devices will the students use. Do you have desktop pc’s? Netbooks? Tablets? or do they bring their own? Given the choice I feel that Google docs is the best option, it can easily be used on any device at school or at home. It makes collaboration easy and it is free.

If you are looking for middle school computer lessons or simple high school computer lessons visit www.middleschoolcomputerlessons.com and request 2 free sample lessons from the Complete Computer curriculum.

Twitter: @mprezios

 

Middle School Computer Lessons; Future of Tech Education

Middle School Computer Lessons; Future of Tech Education?

With all the new technology coming out these days, where are we heading for the future in technology (Computer) classes in K-12 schools? Every time I attend a tech meeting inside my district or on a bigger stage, I feel overwhelmed about what is going on in the field.

Is it Ipod touch carts? Ipad carts? 1 on 1 computing? BYOD (Bring your own device?) or is it a combo? Where does traditional desktop computing fit in? The future is wide open and I feel teachers need a shared vision with their school district as to what direction they want to go.

With all that being said, I feel that basic computer classes for grades K through 12 is a vital need. Teaching things like basic word processing, keyboarding, spreadsheets, presentation tools, web skills and the like are aspects that all young learners may not get through using their personal devices. Computer classes need to fill in those gaps for kids.

Just because a kid may be able to post on facebook, download an app or play angry birds does not mean that they are proficient in basic computer skills.

If you are looking for materials for your computer classroom that teaches skills like MS Office, Web 2.0, and more check out www.middleschoolcomputerlessons.com

Middle School Computer Lessons; 10 Great Resources for class

Middle School Computer Lessons; 10 Great Resources for class. —–for the best Middle School Computer lessons visit: www.middleschoolcomputerlessons.com

These are some of the best no or low-cost resources that I use in my Computer/Technology class: I am not necessarily ranking these in any order they are all useful resources in their own way.

    10. West Point Bridge Design Contest: a really cool bridge design setup, my classes love when we use it. http://bridgecontest.usma.edu/download.htm

      9. Gabe’s Type O Meter: This will measure you WPM of any sentence you choose. I use it for typing quizzes. http://www.informatics.no/progvareTMLoc.htm

      8. Icy Tower:  This popular game is found on Facebook, I use this as a time filler or as a reward.                                                                                                    http://icy-tower.en.softonic.com/

       7. Tux Paint is a free painting program, I use this at the end of class if the are a few minutes or if my lesson for the day is not quite ready yet.   http://www.tuxpaint.org/download/

      6. Tux Typing is an open source typing program. I use this for one half of my typing in class for my 6th grade students. It is a solid typing practice application, perfect for that grade. http://tux-typing-2.en.softonic.com/

      5. Open Office if your school won’t pay the money for MS office this is a free substitute that will do the job if needed. http://www.openoffice.org/

      4. Google Skechup If you don’t know this, you need to check it out NOW! This is like a standard in any technology class. http://sketchup.google.com/

      3. Free Typing Games is a typing game website which is used in my class as a break from a normal typing day or at the end of class. http://www.freetypinggame.net/ 

      2. Google Earth http://www.google.com/earth/index.html

      1. MCSL Publishing: Middle School Computer Lessons Publishing; This publisher puts many of these resources to use and has computer lessons that are perfectly designed for the jr. High classroom. For the cost of a site license you really get a lot, including unlimited usage/printing of all the materials like the teacher book, student book, rubrics and worksheets. If you look at other publishers that sell similar materials the resources here are a fraction of the cost and have  clearly been tested in real classrooms. www.middleschoolcomputerlessons.com

Middle School Computer Lessons; School/Class Web sites

Middle School Computer Lessons: School/Class Web sites

check out www.middleschoolcomputerlessons.com

Every school has a school web site. Most teachers today have individual teacher sites. One would think that you would be hard pressed to find a teacher or district without one. However, I am sure they are out there.

Lets talk about teacher sites first. There is a wide range of teacher site possibilities out there. But, in any case, the important thing is that it fulfills the teachers needs. Is there a need to post student work? Or maybe it is a source for parents to see upcoming events? Possibly just a page with a picture and an email address. When using a teacher site, the teacher must see it as a vital part of their class in order to use it. Otherwise, once the novelty of having one wears off, it will be seldomly  updated or visited. Some things that I find useful in a teacher site are: daily lesson plans, examples of teachers work, teacher blogs, embedded video and basic class links. Bottom line is that the classroom teacher has to take ownership of the site to make it a success.

District sites are a vital communication tool with the community. Our old site is getting revamped soon and I like what I am seeing in the development. Potentially, it will give school staff many more tools to effectively communicate with students and parents. There are all kinds of issues like where the funds come from and when, who will host and developed the site and how training will occur. It seems like a bit of a daunting task, but I am looking forward to being a part of it.

For the best Middle School Computer Lessons Visit: www.middleschoolcomputerlessons.com