Back at It!

School has been back in session for a month. Time flies. However, in the computer lab that only translates into five class meetings. Mrs. Short is always amazed at how much the students accomplish meeting only once per week. So, what have they done with that time?

The youngest students have been reviewing basic terminology, identification of computer station components, and working the mouse. All know that if you don't control the mouse, it controls you. So, they have been concentrating on holding the mouse properly, adding double clicking to their repertoire of mouse maneuvers, and working hard to sit up straight while mousing. Correct mouse handling is also important to developing the proper posture for keyboarding. Students have reviewed the meanings of the different mouse cursors they may encounter and added the crosshair cursor for drawing. Which leads us to our first project.

Using PowerPoint as our canvas, students are getting a lot of mouse practice drawing shapes (if they didn't before, they now know what diagonal means), using the related drawing tools, and using the shapes to create pictures. It's amazing. The younger students can be very creative as they have no preconceived ideas and tend to think outside the box. For example, the lightning bolt shape makes a great pony tail. Older students have more mouse dexterity and add more fine details.

In the intermediate and upper grades keyboarding boot camp is under way. Emphasis on technique - posture, keyboard placement, use of home row - is forefront. Sitting up straight and sitting still can be a challenge! Direct instruction will continue through first semester. As with any other muscle memory activity, keyboarding success is built on practice and consistency.

Credit for Image

It's not all pounding the keys, however, grades four through six are also participating in the mouse, shape drawing challenge. Grades seven and eight are applying their keyboarding skills to their first coding adventure. They are learning some new keystrokes and symbols to write HTML, the language used to create Web pages. This activity will require them to use a text editor to create an HTML document while discovering the havoc syntax errors can create. Debugging will become an important new word in their vocabulary.

Once they have learned some basic HTML coding a model Web page with Mrs. Short, they will write the code for a Web page that reflects their individual interests. The students' challenge will be to use online resources such as W3Schools to extend what they have learned working on the model to meet the requirements of their Web page designs. Extra, extra credit: multiple pages constituting a Web site.

Mrs. Short is "killing two birds with one stone" with this activity. The students are learning something "cool" while building their keyboarding skills. Shhh! don't tell them.