Technology

Summer Keyboarding Practice

A great way to keep up your keyboardins skills this summer is to continue to practice!  Here are a couple of websites where you can find free keyboarding programs/practices.

The first website is http://www.davis.k12.ut.us/cjh/appliedtech/Business/Keyboarding/Index.html.  This website is a series of 17 drills to practice all of the alphabet.

The second website is from the Utah State Office of Education.  http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/ate/keyboarding.htm.  Under the Resources or the Software tabs at the top of the page, you will find lists of keyboarding software.  Many of these are for purchase but if you go to the Software tab, it will list various softwares and their prices and you will find some free softwares.  Also, at this website, under the Resources tab, you can click on Presentations and practice typing High Frequency Words.  This is a great exercise!

I hope that many Mt. Bethel students will take advantage of the summer months to practice their keyboarding skills.  Have a safe and fun summer!  

New Software

Recently, KidPix4 (replacing an old version of KidPix)was loaded onto our school network.  I have been having fun exploring the new features of this software with the younger classes.  It is a drawing/illustration software that the younger (and even many older) students love to use.  The students can illustrate their stories with KidPix4.  It is great for hand-eye coordination for the younger students.  Once I show them how to use the basics of the program, many teachers allow the students to explore further in their classrooms.   Don't be surprised if your refrigerator art is computer created!

New Rotation

Since the Winter Break, all the classes have been on a new rotation schedule for the compu ter lab.  It has been working great as I get to see all the students every two weeks.  I do see all the 2nd graders every week as it is part of their technology standards to learn proper keyboarding techniques.  All kindergarten, first, second and third grade classes come to the lab for 30-minutes, fourth graders come for 45 minutes and the fifth graders come for 60 minutes.  It is great to see everyone on a regular basis and I feel that we are getting so much accomplished!

Fiber Optics Installed/Rotation Schedule Announced

The fiber optics has been installed at Mt Bethel and we are seeing the results with quicker connections to the network and more reliable connections.  Programs and the internet load in more quickly.  We can no longer say that our computer network teaches the students patience!

When we start back up in January, all the teachers will be visiting the computer lab on a 2-week rotation.  The only exception to this are the 2nd graders.  They will be visiting the computer lab every week so that the 2nd graders can learn the keyboard and continue to work on their keyboarding skills.  I am very excited to be working with all the students every 2 weeks!

I hope that everyone has a great vacation!

New Printers

The new pr inters from Cobb County School District are in place and working beautifully!  This is part of the technology refresh process that the school district started last year.  The computer lab has a new laser black-and-white printer and a new laser color printer.  They now handle the printing work load so smoothly! 

The computer lab is always the scene of much activity--all the 2nd graders are working on Type to Learn 3 learning how to properly keyboard.  Hopefully, you will see less "hunting-and-pecking" from them!  The 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders are working on a variety projects.  Some classes have been learning Power Point, some are working on Word projects , and some have been working on research projects.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kindergarten Students Enjoy the Lab

All the Kindergarten classes have visited the computer lab at least once already this year.  They are having a great time learning the 4 parts of a computer--screen, mouse, keyboard and CPU (or "the brain" as I tell them).  They are also learning the 4 important keys every kidnergartner should know--the space key, the enter key, the shift key, and the backspace key.  With this knowledge they can write their names with upper case letters, hit enter, use the drawing icon and create a picture, drop it to the screen and print!  They are very excited and they are practicing these skills in their classrooms. 

There is one less computer lab and seven more classes at Mt. Bethel.  That has made scheduling in the computer lab very difficult.  The lab is being utilized all day, every day!

Great Start!

We are off to a great start in the computer lab this year!  The SmartBoard purchased by the Foundation is wall mounted and the students and I love using it!  The SmartBoard is a bulletin board-sized panel mounted on the wall and shows what is on my computer screen but I can touch the panel and it reacts with my computer just as if I had clicked my mouse.  It is a wonderful educational tool.

Most of the kindergarten classes have been in to see me already this year to learn how to work on the computer and to work with the Scholastic Keys program.  This is a program that interfaces with Word--in other words, it is a kids' version of the Word program.  The kids love its bright, easy-to-use screen.

I have been working with several 3rd classes on PowerPoint presentations about rocks.  They are learning about the different types of rocks and using that knowledge to produce a presentation.  What a great way to learn and review.

May Happenings in the Lab

The students are enjoying their new computers and love that they log in more quickly and have bright, clear screens.  Some of the 2nd and 3rd grade classes have tried the new software "Type for Fun"--typing games which help them type faster and more accurately.

Mrs. Mullins' class recently learned the basics of Power Point and made some very nice presentations.  Children take to Power Point like "ducks to the water."  Mrs. Stevens' kindergarten class came in and learned how to type their name starting with capital letters and how to illustrate their paper with the drawing program in Scholastic Keys.  Their favorite part of the program is having "Peedy" fly out and read what they have written.

The Good News Continues!

With the installation of our new computers, we are able to update our software.  Our wonderful Foundation has purchased the Type to Learn keyboarding bundle for Mt. Bethel.  This bundle has a separa te keyboarding program that can be used by our kindergartners and first graders is called Type to Learn Jr.  The second through fifth graders will be able  to use the Type to Learn 3 package.  The Jr program places emphasis on learning which hand would type a letter and how to make capital letters and numbers and some punctuation marks.  The Type to Learn 3 package teaches which finger to use for each letter and begins speed training.  Both programs stress the correct posture and homerow placement.

Mrs. Bain's class has worked on both the old version and the new version of Type to Learn and have given the new version an enthusiastic "thumbs up"!  There are more graphics and more activities as you move through the lessons.  I am looking forward to using our new software this year and expanding its use next year.

They're Here!

The refresh process is complete and Mt. Bethel is now up and running with new Dell computers.  We have a new desktop lab of Dell Optiplex 745 computers.  The students are so excited; the screens are so bright and crisp, and the sound works in all the computers!  Our laptop lab has new Dell Latitude D620 computers.

Thank you, parents, for supporting the SPLOST funding!