Bloom into EdTech: The Blog

If you haven't heard the hype by now- GAFE, Google Apps For Education, has been continuously changing and shaping the way we use technology in our schools by giving us the ability like never before to communicate and collaborate with one another. Whether you share a Doc with a student at the Chromebook next to you or a world away; Google has opened the compatibility playing field and raised the bar, IMHO, on the future of educational technology. I am personally a huge advocate for this reform- and have found using Google Drive is as easy and convenient as using your ball point pen (that is, if you still use those things!} As a teacher, I use many facets of GAFE for my own classroom use. For example, I use Docs to create digital worksheets; I use Slides for presentations; I use Forms for tests and polls and Sheets to pull the information from them. I could go on.... The third through eighth grade students in my school all have their own GAFE login which allows them the ability to us...

Typing is a very important topic to cover in computer class if a "Keyboarding class" is not provided as a separate unit. It is never to early to introduce the correct finger position. Fourth graders are more than ready to learn how to type without looking at the keyboard. In the past I used a blank sheet of scrap paper and simply taped the top so the students typed under it. What a pain! I would suggest purchasing a Learn to Type Keyboard skin like the one you see here: I have taught computers to students in schools where typing software was not an affordable option. The following lesson provides you an option if typing software is not available, or you would like to try a different approach. Major Topic: Typing- Memorizing the Keyboard Week/Weeks: 6-8 classes NETS for Students: 6. Technology Operations and Concepts   Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:   a. Understand and use technology systems. Ma...