Mrs. T's Technology Corner

Science Spotlight Workshops
For the past few years, I have enjoyed sharing my love of technology with fellow educators in Central Illinois. Take a few moments to browse the handouts and resources for my workshops to discover ways to enrich your classroom with technology.

2016 ISTA Science Spotlight: Science A to Z - Our Favorite Lessons - During this presentation, my teaching buddy, Cheryl McDaniel, and I share our favorite lessons for astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics, and more!

EDPuzzle
I currently utilize their website in my 1:1 science classroom.  They offer easy-to-use tools to edit videos, add voice notes, and quiz questions.  I have edited many videos to use in place of traditional notes to review topics, introduce concepts, and extend classroom activities.  Check out my worksheet for genetics using two EDPuzzle videos:  Heredity Basics and Punnett Squares.

Legends of Learning
I will again be using their website in my 1:1 science classroom.  They offer an assortment of learning games that can be used to introduce topics, reinforce classroom learning, or assess student understanding after a lesson/unit.  Create a playlist by choosing games from a specific standard (NGSS) and then launch for your class. 

Tech Skills Curriculum
Note:  New units will be added during the 19-20 school year as I develop our new six-week program for 7th & 8th graders. 

Unit 1: Keyboarding - We use typing.com for our keyboarding program.  The emhpasis is placed on accuracy rather than speed with the hopes of getting students to use proper format and technique.  Keyboarding games/challenges are available on the Computers & Technology page of the Kid Zone.

Unit 2: Hour of Code - We use this website to challenge students to learn coding.  Many of the projects use Scratch with the students developing their own programs to challenge their classmates.

Unit 3:  Google Basics - Students will learn how to create a Google Doc and use the tools available to meet a set of criteria (page margins, text formatting, images, etc.).  The assessment product will be a one-page document about their favorite things.

Unit 4:  Google Advanced - Students will create a Google Slides presentation related to a set of criteria (# of slides, # of images, required information, etc.).  The product will be developed around their plans for a road trip to their favorite places.  Students will work in teams of 3-4 to plan their trip and use other Google products, such as organizing their presentation files in Google Drive and Google Maps will be used to determine the total distance traveled along with estimated time.
 
Unit Resources: Road Trip (project rubric and sample project - will be updated with Google "lingo" soon!

Unit 5: Online Safety + Pick-A-Project - Students will explore online safety with a focus on helping them recognize potential threats and issues.Students will be challenged to create a final product of their choice using a variety of online apps, such as comics, animated books, posters/infographics, animated videos, or their own video creations to educate their peers on cybersafety.

 

 Archived Files: The files listed below were used when I taught a technology skills class for 5th and 6th grade students many years ago.  Links are available on the Tech Skills page of the Kid Zone.    

Computer Basics Lessons
Click-N-Learn (Answer key provided)
Tech Terms Lesson - Presentation and student worksheet

Keyboarding Lessons
Keyboarding Worksheet (Color coded - key provided)
Keyboarding 101 Presentation

Microsoft Office Tutorials
Word 2007 - Lesson 1, Lesson 2, Lesson 3, Lesson 4, and Tips & Tricks (Assessment project available)
PowerPoint 2007 - Lesson 1, Lesson 2, Lesson 3, (Basic assessment project available - also try Road Trip (project rubric and sample project)
Excel Basics 2007 - Tutorial

Snipping Tool Tutorial

Movie Maker Tutorial (Assessment project available)

PhotoStory Tutorial (Assessment project available)

Need more ideas?  Check out the Technology Lesson Plan Links page!