After ten years in the regular classroom, I am moving to the computer lab. I will have 700+ students and am starting to panic. Any computer class teachers out there with a little advice? I'm not even sure where to begin....
I teach fourth grade, but our computer lab teacher is awesome! There is one routine she uses that is fabulous! Each computer station has a red disposable cup. If the student is stuck or has a question, they put their cup on top of the monitor. She can tell at a glance who needs help.
First you need to find out if there are any required programs that the students have to do in lab. Ours have to do SuccessMaker. Then you need to find out what software is already installed. Also, go to your state DOE site and see if there are any technology standards listed. You would want to use those to plan by. You might want to google other schools and see what they teach in different grade levels, just to give you an idea of the general skills. I am thoroughly jealous of you!
This will be my 7th year in the Computer Lab after teaching 4th grade for four years. I was nervous the first year too. I'm sure everything will go well. Do you have a projector in your lab, so you can show the students things from your computer? One thing I have learned over the 7 years in the lab is to have directions up on the projector for the class that is coming in, so they can get started on something right away. For my students in grades 4 and up I have them do a journal entry to give them time to practice their keyboarding for the first 5 minutes or so. I use the Everyday Edits and the Where in the World is Mrs. W? sheets from the EducationWorld site for this. For the little kids, I have them log on and open the program that we are going to use for the day. This helps the students settle in and get ready to begin. Feel free to PM me if you would like any other ideas or suggestions.
Our computer teacher is retiring in the next couple of years, and I really want to be a computer teacher, too! I'll definitely be reading everyone's suggestions. Thanks in advance.
DESE Is there a Computer/Business Education program curriculum available on DESE? At our school our computer teacher works with Kindergarten students on alphabet/number games (Sticky Bear...) By 2-3 typing (Microtype pro) 4 and up continuing typing, using the internet for research 5-6 Power points, research You could ask the classroom teachers how you could assist them. When I did my student teaching, students brought their spelling words with them and they practiced typing their words. Younger students could type their words three times and then when checked and done play a game. Older students could type their words three times each and then type a sentence using their word.
I'm beginning my MAT in Educational Technology next month. I will earn a degree that would allow me to teach computers. I decided to do this program so that I could have options later if I want to leave the regular classroom behind. Plus, I'm going to learn some incredible stuff to make my regular classroom lessons so much better.
Thanks so much for all the help! I'll definitely be buying some red cups!! There is no set curriculum for our state, but I have found that North Carolina has an excellent set of guidelines. My next hurdle is decorating two labs! One is for my little kiddos and the other for my big critters. Keep all your suggestions coming!
I'm also moving into the lab this year and I'm excited! I'll be working with K - 4. I'm planning on using a mix of some programs we have for test prep, keyboarding skills, etc. But I also plan to have the majority of the activity in the lab be based on using Web 2.0 technologies to create projects.
