Computers 700 with Mr. Corfman

Picture
Word cloud created on www.worldle.net

Picture
March 3, 2011
Schoology: Our new digital classroom. Over the next couple weeks we may be moving some of the function of this site over to www.schoology.com. The site is basically a digital classroom with the look and feel of a social networking site. (Password protected and by teacher invitation only.) So far, student response has been very good. I encourage parents to take a look at their student's "classroom" and follow what we're up to.


So, what's going on here?
The objective of this course is to encourage appropriate technology use as a lifelong skill and to help students develop specific technology skills needed for success in school and future work situations.


As you may or may not know, the 2009-2010 school year was the first time computer courses were offered at Chardon Middle School. As a result, both last year's 6th and 7th graders took what essentially will be the 6th grade class from now on. That involved laying a foundation of skills and common language dealing with the basics of computer components and functions, keyboarding, word processing, presentation software, Internet basics, and appropriate/safe use of technology.


So here we are in the 2010-2011 school year, and for the first time, 7th graders are taking the "advanced" computer class.  We will spend some time looking back at last year to review. We will do some keyboarding (review of the alphabet and learning number keys). Then we will then cover a number of topics including educationally useful Web 2.0 applications, social bookmarking, computer networking and the Internet, creating webpages, and multimedia applications. With these topics will be a running dialogue that will help students better understand how to ethically, responsibly, and safely use the technologies we currently have, those that are on the horizon, and maybe even some that seem pretty far fetched, at least for now...
Materials/Links Page
Please check this page for handouts or links needed to complete homework and in-class assignments.
The Blog and The Calendar
The blog section of this site will describe where we've been and what we've learned. It is also your opportunity to provide feedback to me and ask questions. The calendar will let you know where we're going and when assignments/projects are on the way.

Here's an example of why we need classes like this.


Prezi: A Non-Linear Presentation Tool
12/1/2010: Thanks to Ally for sharing her Prezi. This is a good example of using paths to help display information for your audience. I'm not sure if I agree that Teletubbies rock, but it's still a good presentation. Nice job, Ally.

Take a look at www.prezi.com.


11/30/2010: Here's a really basic and brief example of an embedded Prezi.


Visitors to this site since 10.16.2010.