Lower School Technology
Wishes and Challenges
| Reflecting on one's learning
Writing in a comic book format Spelling and using spellcheck Using a built-in computer camera Placing photos in a document Using a new application (ComicLife) Limiting personal information posted on a public website |
Applying special effects and graphic treatments
Saving to one's network folder on the file server Exporting in PDF format Posting a document to a website Sharing one's aspirations and concerns with the class |
Click in the center of the book to view it in full-screen mode.
Where Is My Network Folder?
Annually, students struggle each year to understand where to save their files. The operating system does not provide much help. Local and network folders practically look the same. Sometimes, they even have the same name (for example, a Mac local and network home folders)!
Students started in their classroom, the school’s computer lab. They traced the path of an Ethernet cable out of the back of a computer, into the wall, and to the building network closet. There, they observed how the network switch transfers the signal from a copper Ethernet cable to glass fiber optic cables. They then traced the path of these cables from one building to the next, overhead and underground, until they reached the server room.
Students observed the many servers, noted their names, and looked at their network folders on a display attached to the servers. They collected notes on the experience and answered several questions seeking to assess their understanding of the experience.
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RAM Upgrade
The lab computers needed a RAM upgrade, so our intrepid fifth grade students installed it!
Fourth grade gets inside a computer
Students examined the insides of three computers and identified some of their parts.
The purpose of the lesson was to demystify (at an introductory level) what is happening inside a computer. Also, I wanted the students to note the similarities among three very differently shaped machines: a Mac laptop, a Mac desktop, and a PC desktop.
Students had the option not to appear in this video.
Fourth grade network accounts
Fourth grade students have discovered what their network accounts can do! Watch and listen to their report.
(Only some students participated in this activity. Not everyone will appear in each video, but everyone will appear in some videos!)