This lesson provides an introduction to Excel by creating a timecard. Use a template. Have students fill it out at home thenuse the same template at school. When they add the data, Excel automatically adds, divides, etc. to figure out minutes per week, etc. They’ll have no idea they’re using Excel. Olders can create the template themselves and then fill it in (more…)

Everyone who has used a computer understands the annoying, time-wasting hourglass. You’re trying to perform magic on a deadline and the computer screen pops up with an hourglass that lazily pours sand … for. Ever. You think it’ll continue until Harvard wins the Super Bowl

The computer moves on when it’s ready, with complete disregard for your frustration.

There’s a lesson here. Life includes predictable, spontaneous hourglassing. Patience is the key. We teach our kids that patience is a virtue, but we don’t embrace it as our own. Anger won’t get rid of the hourglass and stress won’t make it go faster. Sit down, relax, check your email if it takes too long.

“All human wisdom is summed up in two words – wait and hope” (Alexandre Dumas)

Here’s a book I think you’d enjoy. I discovered it through a fellow blogger, Yankee Sailor. It’s a testament to the strength America derives from our concept of religious freedom. That’s a freedom we take for granted, but few other nations in the world share that attitude:

The Soft Power Of Religious Freedom

Posted by Yankee Sailor in Foreign Policy, Religion on 22Jun09.

This project hides Excel’s power behind a template you create and students fill out at home. If they’re older and more familiar with Excel, involve them in creating the template. (more…)

Internet start pages are a great idea for kids. They put everything in one spot that they need to safely surf the net. You can put their favorite websites, as well as photostreams, games, more. (more…)

Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns

by Clayton M. Christensen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Clayton Christensen offers a believable and intuitive approach to fixing our staggering American educational system. In a nutshell: people learn in different ways (no surprise here; it’s a well-documented theory). Teachers too often teach one way (or two or three–the point being, teachers standardize. I understand. I’ve been a teacher most of my life. One of us and many of them in a classroom). His solution: Use 21st century technology and Web 2.0 to individualize lessons to suit needs. (more…)

Homeschooled Children Continue Outperforming Their Public School Counterparts as

Homeschooling Increases in Popularity

In America, there was a time when the idea of homeschooling raised eyebrows of concern and could result in a visit from social services. A lack of trust by the government and public in general in a parent’s ability to educate their own children made homeschooling a bit of a stigma.

Even today in some circles, there are still many “old school” thinkers that go so far as to say that homeschooling is tantamount to deliberate child abuse. As ridiculous as that sounds to most of us, overcoming such ignorance has been a problem for some parents looking into homeschooling.

Overseas, it can be much worse. Homeschooling is illegal in Germany, a law instituted under Hitler and still enforced today. German families who choose to home school must do so in secret and run the risk of arrest; or worse, having the state take their children away.

Performance of home schools versus public and private schools

It doesn’t take much effort or investigation to discover that homeschoolers excel above their public school counter parts in nearly every category. According to a study conducted by Dr. Lawrence Rudner:

• The average home schooled 8th grade student performs four grade levels above the national average.

• One in four home school students are enrolled in a grade level that is above their age level.

• In every grade and in every subject, home schooled students outperform both public and private school students.

Other studies confirm these findings, showing that home schooled students have a much higher college entry rate, score higher on SAT’s and ACT’s, have a higher rate of college graduation, and earn higher incomes in the workforce.

(more…)

As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!

Q: Some programs hide the taskbar when they open (especially for young children–like KidPix). How do I access other programs without closing down the one I’m working on?

A: Push the Flying Windows key (it’s between Ctrl and Alt). That brings up the start menu as well as exposing the taskbar. Now, you can access open programs on the taskbar and/or new programs from the start menu. (more…)

Before we get into Photoshop, we’ll start with a program your fifth grader is most likely comfortable with: MS Word. For basic image editing, Word does a pretty good job, so we’ll start with a project using Word’s tools:

• Open a blank document in MS Word. Insert a picture with multiple focal points (see sample). (more…)

Don’t you love keyboard shortcuts? Instead of mouse clicking through all those steps to get something done, a quick Ctrl+I italicizes, or Ctrl+S to save. So much more efficient.

Life is like that. You can do it the long way or the short way. Often that means, learn from someone else’s experience. Don’t always feel you must reinvent the wheel. You’re not capitulating if you take the road more traveled.

• Learn from your mistakes as well as other peoples
• Accept advice from people you trust.
• Don’t feel you have to go it alone. There are lots of friends and family, and sometimes new friends, who will help you get things right.
• Go with your strengths. They have been honed by use. Your weaknesses, well, you never quite know how they’ll work out.

Having said all that, sometimes these shortcuts don’t work. At that point, try something else. One feature I love about Windows is it has multiple solutions to every problem–drop down menu, mousing, shortkeys, usually a few of each. Incorporate that into your life. If one solution doesn’t work for you, try another.

Now, go get ’em!

PS–Here’s a list of my favorite keyboard shortcuts. I can’t do without them.

Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.