computers

Computer Fun
When my mom came, she donated a netbook to use at the school. I was excited to teach students about computers since usually they use them for the first time at college. (In my district, they make all of the students type their papers, this is a big improvement to other villages.)
I started using the mini computer to show English videos to my students. They were short song that had great animation to work on phonics, the alphabet, karaoke songs, and other little English skills.
Yesterday, I tried it one step further, I allowed a group of year 6 students to begin to create a power point of their essay, “My Friend”.
There was a lot of confusion, and I learned that I had not given enough instruction…but at least they got to learn through experimentation which was exciting for me.
These students had never ever used a computer, and I forgot how basic you have to start with your instructions. I alternated between assisting with the whole class essay writing, and my small group of computer kids so I could help them all. I was surprised that they didn’t know how to use the space bar, or backspace for mistakes.
But surprisingly, in 30 minutes, they were able to learn that, and write two sentences on their slides. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but I was really proud of their accomplishments. Also it will be nice to have something more challenging for these kids to do when they finish their work.
Hopefully, by the time I leave, some of my students will be a wiz at basic things on the computer.