Today, freshmen students starting visiting my classroom. This is a big deal because over the next several weeks students will be spending time with me for approximately three days to learn about the program that I teach and to decide whether or not they would be interested in applying for acceptance into the program for their 10-12th grade years. Three days goes by so fast! It’s really important to me that the students get to do activities that are related to my program AND meaningful so that they will have fun AND leave with a good idea of what it would be like to spend three years in the program.
Over the last several years I have done a variety of activities – too many to list here. Most importantly I have learned what works and what doesn’t work.
What Doesn’t Work
- Worksheets/packets/anything with a lot of paper and writing.
- These are boring. Boring for the students, boring for me as the teacher to read, just overall boring. If I’m bored as their instructor, doesn’t it make sense that they would be bored too?
- Stay away from worksheets if at all possible.
- Group assignments without any accountability/assessment.
- If students don’t think they need to have anything to show for the time they spent on the activity, they most likely won’t have anything to show.
What Works
- Interactive activities.
- A mixture of activities that include:
- Reading
- Interaction
- Frequent Assessment
After spending some time thinking about the amount of time I have the students for each day (about 80 minutes), how many days I have (3), and what I wanted to accomplish, I decided that I would use Microsoft’s Digital Literacy Curriculum (Version 2) for the students’ 3-day visits.
Because my classroom has several computers, I didn’t have to worry about students needing to share and whether or not that would decrease how much the students could accomplish during their visits. I created a new Blackboard course for the students and enrolled them prior to their visit. I wanted to make the course as easy as possible to navigate for them because I wasn’t sure about the comfort level they would have with using Blackboard, or even with using computers in general. I created three content areas (sections) – Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 – and added links that would open into a new window to the Digital Literacy content.
I decided to post two modules per day – which after running through it today I’ve realized this may be a little fast. However, the first day does always go a little slower until the students really understand what is going on, where to click, etc… Here’s what we are covering each day:
- Day 1
- Computer Basics: Computing is an important part of everyday life in the twenty-first century. From music and photos to banking and communicating, computers have changed the way we work and live. This course introduces you to the fundamentals of computing, explains the components of a computer, explores operating system basics, and shows you how to use a mouse and a keyboard.
- The Internet and the World Wide Web: The Internet can connect you to people, information, and resources around the world. This course shows you how to connect to the Internet, browse Web pages, navigate Web sites, use search engines, and exchange e-mail with others.
- Day 2
- Productivity Programs: There are hundreds of software applications available today. This course explores the most common productivity software applications used in business, in education, and at home. The course teaches you how to select the right software for your project. You will learn the fundamentals of word processing, spreadsheets, presentation software, and databases.
- Computer Security and Privacy: It’s easy to use a computer safely and responsibly if you know how. This course will help you gain confidence in computing by explaining the risks and threats to computer security and privacy so that you can understand and prevent them.
- Day 3
- Digital Lifestyles: From cell phones to MP3 players to digital cameras, computers are changing our everyday lives. This course introduces you to new digital technologies, including digital audio, digital video, and digital photography. It explores how these and other computing technologies are creating new career opportunities and shaping the world we live in.
- Digital Literacy Certificate Test: The Digital Literacy Certificate Test consists of 30 questions that cover key points from all five of the Digital Literacy courses. When you complete the test, you will get a Learning Plan with links to the course lessons you may need to review to master all of the topics. If you get a passing score, you will be invited to personalize and print a Digital Literacy Certificate.
I like a couple of things about this curriculum.
- It meets my needs by providing a mix of reading, interactive activities and frequent assessment options for the students.
- The interactive activities are actually fun. One reminded me of Tetris because you had to move certain key phrases or terms into the appropriate box as they scrolled down the screen rather quickly (categorizing) – this was confusing for me until I figured how this works, haha. The students figured this out much faster than me.
- There is a final assessment that if the students pass they will receive a Digital Literacy Certificate.
The best part for me is the Digital Literacy Certificate. I will keep my copy of the students’ certificates in a file so if a freshmen decides to apply to my program later in the year I will know that they are already digital literate in the areas assessed by this Microsoft curriculum – this is providing me with a lot more data than I usually would have regarding students’ capabilities with computer-related activities.
The second best part? Perhaps the most important? The students liked it. They were engaged the entire time, helping each other, and laughing. That’s what I like to see!
