Computer Lab Presentation

for PAC by Karyn Kemmerer

Monday, May 11, 2015

2014/15 Computer Lab Successes• Over 50% increase in weekly

computer lab class time compared with prior year

• Lab remained open an additional 5-10 weeks during the school, from week 2 through the end of the year (no closure for maintenance or report card printing)

• Before and after school computer lab hours increased with student visits going from zero to beyond capacity.

Non-School Hours

School Weeks

School Hours

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2014/15

Remaining Total

2014/15 Computer Lab Successes

• Established Google Accounts for students in grades 1st – 6th

– Introduced Google Apps: Classroom, Documents, Slides and Sheets

• 3rd – 6th grade students greatly improved touch typing skills

• Introduced students to basic computer science skills and knowledge (3 weeks of December devoted to Hour of Code)

More Computer Lab Class Time• 2013/14 Class time:

– 30 minutes per class for K-3rd and special ed

– 45 minutes per class for 4th-6th

– 13 hours and 45 min. per wk.

010203040506070

2013/14

2014/15

• 2014/15 Class time: – 45 minutes per class for K-2nd

and special ed

– 60 minutes per class for 3rd-6th

– 21 hours per week

More Computer Lab Class Time• 2013/14 Class time:

– Lab closed for 6-8 weeks at start of the year to create schedule

– Lab closed for 2 weeks at end of the year for maintenance and report card printing

• 2014/15 Class time: – Lab opened the second week of

school (schedule completed before start of the year)

– Lab to remain open through the end of May (maintenance and report card printing completed before and after school day)

Weeks Open0

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2013/14 2014/15

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More Computer Lab Class Time

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2013/14

2014/15

School Year

More Student Use of Computer Lab

• 2013/14 Non-class Student Use: – Lab opened Wednesdays at 7:30 AM

– Zero student participation

• 2014/15 Non-class Student Use: – Lab began year being open Wednesday mornings, then

added Fridays

– Mondays were added for 6th graders working on school newspaper then was extended to all students

– Tuesday & Thursday afternoons were added for the Typuary Challenge

– In the mornings more student come than seats available, afternoons have a consistent group of 10-15 students.

Increased Student Engagement

• Regular “grumblings” when its announced that computer lab time is done for the day

• Elimination of students being timid or anxious about using computers

• Use of computer lab outside of class time

• A couple of my favorite computer lab stories….

Increased Parent Involvement

• Communicated with parents via eDateline and flyers sent home

• eBlasts sent during seasonal breaks to encourage parents to utilize Fremont programs available online with their children

• Timely response to parent inquiries to promote use of programs at home

• Typing letter to be sent home before end of the school year

Greatly Improved Typing Skills for 3rd-6th Graders

• New typing program (TypingClub) introduced to provide students a fresh start

• Instruction on proper typing practices reviewed, repeated and reinforced with emphasis on posture, correct finger usage, and keeping eyes off of hands

• Typuary Challenge introduced to support regular practice time and incentivize students– Chromebooks used in classes for typing practice once a week

– Lab time devoted to typing practice

– Students expected to practice at home to complete one hour of typing practice each week throughout February

Greatly Improved Typing Skills for 3rd-6th Graders

• In October, typing test results showed an average speed of 11 words per minute (WPM) and an accuracy rate of 85%

• Student averages on May 6, 2015:

Grade WPM Accuracy

3rd 10 96%

4th 13 96%

5th 16 96%

6th 19 96%

Total: 15 96%

Typuary Successes

• 988 hours in total typing practice

– 763 hours of typing practice through February 1

• 10,716 total lessons completed

– 14,354 lessons completed through February 1

Practice Hours

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Typuary

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Typuary Successes

• 2 classes completed challenge (63 students)

• 92 additional students completed challenge

– Total of 155 students

– 39% of students in 3rd-6th

• 72 of these students completed 100% of lessons

7%

9%

23%62%

Student Participants

Tom's ClassWooldridges ClassOther ChallengersDid not meet Challenge

46%54%

ChallengersCompleted 100% of Lessons

Other Challengers

Sample Lessons

• Web browsers vs. search engines

• Search tips & shortcuts

• Discerning between sources

– Northwest Tree Octopus

– Wikipedia vs. Encyclopedia Britanica

– Bloggs vs. news organizations

• Google: Classroom, Drive, Docs, Slides

• Microsoft Office: Word, PowerPoint

• Copying, pasting, and formatting pictures from the Internet

• Internet safety

Sample Projects

• Summer photo collage using Google slides and Google search

• Word clouds using Tagxedo.com – St. Patrick’s Day shamrocks using text from an

Irish poem or ballad – 2nd grade biography project

• 1st grade “I AM” Open House project• 3rd grade leaf poem• 4th grade PowerPoint of “Fire Storm”

Introduced Basic Computer Science

• Students participated in Hour of Code for the 3 weeks of December– 2 weeks of unplugged activities

• Binary 8-bit code garlands

• How to speak computer

– 1 week of coding via code.org

• iSafe lessons included computer science teachings– How the Internet works– Concept of Cloud Computing

Introduced Basic Computer Science

• Best computers and facility in district• Good relationship with GUSD tech

executives and service department• Active involvement in district wide

technology meetings & trainings• First to utilize TypingClub – to be

implemented district-wide next year

Fremont Computer Lab Leading the Way in GUSD

• 6th grade use of computer lab to publish school newspaper

• Introduced Chrome Build where students can create with Legos and then publish their creations on a Google world map

• Maintain a dynamic class room environment with attention to cleanliness, upkeep and improvements

• Computer Lab opened during Open House

Other Accomplishments

• Participated in GUSD Google Apps teacher course last summer

• Participated in code.org Saturday workshop in preparation for Hour of Code activities

• Passed CBEST • Coursera online courses

(free courses taught by world leading experts)

– Computer Science 101 taught by Nick Pointer of Stanford University

– Internet History, Technology and Security taught by Charles Severance of University of Michigan

Instructor Development

• Manage weekly eDateline and eblasts– Improved format and design to encourage greater audience interest

– Requires 4-10 hours a week, often includes weekends

• Expanded computer lab webpages to include valuable information for the parents– Received email from students in Colorado to say they use my

Typing page as a reference

• Assist teachers in updating their classroom webpages

• Taught special GATE coding class

• Silent auction contribution of computer lessons

Instructor Contributions Beyond the Lab