2020-2021: GETTING STARTED AND PRACTICE NUMBERS

In this document you will find the instructions to create your blog and the numbers of the practices you will do during the course.

WHY THIS COURSE?

Why the need to teach computing to kids, and on top of that, in English?

Watch this video and you'll find out why we feel it's important that our students become computer literate.

Download teachers' instructions and assessment sheet

LEARNING PORTFOLIO

Fill up this learning diary after every session.

Learning Portfolio

SESSION 40: ANIMATIONS WITH POWTOON

Create your own animation using POWTOON,
View the Tutorial before starting!

SESSION 39: SCREENCASTING

What is SCREENCASTING?

Screencasting means to record what you are doing inside your computer. Some of the activities in this blog, like Audacity, are screencasting videos.
PRACTICE:

• Look for the program CAM STUDIO in your computers. It is a user friendly program , take a few minutes to check it out and see how it works.

Configurate it in "full screen" / "allow audio" / "minimize program on start recording"

• Prepare a practice: You are going to explain and record how to create a WORD document, how to edit it and save it.
• When you are ready, screencast the instructions. You'll need a microphone.
• Save the video, then upload it to www.youtube.com-In youtube, get the html (embed) code and paste it in a new post in your blog.-Check the results

Watch this tutorial by ESO 2 students

A tutorial using Cam Studio

SESSION 38: PODCASTS

A Podcast is a way to broadcast a series of audio files in the Internet. Anyone can create their own online radio show, or news, or soap opera... Podcasts are very useful to learn foreign languages. It is very useful to listen to short episodes, dialogues etc in English!

To create a Podcast, you can use certain sites that offer recording software and where you can also store your podcast. One of these sites is Podomatic .

• Sign up to Podomatic, and go to "My Podcast", then "Post An Episode", then give it a name and go to "Audio-Video".  Choose "Record Using a webcam or microphone"
• Prepare a short episode in English: a dialogue suggesting a visitor places to visit in Barcelona, or giving advice about the city (pickpockets, safety, where to eat... etc)
• Record it and then get the html code and embed it in your blog.

SESSION 37: SOUND EDITION 3: VOICETHREAD.

HOW TO USE VOICETHREAD: View this video with instructions and do the practice following the instructions 

Watch the video that guides you step by step to use Voicethread. The video is silent so that you can hear the voice when it is recorded with Voicethread . Do the activity suggested here

SESSION 36: SOUND EDITION 2: SOUND IN THE WEB

How can we embed sound files into html based tools, such as blogs, wikis or websites? A useful tool is soundcloud.com

Upload your mp3 file to soundcloud and get the code! then, embed it in your blog.

SESSION 35: SOUND EDITION 1:EDITING SOUND WITH AUDACITY

In this session you are going to learn how to record yourself or others and how to edit sound files using Audacity. View the video with the instructions or read the written document

SESSION 34: PREZI:ONLINE PRESENTATIONS

GREAT PRESENTATIONS WITH PREZI

ACTIVITY: Prepare a presentation with Prezi about what you have learned in this course of Computers Made Easy. Classify the different practices into different categories. View the sample below.

SESSION 33: PREVENTING CYBERBULLYING

In this practice we are going to play some games to learn how to prevent cyberbullying. Click here

SESSION 32. SAFETY IN THE INTERNET

Being safe in the net is essential. Here is a QUIZ  , a GAME  and a list of rules with a GAME

SESSION 31: WHAT'S INSIDE A COMPUTER?

So far you've learnt lots of applications; but do you know what is inside your computer?

Match the names with the numbered parts.

a.BIOS (Basic Input/Output System

b.Microprocessor

c.Drive Bays

d.Memory

e.Case Fan

f.Chipset

g.Sound Card

h. Power Supply

i.Motherboard

j.Video Card

k.Modem

l.Memory

Check your answers here. Then copy the image in your blogs and write the matching results. Write the definition for each of the parts of the computer.

CLIP ART: DECORATE YOUR BLOG

Choose clipart that you like to decorate your blog

AIMS AND RATIONALE

Open publication - Free publishing - More school

SESSION 30: ANIMATIONS WITH TOONDOO

By mrbatlle | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

SAMPLE BY 2 STUDENTS

By chuurrii | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

MEMBER OF ESPIRAL NETWORK

SESSION 29: Create a poster

PRACTICE: CREATE A POSTER WITH SPARK-ADOBE

Create a well-designed poster for an event ( a concert, a movie, a lecture...)

SESSION 28: EASY VIDEO WITH FLIXTIME

FLIXTIME is an easy application to edit video. You can upload images, add audio, comments, pictures, effects and also embed it in you web based tools, like blogs.

Sign up and watch the tutorial video. Upload a short video (ask the teacher for a video file if you don't have one), add a picture related to the video, a comment, music and or audio and upload it to your blog.
This is a trial video made with Flixtime in 3 minutes!

SESSION 27: VIDEO EDITION

PRACTICE: upload a video (you can find it in google, or you can edit your own video, previously recorded and saved in your usb drive) ; edit it by adding sound, effects etc, publish it and embed it in your blog.

VIDEO DONE BY ESO 2 STUDENTS ABOUT HOW OUR SCHOL USES ICT

SESSION 26 : CREATE A TIMELINE

A very useful tool for students. TIMETOAST allows you to create your own timelines and embed them to your website or blog.

ACTIVITY: Sign up in TIMETOAST and create the timeline of your life, or the timeline of a topic of your choice (a sport, or sportsperson, or the history of something that interests you...).

SESSION 25 : COMICS

Create your own comic strip with this fun tool.Click here to get started

SESSION 24 : ANIMATIONS

Build your own animation with this simple tool. Go the website by clicking on the image and create your own animation and character. Then publish it in your blog.

SESSION 23: COMPUTERS AND ENGLISH

Most of the vocabulary of computers is in English. How much do you know? Do the activities and improve your technological vocabulary.

Computers Made Easy by Maria Rosa Batlle is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

SESSION 22:WALLWISHER: Building noticeboards

SESSION 21: ISSUU: a powerful publishing tool

Issuu is a powerful publishing tool that allows you to upload and publish your documents in different formats and layouts.

Practice: create a travelling brochure for Barcelona in OFFICE WORD, with information about it and useful information for visitors . Then upload it using issuu and post it in your blog.

NEWS! VIRTUALLY REAL in EDUCAT

EDUCAT, a virtual newsletter about ICT and education has published a piece of news about VirtuallyReal and the ITWorldEDU awards. View it here.

SESSION 20:MAKING AND EDITING VIDEOS

We are going to create videos that show our school life.

In pairs or groups of three students, choose ONE of these topics:

- The school building and facilities 

-Sport facilities in our school

-ICT facilities in our school

-The labs

-The students  ( number, age...)

Your video must have a narration and a short interview with a teacher or student.

PROCESS:

1. Prepare a script
2. Record
3. Edit
4. Post in your blog

You can use this video editor https://www.wevideo.com/

SESSION 19 - IMAGE FORMATS, STORING, PUBLISHING AND SHARING

DOCUMENT WITH INSTRUCTIONS

A RADIO BROADCAST: THREE ESO2 GIRLS RECORD THEIR OWN RADIO PROGRAMME

Helena, Lena and Georgina recorded their own radio programme. They interview a popular singer, play her hit and after it, prepare an amazing interview. They really succeeded in their sound edition practice!

Three ESO 2 students made this wonderful and funny "radio programme" using Audacity and Goear.

 

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ABOUT THIS COURSE

This course is taught at Icaria Secondary-High School in Barcelona, Spain to 12 to 14 year-old students whose mother tongue is Catalan or Spanish with the aim of making them more competent in computer science and in English. You can start with the Introductory Unit, and go on with the numbered sessions, or take the sessions at random. The materials are printable and downloadable. Download teacher's instructions and assessment sheets. Learn more about me and the school here. Enjoy the course!

SESSION 17 (1): ELECTRONIC FILES

In this practice we are going to learn how to use an application that allows you to transform your files into electronic files and work in collaboration with others. 
To upload a document to GOOGLE DRIVE  first you have to create it. Create a Word Document (1 or 2 pages) about SOMEONE YOU ADMIRE (description, photos...) and then upload it to GOOGLE DRIVE .
In Google  Drive , share the document with your teacher (Aske her for her email).

SESSION 16: CHATS

I bet you spend a lot of time chatting with your friends! Learn how to be safe when you "meet" people in the web.

(Click on the top-righthand box of the document to enlarge)

SESSION 15: HOW TO MAKE A WEBSITE

In this practice you are going to create your own WEBSITE
Search for GOOGLE SITES
Choose the option " classic Sites" at the bottom left side of the page
Create your own website about the topic you want.

Share the link in your blog

SESSION 13: INTERNET SAFETY

Learn about internet safety by clicking here

TASK:  Write 5 rules for internet and mobile phone safety on a new post in your blog. You can add pictures.

ICT: TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!

Which of these applications do you know? Which ones do you use? What do you use them for?

And the ones you don't know or don't use, what are they for? Find out in the web,

discuss with your class and with your teacher.

EXTRA ACTIVITY: WATCH THIS VIDEO AND THINK....

SESSION 12:TRANSFORMING FILES INTO HTML CODE

CREATE A WORD DOCUMENT ABOUT YOUR SCHOOL. INCLUDE PICTURES.UPLOAD IT TO SCRIBD. 

Scribd is an application that will transform your documents , giving you the html code. -Register in Scribd - Upload the document about the school that you have written. -Get the code ( click on "embed" next to the document -Paste the code in a NEW POST in your blog. REMEMBER TO PUT THE POST IN "HTML" MODE!.

ASSESSMENT OF PROCESS

Click to view the document of assessment of your blog. Make sure you fullfill all the requirements before handing it to your teacher.

SESSION 11: CREATE AN AVATAR

Listen to the instructions:






Go to the avatar page www.voki.com
Pay attention! Use a FREE avatar! 

SESSION 10: HOW TO EDIT HTML CODE & BLOGGING

How are Internet files, from websites to blogs, written? Meet HyperText Markup Language and it will open up a whole new range of editing possibilities for you!

READ THE INFORMATION ON THIS LINK TO UNDERSTAND HOW WEBS ARE WRITTEN
here .

PRACTICE: Open the NOTEPAD in your computer and write a text which is similar to the one in the example.

Then view your text with a browser and paste it here.

EXTRA ACTIVITY: IMPROVE YOUR TYPING SKILLS

EXTRA ACTIVITY: IMPROVE YOUR TYPING SKILLS!
Load this URL and do the activity Practice, to improve your typing speed

and skills. Then compete with your partner.

SESSION 9: ELECTRONIC MAIL

In this sequence you are going to deal with electronic mail: the fastest way of communicating.

Session 9

Publish at Scribd or explore others:

SEARCH TIPS: FIND MUSIC AND VIDEOS MUCH EASIER

Watch the video and do the quiz. Then read the transcript. You'll learn a lot about narrowing your search to find music and videos much easier.

SESSION 8: URL'S, INTERNET SEARCH AND SITE CLASSIFICATION

This material looks at the way web addresses are read, then at how to improve and refine your search for information or data in the web and finally, we are going to look at some of the criteria that make a user friendly web site.

Session 8  

SESSION 7: MORE INTERNET TERMS

Learn more computer terms by doing the activities.

SESSION 6: COMPUTER TERMS

This session deals with computer related vocabulary, mainly with word processing terms. They are words we use all the time... do you know them in English? Do the activity and you'll be able to use this terminology easily and confidently! View the document below or view it here

SESSION 5: A VIDEO ABOUT THE HISTORY OF COMPUTERS

A short video about the history of computers. It is presented here as a historical look at how computers used to be in the 1960's when PC's and Macs were over 10 years away.

SESSION 4: THE HISTORY OF THE INTERNET AND THE WORLD WIDE WEB

What is the relationship between a small Russian satellite and the Internet? Read the text and you will find out this and much more!

SESSION 3: GETTING STARTED

How do we set up a computer? Read this simplified manual and answer the questions in your blog.

Computer manual

Read the instructions and put them in the correct order:

1.     The operating system is successfully installed, you can install your computer programs and other software

2.     You will then need to restart and your computer should boot automatically from the hard disk

3.     After you have connected the hardware (computer, monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer etc), you will need to install the system software on to your hard disk from a system disk or CD

CORRECT PARAGRAPH ORDER: ………………………………………………..

Activity:

Complete these definitions. Use a search engine if necessary.

Hardware is…………………………………………..

Software is……………………………………………

A mouse is……………………………………………

Boot means……………………………………………

SESSION 2: PRINTERS AND DISK DRIVES

Session 2 is devoted to printers and disk drives. Do the activities in order to learn the terms related to these two appliances.

SESSION 1: TYPES OF COMPUTERS

How many types of computers are there? What are their advantages and disadvantages? Learn about all this and more in this session.

Session 1: types of computers

INTRODUCTION: COMPUTER USE SURVEY

Please fill in this computer survey

WHY THIS COURSE?

Why the need to teach computing to kids, and on top of that, in English?

Watch this video and you'll find out why we feel it's important that our students become computer literate.