Dear Otto: Do Students Still Need to Learn Keyboarding?

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Joe :

I am a tech teacher at my school, and I just got word that the admin want to discuss eliminating “teaching kids to type”. She feels it is not an important skill to teach our “tech savvy” kids. This stems from the idea that many devices have virtual keyboards instead of physical keyboards. While I have my check-list of the reasons why typing is important for kids to learn, I also want to collect ideas and reasons from other experts in the field. Any research based data would be great too.Thanks for your help,

Before I answer Joe, I need to send a shout-out to my son, Sean, in Kuwait, as he defends America’s liberties–HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Back to my regularly scheduled post…

Hi Joe

The assumption of those who follow that line of thought is that technology can be self-taught, learned by doing. Just as it doesn’t work with piano or basketball, students who receive no direction in typing end up with bad habits that slow them down by the time they’re in middle school and need speed and accuracy for homework demands. If no one tells them otherwise, they think it’s fine to hunt-and-peck with two fingers (maybe that’s how dad does it) or type with their thumbs (the newest approach, thanks to texting). These students will struggle to deliver quality content for essays, reports, and high school and college applications. Where opinions are more and more forged by words on a screen–not by personal interaction or real-world connections (thanks to social media like FB and blogs)–these students will be found inferior.

Dear Otto: How do I prevent printer pandemonium?

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Cheryl in Indiana:

It seems that my well-structured primary tech classrooms fall apart when it is time to print.  Some students just keep pushing Print & end up printing multiple copies, 25 students scramble to the printer to collect their printouts.  Total chaos!  Any ideas?

I have a two-step solution to that:

• Teach students how to print. I take lesson time to show them the print box, the varied spots where things can be changed, and how to do it right. After that, I know it’s not lack of knowledge causing problems
• I don’t let them go to the printer. First, it gets to be the lab water cooler–everyone hanging out back there, chatting, while they wait for the stuff to print. That’s no good. Second, I’ can’t monitor that everything printed is appropriate if they’re taking papers from the printer. Third, if they print more than one, I want to chat with them about it.
• Consistent offenders aren’t allowed to print. I’ll email it to parents/teacher, but they lose the privilege

Which is better for schools: iPads or laptops?

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Roxi in South Africa:

Please could you share with us your opinion on school i-pads for ALL work the learners do. We have many requests from parents wanting to know when we will be switching to i-pads only. There seem to be many schools over the world that actually only use android devices for all their work and have great success in doing so. I have just started to research recently but up to now it seems to me that one cannot do all the academic stuff you need to do on an i-pad as comfortably and as inexpensively as you can do on a computer. Also the paradigm shift and hours of work to apply the curriculum to using androids might prove to be quite a daunting tasks for teachers who not confident with technology.

We have 3 labs at our school – I find that our learners are very much challenged and learn something new every day using laptops and computers. Please could you let me know what your findings are.

Hi Roxi

This is a question so many schools are struggling with. IPads are the exciting new toy (like laptops were just a few years ago) so schools are taking the issue of whether or not to buy seriously. Consider these Pros and Cons:

IPads have a great purpose in education:

• kids love them, are excited to learn anything that is taught via an iPad. What’s not to like about that as a teacher? Students will practice math facts, read books, happily gamify learning.
• iPads are light-weight, easy to care for, boot up quickly, and are fairly sturdy
• compared to a laptop, iPads are affordable. That leaves lots of money for other uses
• they are easier to care for, have less IT issues, and are not as likely to be ‘messed with’ by students. Plus, a certain amount of the upkeep can be performed easily by teachers
• iPads are great for collaboration–maybe better than laptops (unless you’re a Google Apps school. That could drop this off the list)
• for those parts of education that are media-centric–such as viewing videos, reading books, drawing–it’s hard to beat the iPad.
• iPad battery life is long compared to a laptop. Students don’t have to remember to recharge as often
• iPads have a much higher ease of use and accessibility than laptops. Between instant on, touch screen, not as many choices, they are much simpler to get up to speed on.
• I have to admit, iPads make recording, taking videos and pictures much simpler than if I used the laptop. Find out how important this is to teachers as you make your decision.

But there are downsides:

Dear Otto: I need reading resources for ELL/ESL

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Shelley:

Tomorrow is a half day planning day so I can’t wait to look at all of the websites you have for 1st grade. I’m wondering what recommendations can you give for ELL/ESL students? One of my student’s home language is Spanish and the other home language is Pashto. Thank you for any recommendations!

I found three websites that share story books in lots of languages:

• BookBox
• Children’s International Library
• Sounding Board–create custom boards using AbleNet symbols or your own photos; designed for children with autism or other special ed needs
• Speak-all–designed to help children with special needs learn the process of constructing sentences.
• Talk and Touch–create custom buttons that ‘talk’ when pushed
• TapTapSee–takes pictures and speaks aloud what the object is. Designed to help the blind and visually impaired identify objects they encounter in their daily lives.
• World Library

Dear Otto: What’s a good Website program?

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Kay

Can you recommend a user friendly place to create a class website….preferably free, or close to it! Thanks

I use Wikispaces for my class website. It’s versatile, robust, takes most of the widgets that make a class website exciting, and is free. Here are some of my class wikis:

• K-3^rd grade — http://smaatechk-3.wikispaces.com/
• 4th grade — http://smaatech-fourthgrade.wikispaces.com/ 
• 5th grade —  http://smaatech.wikispaces.com/
• Virtual Keyboarding Class
• 8th Grade Photoshop

Dear Otto: Any Ideas for Tech Ed Benchmark Assessments?

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Lisa and Tamma:

My district is asking us to create assessments.  I was wondering what you have included in them and how/when you administer them. Thanks!

Hi Lisa and Tamma

Keyboarding is always good, but there are some other excellent choices. I have an exercise I run students through called the Problem Solving Board. They teach each other how to solve the 20 most common problems (you can get them from this book or from the tech tips on my blog). Follow up with a quiz to see how much they remember–in groups or from a student-generated web-based problem-solving page.

I also have assessments for Word, Publisher, Excel, and hardware (click links for ideas). Students can take these at the beginning of school and then later in the year to assess improvement. And finally: Here’s a link from The Innovative Educator with some ideas.

Dear Otto: How Do I Teach Citations?

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Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Mary:

Based upon the Common Core expectations, how should we have students in grade 3-4 and 5-6 cite sources for research?

There is no easier way to teach citations than using an online citation creator:

• BibMe
• Citation Machine
• EasyBib
• WriteCite

Plug the information in on your SmartScreen to show students how it is done, and let the citation creator do the rest. Take time to explain the importance of each entry so students understand. This is fundamental to molding digital citizens out of the wild digital natives who enter your classroom. Help them understand the responsibilities that go hand-in-hand with the rights they acquire by accessing information on the internet.

Here’s an example using EasyBib:

Dear Otto: How Can Students Keep Track of Passwords?

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Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Kaylene in Ohio:

How do you teach students to keep track of the many usernames and passwords they will need when using all of the great web 2.0 tools? I personally use an encrypted Excel file, but what do you suggest for students in K-8?

Hi Kaylene

Great question. Here’s what I do for K-5: I have a binder by each station in the computer lab with a template for recording UN and PW for all accounts. This isn’t private (anyone could look in the binders), but most accounts don’t require any degree of security. The process is to get students used to tracking log-ins, that they have a source to check when they need a log-in. I do ask that each UN and PW be different so they acclimate to that and figure out a logic to accomplishing that which works for them. For example, they might come up with a sentence where they use the first letter of each word as the PW with some combination of number/symbol appended to the front or back. We also use Password Bird to create them, but this is entirely random–harder to remember.

Dear Otto: What Can I Use Besides PowerPoint?

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Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Kellie:

I want to teach my younger students how to make a slide show with photographs.  It needs to be free!  I have already taught them how to add photos to PowerPoint, but I want something a little more fun and flashy.  I have seen mixed reviews about SmileBox. All tips are appreciated.

The first one that comes to mind is Animoto. It will take pictures as well as music and creates a beautiful–albeit quick–presentation. Here’s my review of it. Then there’s Photostory–software, but a free download. That allows for longer slideshow-type presentations that also include sound. We use it with Windows 7 despite what the website says.

Here are a few others that might work for your purposes:

One Million Hits–Wow

Photo credit: Miss Piggy

I have to pause a moment to thank all of you for that amazing number. Who would have thought three-and-a-half years ago when I started Ask a Tech Teacher, I’d reach 1,000,000 hits.

Follow me

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Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-8 technology for 15 years. She is the editor of a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum, and creator of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. She is webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, presentation reviewer for CSTA, Cisco guest blogger, a monthly contributor to TeachHUB, columnist for Examiner.com, featured blogger for Technology in Education, and IMS tech expert. Currently, she’s editing a techno-thriller that should be out to publishers next summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.

Dear Otto: When will the 7/8 Technology Curriculum Textbooks be out?

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Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Rusty:

When will the Tech Curriculum textbooks for 7th and 8th grades be available?

Great question, so I checked with the folks at Structured Learning. Their estimate:

• 7th Grade: out in July
• 8th Grade: out in late summer/early fall

Dear Otto: Should I stick with age limits on websites?

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Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Leanne:

I am a Middle School teacher. Many of the teachers in my school want to use websites that state you need to be 13 or above. So far we have avoided them but as technology becomes more pervasive in our school and cooler and cooler websites become available, this is getting harder to stand by. How do you approach using websites that require 13 or above access?

Thank you, Leanne

And my answer:

What a great question. It is getting pervasive and kids are so comfortable on the internet, they find these sites and don’t understand the age restriction. Here’s what I do: I stick with the guidelines. It is too convoluted to get students to understand why it’s OK to break the rule in Case #1 and not in Case #2. Plus, parents don’t understand when our pedagogic judgment is it’s OK This Time and not That Time. It comes out as a subjective decision rather than an objective determination based on facts. As a result, I follow posted rules and find a different website that accomplishes what I need to.

Is there a particular website you’re trying to work around? Maybe I can help with that.

Dear Otto: PowerPoint or Publisher?

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Alex:

Hi! I know the difference between Power Point and Publisher. I focus on teaching Power Point, but maybe I should teach more of Publisher.  My question is should I stop teaching Power Point and only focus on Publisher?

Publisher and PowerPoint have two different focuses for student learning. Publisher teaches desktop publishing where PowerPoint focuses on presentations. Publisher enables students to provide evidence that they have thoroughly learned a topic (using text, images, graphic organizers) but doesn’t include the distractions (or enrichments) of sound, movement, audio. PowerPoint can include these to enhance a message, but risks obfuscating the true meaning by the multitude of media. This can distract from the authenticity of learning, enabling students to hide behind the bling, wow viewers with their artistry rather than their knowledge. You as teacher must decide which course is best for your purposes.

I get 2nd graders on Publisher with greeting cards, 3rd graders with a simple magazine, 4th graders with a trifold, and 5th graders with a newsletter. PowerPoint is a crowd please, one I teach only in 2nd and 3rd grade, at which point students know the basics and I turn the skill over to the class teacher with the knowledge they can expect students to create an effective slideshow.

Dear Otto: What Keyboard Curriculum is Best?

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from a user of the K-8 keyboard curriculum:

Can you tell me what software is required with the typing book?

Any software your school uses–your option. Or any of the free online offerings work, too. The important part is to develop good habits.

For a unique keyboarding curriculum from Ask a Tech Teacher, click here.

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Dear Otto: I need more guidance than the curriculum offers. What do I do?

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Dawn

I am a homeschool mother who is not computer literate.  I am concerned that my children are going to be behind in technology. I bought 2nd Grade Technology hoping to start my 5th and 8th grader in a computer technology curriculum however,  because I need a step by step curriculum, this book does not seem to meet my needs.  What can you recommend to get us off to a good start?

I understand. The best approach is to join the teaching wiki for the grade level you are interested in:

• Kindergarten
• 1st Grade
• Second Grade
• Third Grade
• Fourth Grade
• Fifth Grade

Dear Otto: Is Keyboarding Not for Cool Students?

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Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Rox who needs help motivating ‘android kids to take keyboarding skills seriously’:

My ‘cool’ grade 6 boys says keyboarding is for dinosaurs and won’t be relevant soon. Do you have some experienced answers I can give them.

Hi Rox

Keyboarding will not disappear fast enough to save your ‘cool’ students from note-taking on laptops, essays in high school that must be typed, college applications and college essays. Do they think Siri will take dictation? Or Dragon Speak? I suggest you sit them at a computer with Dragon Speak newly-installed and tell them to go at it. They’ll spend more time editing than they would have typing at 45-75 wpm—the speed that many middle school students can type. By the time keyboarding is no longer relevant, they’ll be well into the adult work-a-day world, wishing they’d learned to type (secretaries are dinosaurs for sure).

Dear Otto: What Are Good Guidelines for Younger Bloggers?

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Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

As we roll into a new year, recommitting to goals of improved writing and collaborating on learning, here’s a great question I got from Chaya:

I’d like to help my teachers start class blogs, but would love some kind of document on policies such as what to post/not to post, what needs passwords, etc. I’d like to get the student work out there while continuing to protect their safety and privacy.

Thanks!

I spent some time digging into what most people are using. Turns out, there’s a list that seems pretty good adapted from Academy of Discovery wiki wiki. Everywhere I checked, this is the list I got (often, personalized to the school’s unique situation):

Dear Otto: What are Options on Digital Portfolios

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Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

I received this question from Mary.

I teach Media Production, where my year 9 students get creative with Adobe Photoshop, Audition, Premier Pro and Stop Motion Pro. They have a wonderful time, but I would love to be able to provide them with a way of keeping a digital portfolio of their work. Our school runs Blackboard, but the digital portfolio add-in is very expensive, too much for our small school.

Are there any free web-based options I should know about, or less expensive ones?

Thanks!

Hi Mary

Have you considered getting students signed up for wikispaces? You can create a free wiki, add each student as a member and let them create their own page, then they can embed each project right onto their wiki page. I did this with 5th graders last year and got some beautiful results (albeit mixed because of the age. Some got it; some glazed over).

Dear Otto: What’s a good student email program?

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got:

I am fairly new to teaching technology ~ the previous computer teachers at my school did not set up student email accounts ~ I have about 200 students, PreK – 8. Is there an easy way to accomplish this?

Thank you!

We use Google Apps for 6-8, nothing for younger. I wondered what others were doing so I polled my PLNs. Overall, most schools use Google Apps if they have students emailing.

I used to teach grades 3-5 how to email (and probably should do so again in 5th grade–I’ve put that on my ToDo list). Here’re the screen shots of that lesson (available in Book II of the Toolkit).

Note: Links are active in the digital copy only.

Dear Otto: What’s a good program to create an online ezine?

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Ganasini:

I want to create a literary e-zine for my small, rural elementary school. What is the best program or venue–blog, wiki, or something else? I am looking more for a way to display work. In the past, I’ve done hard copy photocopied “newspapers” for students to publish their stories, reports, art work, book and movie reviews etc. I would like to try to publish something similar on the computer. One idea is that each student contributor could have a bi-line with their photo and then links to their various entries, or else I could organize it with links to student fiction, for instance. I think it would only go out to our small school community. Thanks so much for your input and direction! It is much appreciated.

This is especially important because of the requirements for publishing in the CCSS K-5 education standards and ISTE technology standards. There are a lot of solutions, I think, that could work for you:

• Adobe Professional–collect pdfs into a bundle and publish online with a cover, table of contents, or whatever else you’d like to include. I did this one year for a 4th grade poetry book. Students designed the cover. I added a TofC with each student poem, and then each poem. It can be displayed as a book or a rotating selection or a variety of different ways. And, it didn’t take long to create
• Issuu–collect all student work into a traditional magazine. Just upload and Issuu does most of the heavy lifting.
• Glogster–create a poster which includes each student name and is linked to their work..
• Check this link at Cool Tools for School. Scroll down to ‘publish’ (it’s under ‘presentation tools’) and see nine more options like Youblisher and Scribd.

Dear Otto: My computers are old. What do I do?

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Laurie:

Dear Otto,

Do you have the new Common Core in the state that you work in?  Do you have any tips for working in a district such as I do, that in the current economy naturally that has a tight budget for updating lab computers.  Most of the computers that are in the lab I work in are old and slow working.   Unfortunately, I do not have a Smartboard or Interactive Whiteboard.  I do use an old Epson projector.

There are a lot of teachers trying to keep up with tech ed changes despite older labs and computer set-ups. Some are lucky with 1:1 set-ups and classroom iPads, but lots of teachers make do with what they have.

Like you, I don’t have a smartscreen. Our IT guys attached my computer to a screen (probably like your Epson) so I can display samples and rubrics, and I have Splashtop on my iPad so I can get back to my screen from anywhere in the classroom (albeit, it’s a bit clunky) so that-all helps. I have students come up to the screen and point or share–a way to involve them more in the lessons. At times, I let them use my computer–when I flip the class and have them teaching a skill. This is quite popular.

Dear Otto: What About Carmen San Diego?

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Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Dawn:

We have upgraded our Computer Lab computers to Windows 7,  some programs are now obsolete since they were DOS and will not run with 7.   Carmen SanDiego is one we used for Geography.  Some teachers are sad we can’t use that anymore – the students did enjoy it.  Do you know of anything our that can take its place?  Thanks for your time!

I know what you mean. We tried to run it–spent too much time tweaking everything–and never succeeded. I’ve had to toss it.

There are a few geography games you can look into:

• Geography games–National Geographic
• Geography—geonet game (from Houghton Mifflin)
  
• Geography Games II

They’re OK, but not nearly as good as CSD. I’ll post your comment–see if anyone has any other ideas.

Dear Otto: What Online Images are Free?

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Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got:

I am having my kids create websites that will not be shared publicly. They are “Googling” images and I just want to know what are the copyright rules for such images? Should I limit their images only from certain “free” graphic sites? Just confused by all the rules like creative commons, public domain, copyright etc.. They asked if they can use pictures from Microsoft and I honestly don’t know what the rules are or how to explain them in 4th grade terms.The kids are not trying to sell anything, just creating a site as a way to share their research. They know how to site online resources that contain facts but not sure what to do with images. Is just providing the URL from the website that the image was on acceptable?

Maybe, if those images are copyright-free. If they aren’t, you just can’t use them.

A couple rules of thumb apply:

• Online images are fine (including Google):
  • if the images themselves don’t show copyright notices. Some do and those must be avoided. Others have easily-identifiable sources like NASA or Hubble. Many are copies of copies with no origination trail.
  • if a single copy is required for scholarly research or use in teaching or preparation to teach a class.
  • if the image has fallen into the ‘public domain’
• But don’t assume online images are fine without verifying that conclusion. Show students how to look for evidence of copyright protections (see below), watermarks, and any notifications about fair use.

Before using these images, take time to introduce students to the ideas of copyright protections and privacy issues. I explain what those are, demonstrate how to use best practices to avoid infringing. I teach this unit every year, making the details age-appropriate and more thorough as students mature in their understanding of the process.

Here’s a good list of copyright-free image/clip art websites:

Dear Otto: How Can I Highlight a Document

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Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

One of my readers was making a presentation and wanted to know how to highlight the screen for her audience and/or spotlight information. When she sent the question, I didn’t have a solution, but have since come across several I want to share with you.

PointerStick

I love this tool I discovered thanks to Rick over at What’s on my PC. This is a portable tool that presents on the Windows Desktop as a virtual pointer stick. It’s freeware, requires no log-in, and minimal installation.

Dear Otto: What’s a Good Comic Creator

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Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Amber:

What’s the best way for students to create a comic book like thing on the computer?

Zimmer Twins

A very popular online program for creating (free) comics that can be shared.

Lego Comic Builder

Create a comic using Legos. Lots of characters, backgrounds, objects and dialogue options. I use it for 2nd graders.

MakeBeliefsComix

Dear Otto: Should Students Space Once or Twice After a Period?

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Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Lisa:

In teaching 5th and 6th graders (I became the tech. teacher this year), do you teach them to space once or twice after periods and colons.  It seems to me that what I see on the web/business world is that there is no longer a need to space twice.  Yet my students’ homeroom teachers tell them to space twice.  I want to teach them what is correct but I also do not want to confuse them.

A: That’s a question I get a lot–and often people are sure they know the answer, just want me to validate their two-space conclusion.

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but two spaces is the floppy disc of keyboarding–we’ve moved past it. It’s not wrong; you don’t have to retrain yourself to go space instead of space-space, but with new keyboarders, teach them one space.

It started in published documents. They wanted to save room, which saved money, so eliminated that extra space, and the practice rolled into everyday use. Some people still teach two spaces, but preferred is one. And if you want to teach kids the approach that will get them through college, it’s one.

Thanks for this question. It’s one that always comes up. We need a great big bull horn to get the word out better.

Dear Otto: What Can I Use Besides TuxPaint/KidPix?

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Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Mrs. V had this question:

We are switching to Windows 7 on all our computers at school that can work with Windows 7. This means a lot of “free” open source software will not work; so we are “losing” all those programs. My main concern is losing the drawing program TUX PAINT for the K, 1, 2 students. Paint is too hard for them to learn, I think. Are there any other programs/software that could replace that “free” slot?

I haven’t heard that TuxPaint doesn’t work on Win 7. Anyone have experience with that?

Nevertheless, what’s important is that in this particular case it doesn’t work. There is another fun paint program called Kerpoof. It is entirely online–no download–and has many of the tools TuxPaint provides to teach essential mouse skills–drag-and-drop, click and double-click, drag (to paint). You can make a card, a drawing, and/or a story. It has tutorials and tips, and provides lesson plans and cross-references them with state standards. You can also sign up an entire class so you can track them (although the standard Kerpoof drawing program is free). Many teachers use it in the classroom in conjunction with KidPix/TuxPaint.

Dear Otto: How Do You Teach Adults to Keyboard?

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Mr. Holloway in Odessa wanted to know if there were lessons for teaching keyboarding to adults

Teaching keyboarding to adults is similar to teaching kids. They still need to learn correct posture, hand position, use of all fingers, touch typing–they just get it faster and take it more seriously. The game-like approach prevalent in teaching children isn’t necessary.

I have a wiki I use for a summer keyboarding class that starts at the beginning of keyboarding and proceeds through to mastery. You  might find the progression of skills and the mix of activities useful.

Here are a list of websites that should serve well with adult students:

• Nimble Fingers–a popular progressive typing system adults will find fun and successful.
• Online keyboarding–this page is from Nimble Fingers. It’s great for adults, done online, and instructive
• Typing Lessons–  A progressive and thorough approach designed for high schoolers–and great for adults
• Flash Cards–scroll down to ‘flash cards’ and have students type the words they see. This is challenging and important for adults to accomplish
• Typing Test–a great way to track improvements in typing speed. No log-in required

Dear Otto: Where Can I Find Kid-safe Images?

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Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from a reader:

I am a computer lab teacher and teach grades 1-5.  I can really use some advice from others. Do you have a good place for students to go and get images that are appropriate – I teach grades 1-5  and Google even with strict settings as well as MS Office clipart have some inappropriate images  that come up from searches

I wrote a post about this almost a year ago. I appreciate that you’ve reminded me it’s time to revisit. This is harder than it should be. I use Google as a default because it is the safest of all the majors, not to say it’s 100% kid-safe. I spent quite a few hours one weekend checking out all of the kid-friendly child search engines (Sweet Search, KidSafe, QuinturaKids, Kigose, KidsClick, Ask Kids, KidRex, and more), but none did a good job filtering images. Content–yes, but images dried up to worthless for the needs of visual children.

Dear Otto: Why Can’t I type into a PDF?

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Shelley:

Is there anyway to type into a PDF form?  I get forms and worksheets in PDF form and would like to change them sometimes and do not know how.

A: We’ve all received those wonderful PDFs that allow you to enter data (as long as you have a free PDF reader). Usually, you can’t save the PDF with the data, but you can print it. Other times, the PDF doesn’t allow entering information.

Half a Million Hits–Wow

Photo credit: Miss Piggy

I had to pause a moment to thank all of you for that amazing number. Who would have thought three years ago that would be my number.

___________________________

Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-sixth grade, creator of two technology training books for middle school and three ebooks on technology in education. She is the author of Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything. Currently, she’s editing a thriller for her agent that should be out to publishers this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.

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Dear Otto: What About Teacher Tech Training?

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Mary:

How does your district approach professional development opportunities especially when it comes to technology?  How do you sustain professional development? We have 2 days a year set aside for professional development focused on technology but then there’s no follow up or time given to apply the new concepts learned. We sit and get and then it’s gone. How can we make it more sustainable?  Is there a model that exists that we could follow? We tried tech Tuesdays but teachers are so stressed with the every day responsibilities they have few would give up their lunch time or after school time to attend. Any suggestions?  Thank you.

Dear Otto: How Do You Keep Students From Playing with Settings?

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Jamie:

I love your site I have purchased three of your Technology series. I noticed [in the K-6 textbooks] you talk about using protopage – how do you let your students use it  without them doing anything to what is on the page. 

A: I love my protopage internet start page. I don’t mind if my students (I teach K-8) edit the page (within reason). I was worried at first so I put blocks there specifically for comments, wall writing, doodling. I tried Wall Wisher, which didn’t work well. I added a hamster and a pet dog that students can play with, feed, virtually cuddle. In some of the widgets (such as the calculator), the skins can be changed. That’s fine. I like that students personalize their stations even though the next class in 45 minutes might make changes. If they take ownership of the computer, they’ll take better care of it and enjoy the class more. I used to let them add wallpapers until the IT department locked us out.

Dear Otto: How do I protect my lab?

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from John:

I am a teacher in New England and I saw your Blog and I thought it was very very done and interesting. I have a question that perhaps you can give me some insight from the perspective of a technology teacher. Our school is putting into place a state of the art technology lab for the upcoming school year. The materials and equipment within the lab are very expensive so there is a great deal of responsibility on the lab teacher to monitor and maintain supplies, equipment, etc. I was wondering if you had any ideas as to what procedures or protocol you have used or ones that could be used to make sure materials, supplies, and equipment remain in good condition or to ensure that students do not simply “pocket” or “walk off” with materials.

Thanks for your time and help.

Dear Otto: Should Lefties Use Right Hands for Mousing Around

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Sandy:

Q: I am a Computer Teacher for Early Education (3 & 4 year old) and also Elementary students.  My question to you is if a child is left handed, should you teach them to use their mouse with their left hand?

A: That’s a great question. I’ve seen lots of different answers, but there’s only one that makes sense to me: Allow students to use the hand they’re most comfortable with. If they want to use the left, I set the mouse up so it works for them. Often, it’s a shared station, so I help the student get used to reversing the mouse buttons themselves. If that’s enough to convince them to use the right hand, so be it, but many times, they are eager to take the few extra seconds to visit the control panel and set the mouse up to suit their needs.

By allowing students to choose, I first don’t let my prejudices influence how they learn. I don’t want them to go one way because I told them to. I want them to make up their minds and act  in their own best interests. This also prevents me from interfering with the parenting they receive at home. Moms and dads may have strong opinions on this subject and nudge their children accordingly. I don’t want to interfere with that when experience tells me it doesn’t make any difference.

What do you do with your lefties?

Dear Otto: What iPad Apps Do You Recommend?

Do you have a tech question?

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers

about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Christine:

Q: Hi,  I teach 8th grade Physical science and next year all of my students will be issued their own ipad.  Any tips on how to find good apps and examples of lessons that use the ipad? Thanks!

A: There are any number of websites that promise a list of iPad apps for education. Some are free, some not and in my experience, they’re particular to a teacher’s interests. Instead of those, I’d recommend going to the Twitter hashtag #ipaded. This stream highlights realtime iPad apps that are recommended by active educators. For example, there’s one called SimplePhysicsyou might enjoy.

Here are some more from my e-colleague Tony:

• Quixey: a search engine of all apps – for Android as well as iPhone & iPad
• Appitic: one of my favourites – collections of apps by theme
• Appolicious: probably the largest collection of reviewed apps – well worth a look!
• iPad apps perfect for ES: a selection of apps that come highly recommended by ‘experts’
• iKidApps: you can search by age or subject and you’ll find great reviews on a load of different apps
• iPad Apps used in school–the list Tony uses. I love it.
• iPad Apps for Education--a comprehensive list from Kathy Shrock

What iPad apps do you recommend?

Google EBooks is a Year Old. How are they doing?

On Monday, Dec. 6, 2010, Google finally launched the Google Ebookstore. Long-awaited, it’s a viable outlet for ebooks of all kinds. Google Books. It offers ebooks for Androids, iPhone, iPad, Nook, Sony and the Web. All in one place. Doesn’t that sound right? I found one of my books there…

Google Books Version of my Book