What’s In A High School Computer Class?
A friend was asking me about my experiences teaching computers here the other day, so I thought I’d put up a blog post and share this on Facebook since I’m sure they aren’t the only ones interested in an easy computer class curriculum.
In the second semester of the last school year, I had a chance to teach a computer class to all of the high school students at our small private school. I designed and developed the entire curriculum from the ground up and it was truly an educational experience for both me and my students. I thought going in that the students would be the only ones learning but boy was I wrong when I started realizing how much they already knew and how hungry they were for interesting projects.
I started them out by introducing them to Social Media and making sure they were grounded in at least one social networking site. Next I moved on to Squidoo Lenses. Every student had to make a Squidoo Lens on something that interested them. I wanted to get them writing and sharing about something they were passionate about.
After Squidoo lenses, I introduced them to the world of blogging by sharing some of the more famous blogging sites. I showed them how you could share your views and opinions and also how you could use a blog to make money. John Chow’s blog really struck a cord with some of the boys. For the blogging unit, they had to create a blog, adjust the blog’s theme and then publish several posts on the blog.
Our next project unit was about video. Basically, I divided the class into several groups and they had to produce a 2 minute video of their own creation. I was surprised out how great the quality turned out. I saw a lot of potential in my students from this project.
I added in a unit about Powerpoint just because a couple of the students expressed interest in it, but generally most of the students were a bit bored with it. I allowed them to use to Powerpoint to create a project showing what they had learned over the school year as a final project.
All in all, I’d say it was a great class and while the curriculum wasn’t perfect, it gives a general idea of what to offer in a high school elective computer class.
Maybe It’s Time To Get An MA In Teaching
This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of USC. All opinions are 100% mine.
As some of you already know, I am a teacher. I enjoy teaching my students, I enjoy expanding my horizons, and I enjoy making a difference in people’s lives. Education is one of the greatest gifts we can pass onto others.
As a longtime teacher, I know that having advanced training helps me improve the quality of education that I am providing. This is why I take every training and in-service opportunity that comes along. If there is a seminar being held then you’ll probably find me there.
One advancement that I have wanted for awhile has been a Masters degree. I do feel somewhat constricted with just a BS degree and I know that a Masters would open up many new doors. Unfortunately, the nearest MA program is too far away. Some people have suggested that I study online, but I always thought that studying online meant that I would be sacrificing educational quality.
Well, that’s what I did think. My opinions are changing after reading about the USC Rossier School of Education’s MAT@USC program. Yes, that’s USC as in the University of Southern California. They’ve got an MA program that is ranked #22 among all universities in the US and #9 among private universities according to US News and World Reports. Check out the program information for yourself.
The classes are taught USC faculty members who are at the forefront of modern education innovation and they utilize a state of the art interactive learning environment combined with field experiences in your own hometown. For me, this would mean being able to utilize what I am learning in my own classes right away. I see a huge benefit with this. Best of all, the USC Rossier School of Education has a 100 year history of educating teachers to be agents of change in their own community and schools.
I am very interested in finding out more about this program and I know I’ll be talking about this program with other teachers. Maybe it’s time I get my MA.
My New TEFL Project
It’s break time so that means it’s time for me to get some real work done and get some new sites up and rolling. One of the sites that I am doing is a Freelance TEFL site. Most of it will be new, but a good chunk of it, at least at first, will be a rehash of some of the work I’ve done in the past. The defunct TEFLWatch forum will be resurrected as a base for the Freelance TEFL forum. Some of old school ratings and Hall of Shame postings from the TEFLWatch blog will be resurrected as well.
While none of the work is ready to go live yet, the content is looking good and it won’t be long until I am back helping teachers get ahead.
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- What’s In A High School Computer Class?
- Maybe It’s Time To Get An MA In Teaching
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