Teaching the Basics

I'm a high school technology teacher in the inner city. So far, we've been focusing on projects, creating some great products with Office, SketchUp, Google Earth, etc. More and more, though, I'm realizing that my students haven't had the benefit of growing up with computers at home, like many of their more affluent peers.

So, I'm looking for resources to teach the basics: components of the computer, key technology terms, working with Microsoft Windows, etc.

I would be grateful to anyone who could pass along resources, PowerPoints, etc. that deal with these crucial elements.

Cheers,
Justin Eames

Tags: basic, computer, vocabulary, windows

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Permalink Reply by Cheska Robinson on October 9, 2009 at 4:21pm

I'm currently taking a grad course in teaching methods on computer laboratory methods; my instructor uses this textbook and you may want to take a look at it. It's called "The Computer Lab Teacher's Survival Guide, K-6 Units." IMHO it's basic for secondary, but it provides some good structure for creating lesson plans, especially for that crucial first day or first week in teaching "the basics". It's worth a look.

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Permalink Reply by Cheska Robinson on October 9, 2009 at 4:24pm

Some ideas on covering key technology terms... what do you think about creating a "cyber glossary" together? Your class can work on in year-long, either with a wiki or an actual illustrated book using Lulu or similar program.

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Permalink Reply by Lynne Bailey on October 9, 2009 at 5:21pm

When I was teaching technology I started by putting words on the board and asking students what words they heard of relative to computers and the Internet followed by discussion. I used Intel's Journey Inside http://www97.intel.com/en/TheJourneyInside website which includes a glossary. I also created a flash tutorial on Technology Trends which can be found from www.lynnembailey.com. Perhaps you will find these to be useful.