Hi everyone in front of me,

     My name is Sue Leonard.  I try to" teach "all fourth grade subjects in the Canton Area School District.  Teaching is becoming a thing of the past.  I now spend most of my time testing, testing and testing.  - did I mention testing!!!???

 

Google Docs

 

     Our class spent most of yesterday working with Google Docs.  The hardest part for me was getting it set up.  I could not remember my home password.  This was the result of a new computer and many changes in my password.  What seemed like 3 hours later it finally came to me.

     I have not used the Google Docs before but found that I really enjoyed it.  I feel that since I will be getting a Virtual White Board installed in my classroom over the summer I will now use the Google Docs as often as possible.

 

 

 

This is a link to Del.icio.us/ for our group project   

 

Desktop Publisher 

 

 Our next assignment was to compare and contrast Microsoft Word and Desktop Publisher.  We found that Word is best used for documents that do not need many graphics.  Most graphics do not move in Word.  However, graphics in Publisher are moved easily.  You can also design many different forders, fonts, backgrounds etc. 

 

 Sue Leonards Banner.pdf

 

Excel

 

I work with spreadsheets on a daily basis but had never created a spreadsheet on my own.  We entered data based on our names, where we teach, the grade level we teach and where we went to college.  We learned (at least I did - others may have already known) how to enter the data, change formulas and functions.  We also worked with formatting the data.  The word "DATA" is a very busy buzz word in our school.  With Excel   I should be able to really impress our superintendent.

 

Graphics

 

After we found a graphic we worked in Paint.  Wow! That was actually fun.

 

 

PA White Tail Deer.GIF 

 

MICROSOFT PICTURE MANAGER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FINAL PROJECT

 

Over the past half dozen years our school district has been purchasing Interactive White Boards.  Every classroom should be equipped with a White Board by the 2008-2009 school year.  I will be getting one installed in my classroom sometime this summer.  I chose to be one of the last for a number of reasons.  My main reason was that I was kind of afraid of them and worried that I would not use it enough to justify the cost.  Over the past years I have witnessed some teachers never using them.  Others using them a couple of times a year.  And others using them on a daily basis.

 

After watching my fourth grade co-workers use the White Boards I have become very impressed with the many uses for the boards.  I hope to start out using mine to help fill in our science unit gaps.  We can only teach science two days a week and these lessons are taught from a science module sent to us.  It is impossible through these units to be able to cover most of what is on our Science PSSA'S.  My goal is to be able to cover this gap with the Interactive White Boards.

 

The following are some links I plan on using for my science class.

 

BRAINPOP 

GAMEQUARIUM