Third and fourth grade students have computer class once a week, when Mrs. Frederick comes into the classroom with MacBooks, iPod Touches, or iPads. Computer class is planned and conducted in conjunction with classroom teachers, so that activities and lessons reinforce classroom content.
Third and fourth grade computer class is based more on long-term projects than earlier grades, where students are more likely to work on activities that only last for one class. These projects might include online research, directed use of search engines, and presentations in the form of slideshows or videos.
Third and fourth graders also have one trimester of the year in which they go to the Ollie lab once a week for keyboarding instruction. Students work at their own pace through the Typing Master program. Fifth grade will be the final year of keyboarding, in order to have students familiarized with the keyboard and keyboarding methods by the time they begin sixth grade English, in which there is a heavy emphasis on composition performed at the computer.
The third grade Parent Night handout is available by clicking here.