New symbol keys

WARMUP:
P. 41, 17D lines 1-6 once

NEW KEYS:
P. 42, 18B, lines 1-3 twice (# = right shift key + L2)
P. 42, 18B, lines 4-6 twice (& = left shift key + R1)
P. 42, 18B, lines 7-9 twice (+ = left shift key + R4)

We'll see where we are at when we get done with these as to what we do next.

Learn new symbols

THIS WEEK:

*Formatting Activity 3 & 4
*Learn new keys:  symbols
*Technique grade

At this point I'm sure we're all tired of learning the keyboard, but rest assured that you're making great progress!  We really are nearing the end of learning the keys...my goal is to get these done as soon as we can so we can move on to bigger and better things in class.

So, with that in mind, we are going to try to get through the rest of the symbols this week (which should be easy to do).  We don't have a vocab quiz this week which will also help.

Warmup:  P. 40, 17B, lines 1-9 once

P. 41:
17C lines 1-3 twice (% = right shift key + L1)
17C lines 4-6 twice (< = left shift key + R2)
17C lines 7-9 twice (> = left shift key + R3)

P. 42:
18B lines 1-3 twice (# = right shift key + L2)
18B lines 4-6 twice (& = left shift key + R1)
18B lines 7-9 twice (+ = left shift key + R4)

Additionally, there are only 2 weeks left in the first quarter, which ends on October 10th.  We get out an hour early this Friday for Homecoming, and then have all next week.  Next week there will be a vocab quiz (#5 - Internet #1), which we will take on Friday, which is the last day of the first quarter.  BE PREPARED!!

Vocab Quiz #4 - SOFTWARE; learn diagonal, dollar sign, and exclamation point symbols

As per our usual procedures on days when we have vocab quizzes we will take a few minutes to review at the beginning of the hour.  Please do not go to Classmarker until I tell you to do so.

Once you finish the quiz you will be learning new symbols on the keyboard.  Follow the below directions to complete these symbols for today:

P. 40 17B, lines 1-3 twice (this is the diagonal - use your R4 finger)
P. 40 17B, lines 4-6 twice (this is the dollar sign - use the right shift key and L1 finger on the 4)
P. 40 17B, lines 7-9 twice (this is the exclamation point - use the right shift key and the L4 finger on the 1)

Once you get done typing these lines, raise your hand and I will come over to check to see that you are done.  When you get done you may go to any of the typing games websites for practice.

Copy vs. Cut and paste; Extension; Learn 5, 7, 3, 6 and 2

COPY AND PASTE VS. CUT AND PASTE
EXTENSION

Numbers:

5 - L1 (reach from F to 5)
7 - R1 (reach from J to 7)
3 - L2 (reach from D to 3)
6 - R1 (reach from J to 6 - the longest reach on the keyboard!)
2 - L3 (reach from S to 2)

To warmup we will start with typing on page 31, 14A, lines 1-3 once.

P. 31, 14B, lines 1-4 twice
P. 32, 14C, lines 1-6 once
P. 32, 14D, lines 1-8 twice

Software vs. Program; learn number keys

SOFTWARE VS. PROGRAM

8 - R2 (reach from K to 8)
1 - L4 (reach from A to 1)
9 - R3 (reach from L to 9)
4 - L1 (reach from F to 4)
0 - R4 (reach from ; to 0)

P. 29, 13B, lines 1-4 twice
P. 30, 13C, lines 1-6 once
P. 30, 13D, lines 1-8 twice
P. 30, 13E, lines 1-6 once

When you get done with the above practice lines you need to go to the Free typing Game website and choose either test 8 or test 9.  You need to take at least 3 tests before you write your score on the poster paper!!

Finish FA2; Learn 8, 1, 9, 4, and 0

REMINDER - VOCAB DEFINITIONS DUE TONIGHT FOR WEEK4!!!

Today we are going to finish FA2.  When you are done you should have 2 pages that are printed out - make sure to staple these and hand into the gray tray on the corner of my desk.  There is a specific order in which these should be stapled together so make sure to put them in correct order.

Once you get done with the formatting activity you will be working on learning the numbers across the top of the keyboard.  We are going to start with the first 5 today.  Here is how they should be used:

8 - R2 (reach from K to 8)
1 - L4 (reach from A to 1)
9 - R3 (reach from L to 9)
4 - L1 (reach from F to 4)
0 - R4 (reach from ; to 0)

When entering the numbers it will require you to really reach your fingers - I highly recommend watching your fingers make the "jump" from home row to the number row so you can get an idea of how far your fingers actually have to go in order to get to the numbers.  That also means that anchoring - or making sure that you keep at least one of your fingers on the home row - will be an even more important part of not losing your place on the home row.

P. 29, 13B, lines 1-4 twice
P. 30, 13D, lines 1-8 twice
P. 30, 13C, lines 1-6 once
P. 30, 13E, lines 1-6 once

FA2; vocab week #4 (software)

THIS WEEK:

*Formatting Activity 2
*Formatting Activity 3
*Learn new keys:  the numbers (across top of keyboard)
*Speed Test
*Technique grade
*Vocab quiz #4 (list is SOFTWARE)

One note from last week (this will be important as we go forward and continue to work on Formatting Activities) - once you submit a formatting activity and I grade it if you do it correctly you will NOT get an email in return; however, if there is some part of the activity that you do not complete correctly I will be sending you an email with details on what you didn't do correctly.  In most cases you do not need to respond to these emails - I just send them to you so you know why you got the grade you got.  There may be an occasional case where you need to resend me something, and if that's the case I'll mention that in the email.

This is another week of vocabulary, and this week's vocabulary list is on software.  If you have vocab definitions to complete they should be posted by Tuesday night.

We are going to start today with working on Formatting Activity 2.  When we do these activities they will be embedded on the blog (you can see it below); on most days I will be discussing with you what you need to do to complete the formatting activity correctly, but if I see people working on the assignment while I am talking and explaining how to complete the formatting activity I will be taking 10% off of your grade.  Do not start working on these activities until I tell you to start.


Activity 2.pdf

Vocab quiz #3

You will have a short amount of time at the beginning of class to review for the vocab quiz - you'll need to go to the Wikispaces page to review.  If you don't know your password I don't have it - you'll have to create a new password on the website.

After completing the quiz you will need to turn to page 18 in your book and learn three new keys.  The apostrophe is keyed with your right little finger (R4) and is the key between the semicolon and the return key; the hyphen is keyed with your right little finger (R4) and is the key to the right of the zero; and the quotation marks are keyed with your left shift key and right little finger (Left Shift + R4) and is located on the apostrophe key between the semicolon and the return key.  On page 18, Lesson 8D, type lines 1-9 twice each.

Once you get done with these lines raise your hand and I will come look at what you have done.  Once I have seen that you have completed these lines you can go to any of the practice websites and play the keying games.

Short day - learn Caps Lock key, question mark, and TAB key

Today you only have a 1/2 day of school (the teacher's still have to work a full day...be sure to think of us when you're out riding your bike or playing with your friends this afternoon!), and so we are going to use the shortened time to learn 3 new keys.  They are the Caps Lock key (L4), the question mark (Left shift + R4), and the TAB key (L4).

There is a vocab quiz tomorrow so please prepare yourself accordingly.

Windows vocabulary; vocab word search; keying practice

DO NOT CHANGE THE BACKGROUNDS ON THE COMPUTER!!  This actually is a violation of the computer lab policy and should not be attempted.

I want to start today by discussing a few things regarding this week's vocabulary list - Operating System, Windows, Tool bar, and Menu bar.

After explaining those to you I am going to give you time in class today to search for definitions for your vocabulary words.  After today there shouldn't be anyone who doesn't have a definition posted when it is time for their words to be posted on the Wikispaces page.  You're not going to be able to post your definitions in class today but you will have your definitions.

Once this is complete we will head back to the practice websites for more practice.

Learn Z and colon (left shift + R4); vocab definitions due tonight!

If you have not completed FA1 and emailed it to me then you need to get that done ASAP at the beginning of class.  If you have already completed FA1 and it has been emailed to me then you need to go to the Free Typing Game website and complete a couple of the speed tests.  Choose test #8.  These do not need to be written on the poster on the wall - just practice to see how well you can do.

Today we will learn the last letter (yay!) on the keyboard - the Z (L4); in addition we will also be learning the colon (Left Shift + R4).

Just a quick reminder for those who are responsible for vocab definitions for week 3 - your definitions must be posted to the Wikispaces page by tonight.

Finish FA1; Vocab week #3

THIS WEEK:

*Learn new keys:  Z, colon (:), Caps lock key, Question mark (?), Tab key, 
*Speed Test practice
*Technique grade
*Vocab quiz #3 (list is WINDOWS)
*Formatting Activity 2


Today we will complete FA1 and submit that to me, via email, for a grade.  Before you send anything with your email we need to cover a few things regarding submitting assignments to me using your email.

1. When you submit an assignment through your email you must include the 5 parts to a proper email (email address, subject line, greeting, body, and signature).  We've already covered this information so this should be a simple reminder.  However, if you do not have a signature in your email account you were probably gone the day we did that and you will need to create a signature (either ask a person sitting next to you or see me outside of class).
2. When you submit an assignment to me you will need to attach a Microsoft Word file - DO NOT ATTACH A GOOGLE DOC!  Usually what happens when you attach a Google Doc is you have to give me permission to see it, and some people will forget to do that.  More importantly, some of the formatting used in Word gets lost when the document is transferred over to a Google Doc, and then when I go to grade it your document will not "look" correct.  ALWAYS ATTACH A MICROSOFT WORD FILE!!
3. Save your formatting activities in at least two places.  My suggestion is to save them to your Google drive and to a flash drive.  DO NOT SAVE TO THE DESKTOP!!
4. I will show you how to upload a file to your Google Drive - if you have a bad memory take notes.  This is important and it is something you need to know how to do, not just for this class but for your future in this school district as there are many teacher who will expect you to have the skill of saving a file to your drive.  You also need to know how to download a file from your drive to your computer, so we'll go over that as well.

After completing this and emailing your FA1 to me we will review by going to the websites.  What I would like for you to do first is go to the Free Typing Games website and try 3 speed tests - we're not going to record these, but let's just practice.  After doing those then you can go to any of the practice websites on the Website resources page on the blog and practice.  Make sure to keep your speed skin on the keyboard!

As a reminder this is vocab week #3, so if you are responsible for defining words for this week those need to be posted by tomorrow night (Tuesday, Sept. 16).  If you missed last week's quiz on Friday you will need to come in outside of class time and complete it.

Vocab Quiz #2 (Hardware #2); Formatting Activity #1

You'll be given a few minutes at the beginning of class to review for the quiz - you'll want to go to your Wikispaces page to do that.  Do NOT go to Classmarker until asked to do so.  As a reminder, make sure to submit your quiz answers - failure to do so will mean that you will have to come back and retake the quiz.

When you are done you will need to complete Formatting Activity 1, which is embedded below.  The instructions are given here - follow the instructions in order.  However, instead of completing steps 7 and 8 what you need to do is save your file to a flash drive. We will cover how to complete step 8 on Monday.  IF YOU DO NOT SAVE YOUR DOCUMENT TO YOUR FLASH DRIVE IT WILL BE ERASED AND YOU WILL HAVE TO START OVER NEXT WEEK!!!


FA1.pdf







If you get done you are welcome to go to the website resources page on the blog, go to the practice websites and play typing games.

Learn Q and comma; start Formatting activity 1

We will begin today with learning the Q (L4) and the comma (R2).

Once we complete learning these two new keys we will begin the process of learning about the first formatting activity and the formatting toolbar in Word.  Because we will be working on a Formatting Activity tomorrow in class (after the vocab quiz) you will want to bring your flash drive so that you can save your work to it.

We also will spend a little bit of time today talking about how to upload a file to your Google Drive, because this will also be a procedure you will be employing frequently throughout the semester (as we work on the formatting activities).  

Lastly, don't forget that tomorrow you have a vocab quiz over the week 2 vocab words (Hardware #2).

Speed test; practice

We are going to spend some time today reviewing the keys we have learned so far.  After reviewing we will go to the Free Typing Games website to see how our speed is progressing.  Just like we did last time we will take 3 one minute timings and use the best score.  Remember to use the corrected speed when writing your speed on the poster.  You will need to use either test #6 or test #7.

After completing the timed writings I will have another activity for you - I'll explain it when we get to it.

GPS video; review all keys learned; learn P and V

We are going to start today with this video on GPS.  Again, if you have GPS as a vocab word you may want to take what they talk about here and include it with what you post on the Wikispaces page.

Today we will review all of the keys we have learned so far.

We will also learn the P (R4) and the V (L1).

Week 4; Learn M and X; router video

THIS WEEK:

*Learn new keys:  M, X, P, V, Q, comma (,)
*Speed Test
*Technique grade
*Vocab quiz #2 (list is Hardware #2) - videos on router and GPS
*Formatting Activity 1 (end of the week - maybe)

ROUTER VIDEO

After watching the video we will review from last week, then we will move onto learning the M (R1) and the X (L3).

If you have not yet posted your definitions for this week's vocabulary list you need to get that done by tomorrow night.  I would highly recommend that you get that done during lunch recess, study hall, or tonight at home so you are not scrambling at the last minute tomorrow night trying to get it done.

Learn B and Y

Today we will add the B (L1) and the Y (R1) to our arsenal of learned keys.  These are both long reaches on the keyboard, but since you are using your index fingers it should help.

After learning these two keys we will spend the rest of the hour reviewing.

Review; Blind assignment

We will start with a review from yesterday - we had very little time to practice the right shift key at the end of the hour so we will spend some time today reviewing that key along with everything else.

Once we spend some time reviewing we will be completing our blind assignment.  This will involve 20 words - I will spell each word to you so you need not worry about being a bad speller - and we will print this out and hand it in for a grade.  I will have several other instructions that I will give you before we start.

As a reminder, if you have vocabulary words that need to be defined for next week they need to be done by next Tuesday night.  That's still plenty of time...this is just a friendly reminder to get that done.  If you want to come in here at school (outside of class time) then you are welcome to do so, just make sure you let me know when you are coming in.

Speed test; learn W and Right Shift Key

We are going to start by reviewing all of the keys, with a concentration on the keys we learned yesterday (the U and the C).

After reviewing we are going to take a speed test to see how fast you are keying.  This will not be for a grade, but it will give us an idea as to where you are now, and then when we do this later how much you have improved.

After the speed test we will head back to learning two new keys - the W (L4) and the Right Shift Key (R4).

Learn U and C;

FOR THIS WEEK:

*Learn new keys:  U, C, W, Right Shift, B, and Y
*Speed Test
*Technique grade
*Blind assignment
*Reminders:  Google doc - passwords; vocabulary postings (due by Tuesday of the week they are on the vocab list)

Today we are going to learn the U (R1) and the C (L2).  We are making good progress towards learning the entire keyboard - keep up the good work!