Crossword puzzle due; speed test tournament beginning!

Please make sure to hand in your crossword puzzle with your name on it.

We are going to begin the speed test tournament.  When we do this we are going to use the Typeracer website.  Here are the steps to follow:

1. On the half sheet of blue paper write both competitors names 
2. The competitor listed as Player #1 needs to go to the Typeracer website, click on the "Race your friends" link, then write down the entire URL - that means you also need to include the "http://" part of the URL.  Hand the blue sheet to Player #2.
3. Player #2 will enter the URL in the address bar of their browser.
4. When both players are ready, TYPE!!
5. When you are done, circle the winner and then give the blue sheet to Mr. Pardoe.
6. Names will be written in appropriate spots on the bracket, and then when the next round is ready you'll complete these steps again with your next opponent.

This is meant to be an exercise in which you are keying, but ultimately this should be fun!  There is nothing wrong with being a competitor, but I do not allow putdowns in the room.  This should be a welcome diversion from the monotony of keying out of the book, not a way for you to make fun of someone else.

We will go through 2 rounds today - everyone will compete twice.  Once we get done we will review the keys we learned yesterday, and then if we get done with that you'll have time at the end of the hour to play the keying games.

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.

Vocab week #6; learning symbols; timed writing practice

This week we have vocab quiz #6 to post on the wiki pages.  If you are responsible you need to get your vocab words posted to the wiki pages by tomorrow night.

We also will begin learning the symbols on the keyboard.  We will not learn them all, but many are important for one reason or another and we need to be able to key these.  We will start today with the diagonal or forward slash (R4), the dollar sign (right shift + L1), and the exclamation point (right shift + L4).

When we get done learning these new symbols we will be splitting up to accomplish different tasks based on what you got done last week.  If you did not get your Internet Safety movie embedded on your blog you will need to get this done immediately.   The instructions for embedding your movie from Xtranormal are on Friday's blogpost.

If you got your Internet Safety movie embedded on your blog you need to do the following:

1. You need to send me an email with a link to your blog. Make sure you copy the URL of your blog and paste it in the message box as part of your email.  
2. When you send your email please put the name of your partner in the email so I know who you were working with for the project.
3. You should still be using correct email procedures - if not you will lose points on your project.

Once you get done with the above I want you to go to the following website and practice your timed writings.  These are the speed tests that we have previously talked about in class - this is good practice and is helpful in getting you to increase the speed with which you type.  Here is the website:

Speed Test