May 16, 2014

Dear 223 ILT Families,

Wow!  It has been awhile since we last met on this blog.  I have great news--students have finished their research project and we are about to begin our final unit of the school year, Unit 8 Cyber-Skills.  First, we will learn how to use a Wacom Bamboo tablet and pen to access folders, programs, and launch the Internet.  This includes an artistic expression activity in which students draw the shape of a rock and creatively transform the rock into something else through a pictorial drawing on Paint.  Second, we will read Peter Reynold's book, The Dot, and "make our mark" on Mr. Reynold's Fablevision program Animation-ish.  Everyone has an ISH inside, and during this activity students will release their inner ISH!  Third, brings us to June.  We will start off June by taking a keyboarding assessment.  Then we will review our cyber-skills, which include Digital Citizenship, Online Safety, and Cyber-bully Awareness & Prevention.  Fourth, a little bit of research and website evaluation as students use online resources to gather facts and statistics to support what it means to be Digital Citizen, use technology and the Internet safely, or ways to keep oneself cyber-bully free.  Fifth, it's time to design a storyboard for our final project of the year:  Create a Public Service Announcement that informs or educates society about the importance of Digital Citizenship, Online Safety, or Cyber-bully Awareness & Prevention.

With that, we will come full circle on our 180-day journey through Information Literacy & Technology skills.

Sincerely,
Ms. Thackston-Dodge