Computer Literacy Is Making a Comeback

Years ago we talked often about computer literacy, but interest in this topic seemed to die out as we moved on to apps, social networks, and all the exciting advances in technology in education today. Although, we often take for granted what our students know about technology, most only know lots about what interests them. Just because they know more than we about some aspects of technology doesn’t mean that they know everything. Because students need to master how to use technologies safely and efficiently and often need reminders about these, many schools have continued their computer literacy classes, or if they cancelled them some years back, have reinstituted them. In Bismarck, North Dakota, for example, Grade 6  students learn to use technologies to help them with curricular areas. While reinforcing concepts covered in social studies, math, science, and English classes, they are practicing use of computer tools and learning about digital citizenship.

Are You in Information Overload?

The leaders of the Texas Computer Educators Association (TCEA) know about information overload, and in their technotes, they offer suggestions for keeping current without being overwhelmed. To help you “relax and recharge” after a busy school year, you might want to take time to try Spigot, Zite, and Flipboard. Spigot is a free site that offers snippets of current information for teachers and media specialists. Zite, called a personalized magazine, finds out what you are interested in and brings stories you want to your mobile device (Android, iOS, Windows). With Flipboard, an iOS and Android app, you create your own publications filled with what you want to know. Both Zite and Flipboard can gather content from Websites, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Digital Storytelling with Multimedia Tools

Mind/Shift recommends what it calls cool, new, and easy-to-use multimedia tools for students.  Meograph (with teacher licenses beginning at $19.99) helps students create multimedia stories with “Meograph Moments” that may feature video, audio, timelines, text, images, maps, links, and student narration about their moments. Zeega, free to individual users, lets students make their own interactive Web stories as they capture content available in the cloud. Zeega stories developed by students may be viewed by others who “click their way through each story, one webpage leading to another. . .  WeVideo, with free and for pay versions, is a video-editing collaboration tool that your students can use to upload media clips and edit them.  A group of students can work on a project at the same time, and projects can be stored in WeVideo’s Google Drive App.

If you are interested in digital storytelling, you’ll want to take a look at the handy Mind/Shift chart that compares the following video editing tools: Windows Live Movie Makers, iMovie11, WeVideo, Zeega, and Meograph.

PDF to Word

Think of how many times you’ve wished that a PDF file were actually a Word file. At PDF Online you can convert PDF files to Microsoft Word format—free.  This is a free service provided by BCL easyConverter SDK.  All you have to do is to select the file you want to convert and click “Convert”.  When I tried this tool, the converted file went into my Downloads and, when opened, it was in Rich Text Format, which I saved as a Word .doc.

Gadgetwise, a New York Times Personal Tech resource, lists the easyConverter along with other PDF translators. They include Smart PDF Converter, a for-pay service, which you can use free, three times. When I tried this converter, my PDF was translated directly into a Word .doc, but my free conversion had the Smart PFD watermark across it. The Times also mentions a free shareware converter for Windows users, and a converter from Adobe for those who have the $20-per-year Acrobat desktop software.

The Nerdy Teacher Wants You to Reflect

Nick Provenzano, the Nerdy Teacher, offers his Year-End Tech Reflections in Edutopia. He suggests that those of us in education should take time to think about the tech tools and lessons we used with our students this year in order to determine how to make our use of technologies even better next year.  As summer vacation approaches and with our school-year memories fresh in mind, we should ask ourselves questions such as:

What tools did I use and how did I use them?

What tools helped me accomplish what I wanted with my students?

What wouldn’t I use in the coming school year?

What are my goals for my students and for me for the future?