Computer

Preschool

The children in Preschool have no computer classes.

Prekindergarten

The children in Prekindergarten have no computer classes.

Kindergarten

The children learn to use the mouse and keyboard and play simple computer games to reinforce number and letter concepts.

Grade One

First graders work on introductory keyboarding and word processing skills. They learn to log on and off the computer, create and name a new document and save it to their personal folder. They learn to retrieve saved documents and edit them. They are given instructions on how to alter the font, size and style of text. These skills are use to create a riddle book as an integrated computer/language arts project involving the use of word processing, and a digital camera.

Grade Two

Students expand their word processing and typing skills, do supervised Internet research on child-safe websites and play a variety of skill games that reinforce topics introduced in the classroom. The year-end project is the publication of St. Peter’s People Magazine in which students interview a faculty member and use the digital camera and clip art to add images to their typed article.

Grade Three

Students continue to expand their word processing skills and begin using Mavis Beacon software to practice keyboarding skills. Students use the internet to do research for other subjects and use various programs to practice math and language arts skills. Major projects include a Power Point presentation.

Grade Four

Students create a PowerPoint presentation to complement their project for Viking Day. They learn how to alter the layout, design and color of a slide, how to incorporate images from ClipArt and the Internet, and how to vary the transition and timing of each slide. The second project is to create an outline of the life of a famous person for Biography Day. Having researched facts on the Internet, students work on using appropriate outlining techniques using Roman numerals, letters and numbers.

Grade Five

Students explore some of MS Word’s more complex layout techniques; they look at the uses of Headers and Footers, tables, automatic page numbering, and automatic outline generation. They experiment with basic photo-manipulation and composition techniques, use simple html, and, with the help of programs like Alice and Scratch, are exposed to some elementary programming concepts.

Grade Six

Students look at the rest of the Microsoft Office suite, working on small projects that involve the use of Excel, Access, and Publisher, and that begin to include elementary interactions between the programs in the suite. Building on their experiences in Grade Five, they look at more complex photomanipulation techniques (including the use of layers and masking) and explore more complex concepts in web page design and programming. They are introduced to the basics of computer animation using Flash.

Grade Seven

Using MS Office, students build simple database queries in order to generate form letters and other simple automated Word documents. They continue to learn more advanced photomanipulation techniques, and begin to use these techniques to build more sophisticated Flash animations. Using Scratch, they take a more in-depth look at the concepts behind Object Oriented Programming and use their knowledge to build simple videogames and other types of interactive art.

Grade Eight

Building on their experiences with Scratch, students begin to explore the utility of real-world programming languages like Ruby, PHP and Actionscript. They focus on the way in which combinations of different technologies work together to accomplish various tasks, and use their knowledge to create full-fledged fully interactive websites. Increasingly, they are called upon to perform self-directed research to discover the necessary techniques, and to teach these techniques to their classmates’ in semi-formal sessions.