Connected Tech Helping teach technology applications in the core curriculum Getting Started Guide Classroom Connect
Connected Tech Helping teach technology applications in the core curriculum Getting Started Guide Copyright 2004 by Classroom Connect, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. CLASSROOM CONNECT and design is a trademark of Classroom Connect, Inc., a Harcourt Education Company, registered in the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions. All other trademarks, service marks, and trade names referred to herein are the property of their respective owners, and their use does not indicate endorsement or approval hereof. Classroom Connect, Inc. A Harcourt Education Company 8000 Marina Blvd., Suite 400 Brisbane, CA 94005 Produced in the United States of America ISBN 1-58282-165-8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2004
What are educators saying about Connected Tech? I have received my own kits for Connected Tech and am as happy as a lark. I have been working toward this end for eight years and your company has made my life a little less stressful with an outstanding INTEGRATED program. Cynthia Bayuk Program Coordinator for Staff Development and Assessment Technology should not be another thing to try to teach, but a way to integrate and enhance your students acquisition of the learning being addressed to support local results. Teaching and learning are more effective and fun through the use of technology! Tracy W. Jackson Teacher ii http://tech.classroom.com
What s in this guide? About Connected Tech What is Connected Tech? What does Connected Tech provide? What types of resources are there? What do Connected Tech resources include? How do my students use Connected Tech? What work do students create? 1 2 3 4 5 6 Using Connected Tech How do I use Connected Tech? Where do I start? How else can I find resources? How can I evaluate my choices? How do I assign a resource? How do I teach with Connected Tech? What types of assessments are there? How do I keep track of what I taught? 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Activation and Sign-in How do I activate my subscription? How do my students and I sign in? Student sign-in cards What kind of help is there? Additional help 15 16 17 18 19 Connected Tech iii
What is Connected Tech? The best way to prepare students for their future is to equip them with the technology skills they need to succeed. That s why Classroom Connect created Connected Tech, a Web-based, instructional program that teaches students real software applications as they explore concepts in reading and language arts, math, science, and social studies. Whether you re a computer novice or a technology expert, Connected Tech Is easy to use, Saves planning time, Fits seamlessly into your current curriculum, Contributes to overall student achievement in core subjects, Improves technology literacy, and Motivates students to learn! 1 http://tech.classroom.com
What does Connected Tech provide? Connected Tech is for you and your students. There is a teacher view where you choose grade-specific resources, and there is an age-appropriate student view where your choices are presented to students. Connected Tech provides this in an online program that you and your students view over the Internet. Teacher View You get Hundreds of ready-made, K 8 resources that integrate technology into the core curriculum, Detailed lesson plans and a Teacher s Guide to guide you in using technology in the classroom, and Tools to choose and keep track of the activities your students use. Student View Students get A shared home page with engaging, age-appropriate activities that you choose, Step-by-step instructions, examples, and ready-to-use templates for real software applications, and Just-in-time tips to help them along the way. Teacher view Student view Connected Tech 2
What types of resources are there? Connected Tech offers a variety of resources designed with your busy schedule in mind. With little or no computer experience, the resources help you successfully integrate technology into your curriculum. Resources to Teach Technology Skills Resources to Teach a Technology Integration Curriculum Tutorials Helpful Tips Lessons Projects Tutorials introduce the basics of popular software applications and other technology topics. Helpful Tips provide just-intime support as students use software applications and step through activities. Lessons provide practice in technology skills and integrate key concepts in reading and language arts, math, science, and social studies. Projects give students the opportunity to apply technology skills in multidisciplinary, open-ended activities. For example: For example: For example: For example: Learn to Use Microsoft Word Learn to Use HyperStudio Learn to Use AppleWorks Check Spelling Cite Internet Sources Copy and Paste Data Second-graders make a slide show explaining how to make cookies. Fifth-graders collaborate to create a Civil War newspaper using desktop publishing skills. Supporting Resources The Glossary defines hundreds of common technical terms. The Web Library provides links to more than 11,000 prescreened Web sites. 3 http://tech.classroom.com
What do Connected Tech resources include? Connected Tech s resources include step-by-step teaching procedures, tips to adapt instruction, and assessments. Classroom Connect has correlated the resources to the ISTE NETS S the National Educational Technology Standards for Students. Each resource includes a detailed lesson plan. Teaching procedure Technology standards Assessment Connected Tech 4
How do my students use Connected Tech? Students see only the age-appropriate student view with the activities you choose. They have fun clicking through the illustrated, step-by-step instructions and get hands-on experience and help as they use real software applications to create work. Students follow ageappropriate instructions to create work using real software applications. AppleWorks Presentation In-progress student work Students get timely and relevant help with technology. Grade 5 student activity 5 http://tech.classroom.com
What work do students create? Your students will be excited to show off the work they create and the technology skills they learn. Here is some work created by real students after completing Connected Tech activities. AppleWorks Presentation Microsoft Word HyperStudio Presentation created by a fifth-grader Poster created by a sixth-grader Book illustration created by a first-grader Connected Tech 6
How do I use Connected Tech? Planning and teaching with technology are easy with Connected Tech. You find resources, assign appropriate activities to your students, teach using the comprehensive lesson plans, and assess students using checklists, quizzes, and rubrics. Find Assign Teach Assess Look through Connected Tech s Assign those activities that Follow the lesson plans to Use the assessment resources resources, reviewing the lesson meet your current teaching prepare and introduce the to determine student mastery plans and student activities. objectives. material, then provide of lesson objectives and support as students step technology skills. through instructions. 7 http://tech.classroom.com
Where do I start? Connected Tech s Ready to Go! Sets TM are a great place to start. These collections of resources take care of planning and pacing for the entire school year. In just one hour a week you can teach the Ready to Go! Sets for your grade level and cover all the technology standards. Find Assign Teach Assess Ready to Go! Sets take care of planning and pacing for you. Grade 4 Ready to Go! Set Connected Tech 8
How else can I find resources? You can also quickly find resources using the easy-to-navigate resource catalog. Find a math activity that uses spreadsheets or a word processing activity for reading and language arts. The right resource is just a click away! Find Assign Teach Assess Find resources by subject, technology topic, or software application. Find resources by subject. Find resources by technology topic. Find resources by software application. Find resources 9 http://tech.classroom.com
How can I evaluate my choices? As you look for resources, summaries help you quickly find the right match for your curriculum. In a click you can read the lesson plan or take a look at the student activity. Or, flag resources that you want to come back to later. Find Assign Teach Assess Review the lesson plan and student activity. Or, flag it for later. See the student instructions. Flag this resource for later. Lesson plan Word processing resources Connected Tech 10
How do I assign a resource? Just look for the Assign button to add an activity to the student view. In one glance, you see what you assigned and when. Find Assign Teach Assess Click the Assign button to add an activity to the student view. Current assignments Student home page 11 http://tech.classroom.com
How do I teach with Connected Tech? Use Connected Tech just like your other favorite teaching resources follow the lesson plan to prepare and gather materials, introduce the activity to your students, then provide guidance as they work. Connected Tech helps you teach technology with confidence. Find Assign Teach Assess? Integrate technology into your normal routine by following the lesson plan. Confidently answer questions by reviewing the student instructions beforehand. Connected Tech 12
What types of assessments are there? Connected Tech s assessments inform your instructional decisions and help you evaluate student skills. You can assign technology-related assessments to your students, or evaluate their technology and content skills using the built-in assessments. Find Assign Teach Assess Built-in Technology and Content Assessments Stand-alone Technology Assessments Assessment Checklists Assessment checklists help you determine if students met activity objectives. Rubrics Rubrics help you clarify what is expected of students and assess their work. Self-Assessment Checklists Self-assessment checklists allow students to evaluate their own technology skills before or after activities. Quizzes Quizzes assess how much students know about a particular technology after they ve had several experiences with it. Grade 1 project rubric Grades K 2 word processing quiz 13 http://tech.classroom.com
How do I keep track of what I taught? Connected Tech keeps track of your assignments and the technology standards they addressed. As the year progresses, remove old assignments when students are finished, then use the Tech Standards Report to help you identify what to teach next. Review your past assignments and the Tech Standards Report. See your past assignments. Remove finished assignments. Grades 3 5 Tech Standards Report Current assignments Connected Tech 14
How do I activate my subscription? Activate your subscription today! It s easy and you only have to do it once. In just a few minutes, you ll be finding and assigning activities you can use now. Step 1 Go to the Connected Tech Web site. Step 2 Activate your subscription. Your activation code was sent to you by your local administrator. Connected Tech sign-in page Step 3 Create your profile. This is where you create your user name and password. 15 http://tech.classroom.com
How do my students and I sign in? You and your students follow the same steps to sign in, but you see the teacher view and they see the student view. You created your user name and password when you activated your subscription. We created a shared user name and password for your students. Find it under My Profile, after you sign in. Step 1 Go to the Connected Tech Web site. Step 2 Sign in! You Students Teacher view Student view Connected Tech 16
Student sign-in cards Copy and fill out these handy student sign-in cards and attach them to the computers your students use. Connected Tech Sign-in http://tech.classroom.com User Name: Password: Connected Tech Sign-in http://tech.classroom.com User Name: Password: Connected Tech Sign-in http://tech.classroom.com User Name: Password: Connected Tech Sign-in http://tech.classroom.com User Name: Password: Connected Tech Sign-in http://tech.classroom.com User Name: Password: Connected Tech Sign-in http://tech.classroom.com User Name: Password: 17 http://tech.classroom.com
What kind of help is there? Refer to the Help to answer your questions about how to use Connected Tech. Or, look in the Teacher s Guide for guidance about using technology in your classroom. Help is right at your fingertips. Help Using Connected Tech Help Integrating Connected Tech Into Your Classroom The Help provides step-by-step instructions for how to find resources, how to change your password, how to print a lesson plan, and much more! The Teacher s Guide describes how Connected Tech s resources correlate to the ISTE NETS S, and provides strategies for making the most of Connected Tech in your classroom. Teacher s Guide Help Connected Tech 18
Additional help For technical questions Contact technical support between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. Call 1-800-638-1639, select option 3 Send an email to connect@classroom.com For activation issues or billing inquiries Contact customer service between 8:30 a.m. and 7 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. Call 1-800-638-1639, select option 2 Send an email to help@classroom.com 19 http://tech.classroom.com
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ISBN 1-58282-165-8