Week 1

This week we will start learning about keyboarding and proper typing technique.
It is very important to undo bad habits that you may have learned as a child and re-learn how to type properly with the proper fingers on the proper keys! 'Hunting and Pecking' is NOT ALLOWED! :) The focus will be your effort to type properly using all of the correct fingers with good technique and to make minimal errors. Accuracy is everything! You will not be marked on speed!  

We will go over proper technique and watch a video demonstrating this. You will have ample opportunity to practice typing, starting with everyone's favorite, HOME ROW! :) We will use the program All the Right Type, but don't worry, I have many online typing game sites that we can practice on too!

Later this week, we will start learning about Microsoft Word and how to format documents, add page borders, add Word Art and add and format pictures!

Stay tuned for more....

See you in class! :)

Welcome to Info Tech 8!

Do you know what CSI stands for? Although there is a popular TV series with the same name, our class has a different meaning. At LA Matheson CSI stands for 'Creative Skills and Information Technology'. This is a rotational course that gives you a taste of 3 different subject areas: Art, Drama, and Info Tech (my class)! Each rotation is approximately 7 weeks in length and your mark at the end of the semester will be a combined mark for all 3 courses.

In Info Tech 8 my goal is to ensure every Grade 8 student leaves my class with the skills to create professional and creative assignments for school. We will be studying:

• Keyboarding & Proper Technique (throughout the course)
• Microsoft Word Processing
• Microsoft Power Point Presentations

and if time allows, possibly...

• Photoshop
• Excel Spreadsheets

This course will help you in your other subject areas when it comes to doing assignments and projects such as essays, reports, newspapers, brochures, and presentations on the computer.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Your success in this course is highly dependent on your being in class each day and USING YOUR TIME EFFECTIVELY! I give plenty of class time for you to work on the computer to complete your assignments. However, if you don't finish your work in time before we move on to the next assignment, it is your responsibility to work outside of class to get it finished. You may ask to stay after school in my computer lab (just please ask ahead of time), you may work on the library computers at lunch time, &/or you may work at home on your own computer. That being said however, you need to have the same software programs we are using as well as a way to get your work from home to school. It is therefore STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to get a USB Memory Stick (see picture below) for this class. I am not forcing anyone to get one, but it is a very good idea and would be useful in all of your courses throughout high school and beyond! (I wear mine around my neck and use it everyday!) It will make your life much easier to have a way to back up your work and transfer it from computer to computer, especially in the face of computer crashes and network failures on the school's server. For purposes of school, I would suggest you get a 4GB USB at most. You don't need anything bigger than that. Even a 2GB USB would be fine. You can buy them virtually anywhere, such as Walmart, Zellers, London Drugs, Staples, etc. They can range anywhere from $5-$20. Don't pay more than that and watch for sales!

USB Memory Device

Anyway, check back to this site regularly for updates on what we are doing in class and what assignments should be handed in and by when. I'll do my best to update this site weekly. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to email me at the email posted on this page under "About Me"

I look forward to teaching you all this semester!