Classbooks OnLine

By: Jill Jones

Summer 2001

Introduction

As an elementary teacher in Taylorville CUSD#3, I face the challenge of utilizing the technology available to me within my curriculum. I feel that the first step at this level is to allow the students to become familiar with the technology, specifically for this project, with PowerPoint. This project came about as an easy way to integrate technology into an activity that I already use in my classroom. I utilize classbooks as review and assessment of covered materials. With this project, the classbooks can now be linked to my classroom website and the students will be creating a product that can be viewed by a virtual audience.

Project Goals

	Students will become familiar with PowerPoint
	Students will create a PowerPoint slide for their individual page of a classbook.
	Teacher will save the PowerPoint presentation in HTML and post it to the classroom website.

Project Materials

	Computer with the PowerPoint software
	Scanner

Project Summary

Although this is a technology project, I still require my students to create a paper and pencil rendition of their classbook page first. Not only does this save time when the student actually gets to the computer (no need to think about what to type), it also provides a student-created illustration that can be scanned and converted to a graphic to add to the student's PowerPoint slide. Students could also use an electronic drawing tool to create illustrations for their slide.

It is important to realize that the teacher's major responsibility with this project lies in teaching the students the PowerPoint tool. It is up to each individual teacher to decide what specific skills are appropriate for the grade level and project involved. This activity can take as much or as little time as necessary depending on the desired finished product. I have three computers in my classroom (that probably sounds like a lot to some) for 20-25 students to share. With so many students and so few resources, teaching a major tool like PowerPoint may seem daunting. However, if the teacher breaks the lessons down into mini-lessons, it becomes quite managable. For example, one day, the lesson may be on simply adding text to a text box. After demonstrating the skill to the students, send them to the computer one at a time to practice the skill. I allow each student 7 minutes at the computer. When a student's time is up, they quietly tap the next student's shoulder and that student gets his or her turn. Soon, the entire class has had a turn at the computer and nobody has missed more than 7-10 minutes of instruction. I find this method to be an effective but unobtrusive way to fit computer skills into my everyday routine.

NOTE: The most important skill to teach first is how, where, and when to SAVE!! This will alleviate much frustration if taught (and probably retaught) first!

Once the student's slides are finished, the teacher takes over. The PowerPoint presentation will need to be saved as an HTML file (go to File and Save as HTML) and then linked to the classroom website.

	Click here for an example of an online ABC book.
	Click here for my school site that I designed as part of this project. My classroom site is a link off of the school site.

Conclusion

It is important for students to feel that they have a real audience for their work, a purpose for their writing. This project provides for both. I hope that the classbooks produced as PowerPoint presentations will motivate the students to produce their best work, as well as, provide them with technological skills that will serve them into the future.