Julie A. Cunningham

This week has been my re-entry into the world of standardized testing for adults…. and it isn’t a pretty place! Yesterday, I took a 2-hour long examination at University of Colorado that supposedly quantified my Microsoft Office, Administrative and Receptionist skills. I was reminded once again how little a test tells about a person’s general knowledge level or ability to creatively solve problems. I’m sure I fared poorly, mostly since I did not prepare for the switch from a Mac to a PC, and mistakenly answered many of the questions with the keystroke of “Alt+key” rather than “Control+key”. (The Alt key is in the same place as the Command key on a Mac, and I assumed.) Will I miss those questions? Certainly. However, in terms of real life ability, it would have taken me literally 1 second to realize the Alt key did not function how I anticipated on the PC, and my next guess would have been the Control key. Given the changes that come with each new iteration of software and hardware, I personally think the ability to adapt to a new circumstance is more productive than knowing the “right” answer. But a computer test can only tell right from wrong, black from white, etc.

My second experience was taking the GRE this morning. I did very little to study for the exam, other than look over the format and review some vocabulary words. Not a good choice! I needed to practice testing in a timed, computer environment. It is a very different thing to take the GRE on computer, where you have no option to skip a question to review later and must answer them each in order in a very limited period of time. I scored well enough to gain entry to Grad School, but barely. And because the test costs $160, it’s doubtful I’ll repeat the experience, even to heal my wounded pride!

This process has caused me to reflect on how my experience relates to the elementary computer lab testing environment. I now realize just how important it is for them to learn to test *well* on the computer for their future academic success. More to come on that after I think things through a bit more.

In the spirit of Kelly Tenkely’s recent tweet about a ZimmerTwins project on “How to Survive 4th Grade”, my 4th grade students took some time to learn Powerpoint basics using the same topic.  I wanted them to enjoy creating their own content, rather than get hung up on it as a research project like my 5th graders did with their Explorers ppt.

Likes: Fun way to incorporate adding slides, images, bullet points, titles, etc. Excitement about the topic from many students.  Project to share with next year’s 4th grade students.

Dislikes: Didn’t allow for enough time to complete.  Some students struggled with the topic and were unsure what to say.  Little ‘wow’ factor- but since I’m not a fan of ppt to begin with, I shouldn’t be surprised.  I need to find a presentation method to teach that I actually like and enjoy. (Prezi, for example, or Glogster even.)

Comments: A good number of students said something to the effect of “don’t make your teacher mad” or else they won’t like you and the rest of they year will go badly.  Need to think how to address that one in the future, because I think it’s an unfair assessment on their part. Try using Keynote next year.

Grade: 1st

Lab Time: Two 30-minute sessions

Before I delete files off our server, I want to document some of the projects that worked well, as well as the ones that didn’t work so well.  This was a simple KidPix project where students followed a projected model life cycle to draw, color, and label their own cycle.  Very simple, but helped 1st graders understand how text boxes work, how to increase/decrease font size, and how to save on the server.  In the future, I would like to see this be a slide show with audio and music added to the slides.  (I’m showcasing my own children’s work for privacy reasons- although I’m pretty proud of them too!)