Research 03-04

Skills Checklist Research

One of the projects continued from 2002-03 was the testing of students at Grades 1 to 9 to ensure that students were mastering the information technology skills appropriate for their grade level.

During our research we made several discoveries, which we would like to share in order to inform others who are attempting this type of research.

Our research did not begin till after Christmas break. This was due to the time it took to identify the particular skills from the division technology continuum and then school activities related to term requirements for reporting purposes taking precedence over testing. This was late in the school year to begin testing but it did allow us to work through the testing to see what changes we would make in subsequent years and also it gave us a measurement of our student's computer skills.

In September the classroom teachers were given release time to develop a list of skills specific to the needs of their particular grade level. These skills will be introduced throughout the year as they complement their curriculum, revisited throughout the winter term and then tested in April/May to assess the learning of the skills.

The list of skills that we would be testing came from the division skills continuum. The skills were changed from the previous year to reflect skills in the programs in which our students would be using.

Very early into this year's research grade teams and a technology facilitator created the skills we would be testing for this year. We picked some key skills that were appropriate for what students are doing at our school. Next year, 2004-05, we hope to modify our skills list based on the results of our research this year. The possibility of developing a school skills rubric for each grade has been discussed.

This year testing was done mainly by the School Librarian and the Elementary Computer Teacher except for a number of math skills which were handled by the math teachers. In some cases the testing was done separately from their classroom work not as observation during regular assignments.

Next year we hope to observe all the skills as they are being used in the students’ regular class work for real purposes not in an artificially imposed “testing” situation.

In all classes, 80% or more of students appeared able to complete the technology skills requested. Students either with a high amount of absenteeism or who were working below grade level in their regular classroom or who were new to our school, seemed to have difficulty in some of the technology skills for their grade level. Those students which had spent more time in their classroom and in the computer lab completing ICT projects such as Grassroots projects appeared to have stronger ability in terms of the skills tested for their grade level.

Skills for each grade which were tested this year:

Grade One:

	Open programs from the Start Menu.
	Use Shift for upper case letters and use Enter to go to the next line.
	Use the Mouse and/or Arrow keys to drag and/or navigate objects on the screen.
	Save and Retrieve a Story in KidWorks Deluxe using File/Open.
	Use items in the toolbar/toolbox to create a picture/diagram to illustrate print.

Grade Two:

	Edit using a Cursor, Arrow and Backspace keys.
	Insert Pictures into Word and Student Writing Centre from a Network Drive.
	Open files from a Network Drive.
	Change font, type size and colour at the beginning of a document.
	Use copy and paste and cut for text and pictures in Word/Student Writing Centre.

Grade Three:

	Change text within a document by highlighting to change font/size.
	Save to a Network Drive using Save from the Menu Bar or a Control key.
	Students will be able to use the Flix Addition and Subtraction program including changing operations and levels.
	Edit by using the cursor/backspace/delete/edit undo to remove or add characters and spaces.
	Search a general topic in World Book and find specific information using the outline.

Grade Four:

	Use the Dictionary in World Book to find a definition and use the Topics search to find two facts on a topic.
	Search for a simple topic in an Internet Search Engine and find a site and choose one relevant site.
	Use a digital camera/video camera and take a photo/video.
	Insert pictures into a text document.
	Save to a network drive in a personal folder.

Grade Five:

	Set up a new document in Word using: Centre and Left align, Font and Size, Line spacing, Paragraphing.
	Edit a document in Word using: Highlight to make changes, Spell Check, Edit Undo, Print Preview.
	Insert into Word from file or other source such as clipart, digital photos.
	Use a digital camera to take pictures then download save into a file and retrieve to use.
	Use a scanner, save the image to file and then retrieve it to use.

Grade Six:

	Use Excel to create a spreadsheet and a graph (bar, line), including title and labeling the axis.
	Use an Internet mapping site to calculate the distance between two points (initially in Winnipeg and then expanded).
	Students will be able to create a four slide PowerPoint presentation including text and pictures.
	Students will be able to insert a table into a Word document and be able to resize it, move it and insert text and pictures.
	Students will be able to attain a keyboarding speed of 18 wpm.

Grade Seven:

	Use header and footers to insert name, date, room #, etc.
	Find the source of any image and how to give credit (Intranet) or get permissions to use (Internet) in their work.
	Format text around images.
	Compile data and create bar, line and pie graphs.
	Scan and save pictures as .jpgs and save in their folder.
	Resize to appropriate (file) size prior to save or inserting in document.
	Find the source of any image and how to give credit (Intranet) or get permissions to use (Internet) in their work.
	TLE: How to open and close the calculator.
	TLE: File/exit program if it freezes.
	TLE: Restart computer if mouse fails.
	Use print preview prior to printing.
	Use print selection-# of pages, selection, paper orientation.
	Use the color printer.
	Create a basic 4 page PowerPoint including inserting text and images, background, effects and transitions.
	Use basic searching skills on the Internet including simple and boolean searches.
	Be "critical" in choosing appropriate sites.

Grade Eight:

	Use the scanner and digital camera to enhance digital Portfolios.
	Create a 4 slide PowerPoint and include sounds, transitions, background and the importing of pictures.
	In TLE use the keypad rather than the keyboard 80% of the time.
	Search the Internet using Boolean operators and then critically evaluate the web sites resulting from the search.
	In Word save work as an .rtf.
	In Word create tables.
	In Word create charts and graphs.
	In Word create columns and a sample newspaper.
	In Word use “track changes” as an editing tool.

Grade Nine:

	Use Excel to compile data into tables and charts and create scatterplot, bar, pie and line graphs.
	Use Word to compile data into tables and charts and create scatterplot, bar, pie and line graphs.
	Insert header including name, date, room, title, etc.
	Manipulate paper orientation, margins, etc, under "page set up".
	Use "autoshapes' to enhance.
	Use text framing/picture format.
	Critically assess websites as to their relevancy to the topic searched and the credibility of the website.

Journal Writing on the Computer Research

Two teachers at the grade 5 level wanted to do research to see if the quantity of writing in student journal writing would increase if students were allowed to do their journal writing on the computer. Students were given a folder to save their journal writing which would be private to them and the teacher. A writing sample was taken by the two grade five classes at the beginning of the school year and again in March. Students wrote once a week, beginning with a 45 minute time period and increasing to 1 hour by March. All students wrote in their journal once a week for 45 minutes to an hour. Students in the pen and paper journal writing increased the quantity of their writing by 303 %, by March they were writing 3.3 times more what they were writing in September. The average increase was 103 %. In the class in which the students did their journal writing on computer, the quantity of their writing was increased by 580 %, they were writing 5.8 times more in their journal. The average increase in this class was 242%. Our results showed that the group writing on the computer increased their journal writing 2.5 times more than the control group by March. These were more successful results than we had anticipated.

The journal writing on the computer was more difficult in that the students needed access to lab time to do their writing, so that everyone in the class would have the opportunity to write. In the classroom it was easier with the pen and paper as they just wrote at their desks. As a direct result of these outcomes and the observation of the teacher of her students’ attitudes to writing, the classroom teacher using the computer journal writing has made a request to have more computers placed in her classroom for next year. The teacher currently has 4 computers. We feel this classroom would be an excellent candidate for a group of wireless laptops which students could use at their desks for journal writing and other tasks. Depending on funding we will attempt to implement more computers in classroom next year.