Basic Computer Class
Welcome to basic computer class. This year, the students will be learning...
Microsoft Word: Students will write a series of letters to themselves. Students will be adding
borders, Word Art, and photos that we will be taking outside with DSLR cameras and our iPads.
These letters will be sent home after the students graduate from high school.
Photos: Students will be learning about photos and pictures including the difference between
jpegs, bitmaps, pngs, and gifs, as well as creating our own transparent pngs and animated gifs
that can be used in Word, PowerPoint, HTML and more.
Sounds: Students will learn about sounds (wav, FLAC, WMA and mp3). They will record their
voices, and edit them through software to change their voices and mix them with other sounds.
PowerPoint: Students will learn about PowerPoint and how to use custom animation, narration,
slide transitions, timing and sounds. We will also be making games in PowerPoint.
Excel: Students will learn how to use Excel including adding charts and using formulas. We will
be playing a stock market game using what we have learned. Also, Excel should help the
students with History Day when it comes to charts and graphs.
Posters: Students will be learning the art of photo editing and poster creation using Photoshop
related software like Pixlr, Paint and Comic Life. In the past students have made life sized
cutouts of themselves, posters, stickers and buttons.
Photography: Students will learn about Dslr cameras and how to use their settings. This will
include Fstop, ISO, and speed. They will learn to change lenses, upload their photos and how to
best frame their shots.
Internet Safety, and Ethical Computer Use: Students will learn how to better keep themselves
safe online including EXIF data, webcams, passwords, cyber bullying and more. They will also
learn about what is and is not illegal when it comes to downloading. (copyright laws)
Coding: If time permits, we will be learning some coding using HTML, C, jBasic and Scratch.
We will be doing much more of this in the advanced class.