Word Processing - Planning and Managing for a Better Product

Planning   Graphics   Choose the Word Processing Skills   Other Technology Skills  

Planning. As the Computer Technologist, I strongly advocate planning with teachers in advance. Word processing projects need parameters, or they will become a simple type and print. Unless the project is a writing prompt, there is leg work that should be done in advance of the lab. Students should have all research, outlines, graphic organizers, draft, bibliographies, etc. largely complete before using the word processor. Teachers need not have reviewed the final draft in hand written form - typed drafts can be printed and reviewed by the teacher. This is a new concept for some teachers, but can work well. In Microsoft Word, double spacing a draft is quite simple.

Graphics Teachers should have an idea ahead of time what graphics, if any, the students are to use for the project. Many choices are:

• Maps, photos or other graphics can be found and downloaded from the Internet during the class computer lab time. Students will be taught how to search for, download and insert graphics into their documents. Permission is not necessary as long as the use of the graphic remains within the confines of classroom instruction. See the copyright law, Chapter 1, section 107, for details. (For a nice hypertext version, instead of the difficult to read PDF version on the LOC web site, go to http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/.)

• Students can be taught how to use the drawing tools to alter graphics (e.g., to put an arrow mark on a map graphic), or to create simple graphics themselves using Word Art, autoshapes, etc.

• Students can use scanners to scan in graphics found in books or art work they themselves have created. Students will be taught how to scan, save, manipulate and insert the graphic into their documents.

• Students can create their own graphics using Windows paint or some other software.

• Students can use a digital camera to take a photo. Students will be taught how to download the image from the camera, save it, manipulate it and insert it into their documents.

• Students can use conventional clipart programs or encyclopedia CDs to find suitable graphics. Students will be taught how to search clipart or encyclopedia CDs, save the image and insert it into their documents. See the copyright law, Chapter 1, Section 107, for details on use of copyrighted material for classroom instruction. (For a nice hypertext version, instead of the difficult to read PDF version on the LOC web site, go to http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/.)

Choose the Word Processing Skills. Teacher's should choose in advance what word processing skills are to be taught and used. Total skills recommended for 5th grade mastery in Prince William County Virginia are listed below.

• Text manipulation (font, size, bold, italic, underline, justification, color, text art, text boxes, spell checking, grammar checking, copying, cutting, pasting, deleting)

• Document formatting (double spacing, column format, outline format, paragraph structure, portrait/landscape sizing)

• Graphics manipulation (inserting, resizing, cropping, framing, copying, cutting, pasting, deleting, moving, grouping)

• Methods to save and retrieve files (the correct server, path, file name, file extension, folder, drive)

Other Technology Skills: tool bars, short cut icons, menu system, help system, short cut keys, task switching, and other windows features which can be utilized during word processing.