Course Description
In Computer Applications students develop practical digital and media literacy skills through a variety of projects. Projects include a family oral history audio interview, sketchnoting, and interactive digital writing assignments focusing on effectively using text, images, and hyperlinks to communicate with an outside audience. Students develop critical thinking and web literacy skills learning how to apply the “SIFT” framework to STOP when encountering new online information, INVESTIGATE the source, FIND better coverage, and TRACE claims, quotes and media back to their original context. Students practice keyboarding skills, focusing on improving both speed and accuracy. Students further develop digital storytelling skills, and practice wisely using WikiPedia as a “launchpad” for research using other, additional sources. The safe and legal reuse of images in media projects and respect for intellectual property / copyright is emphasized, as well as ways to safely and constructively share ideas and interact with others online, as good digital citizens. Scientific and intellectual curiosity are cultivated regularly through the discussion of weekly “Wonder Links.” Students learn to create basic websites with Google Sites, sharing their class projects in a digital portfolio.
Lessons
A variety of our class lessons are shared on this website. Use the navigation links at the top of each page or the Lessons index page to access them. These include:
"Show With Media!"
Many of the media projects students create during our semester together in "Computer Applications" originate with "Show With Media: What do you want to CREATE Today?"
Canvas Course Links
Current and past versions / iterations of this course are publicly available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Only license. Please use / copy / remix any of this course content for your own courses!
Fall 2024 (current term, incomplete content - lessons still being added)
Spring 2024 (completed term and content)