PeachyDoodle Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 What does computer education look like for middle grades in your homeschool? Are there specific topics/skills you cover -- e.g., coding, web design, specific software applications? Is it structured, or more interest-led? Do you follow a program or curriculum, or put something together on your own? Do you consider computer education a science along the lines of biology/chemistry/physics, or is it an elective? Just beginning to think about putting something together for 7th grade and exploring our options. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 Following. My nephew is in a brick and mortar school and they are taking classes on Power Point, Excel, Word, etc. I am sure my kids will need to know there way around those, but I am not clear on to what degree. My school days predate computers. I took typing! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 (edited) My kids learned about computers by using them. They learned how to use a browser by researching topics online, learned how to use Word by typing school assignments and creative writing, learned how to use Powerpoint by making presentations in history and science. They figured out how to do these things by being allowed to play around and try out stuff. DD learned html and css by making a website for her equestrian facility. They learned excel and use of a scientific graphing program when they needed it for high school science. That is how we learned to use computers, how we learned to program, how my DH learned about parallel computing and building computer clusters: by trying. For hardware knowledge, each kid got to build a computer from parts with help from dad. We integrate these skills into their other studies and do not "teach computers" as a separate subject. Edited March 26, 2017 by regentrude 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juliegmom Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 Following - I have a rising 7th grader and have been wondering about this as well. I recently had my daughter play around with Power Point and she is currently creating a presentation on the last book she read. She is learning about Word as she types up her essays. I would also like her to learn some basic skills in Excel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J&JMom Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 (edited) I put together a year-long, daily technology elective this year for my 6th and 8th graders: Part 1 - Microsoft office. I used the first few lessons from a college intro text and worked the lessons with them watching. 3 weeks each on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Future cross curricular projects, papers, and lab reports required the use of these programs. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1285169530/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 $9+shipping Part 2 - HTML I worked through the first few lessons with them watching. 5 weeks. Then the boys created their own basic websites for 3 weeks. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1111527989/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 $ 8 + shipping. Another hold-your-hand college intro text. Part 3 - Programming. Here the boys were split up since my oldest has some coding experience with the same programs I am using with my novice 6th grader. 6th Grader - 1 month working through "Coding With Scratch" https://www.amazon.com/Coding-Projects-Scratch-Jon-Woodcock/dp/1465451420/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1491347747&sr=1-6&keywords=coding+with+scratch I used an older edition I already had 2 months working on Bitsbox subscription boxes - 4 in total (1 was an older box from 8th grader) www.bitsbox.com 8th grader - Online Python programming course through "Homeschool Connections" subscription $30 a month - 3 months to complete half of the semester long High School level course. Instead of 1 week per lesson, I had him take 2 weeks thus only completing 7 of the 14 available lessons in the 3 months. Project - Took 2 weeks off the regular schedule in the middle of Part 3 to do internet safety course found here: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/lesson/digital-life-101-6-8 They enjoyed the game https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/digital-compass It helps that both my husband and I are (were) professional programmers. Edited April 4, 2017 by J&JMom 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetterthanIdeserve Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 You might check out the Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool website. It's free! My kids have been learning a lot with very little input from me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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