Mrs Twain Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Any ideas on how to teach my kids Word, Excel, and Powerpoint? Are there good websites or programs you have used? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Just let them play with the software. Kids are natural learners. Microsoft website has free tutorials if your kids prefer guided. https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Office-training-and-tutorials-b8f02f81-ec85-4493-a39b-4c48e6bc4bfb If they prefer books, the "Teach yourself visually" series is easy to follow along http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1118517687 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess4879 Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 I used this http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Projects-Grd-Steve-Butz/dp/1420623931/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1439670157&sr=8-2&keywords=computer+projects as a jumping off point for teaching Word. It was ok. It got me started on a few things they/I might have missed if we were just winging it. The reviews complain about it being outdated, but I had one kiddo on a windows 7 and one on Windows 8 and they both did fine. So long as you know where everything is, you can help them find it quickly. I didn't have the kids do it solo. I gave them the directions verbally and then walked them through it if they had trouble finding it. If you left them to do it solo, it may be tougher. For PowerPoint we will wing it. I'm going to give the kids a project ... not sure what that will be...and have certain requirements and see how much they sort out on their own. :bigear: for suggestions on Excel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 I found that Word and Powerpoint taught themselves. Use them twice and you've got it down for the most part. My kids are fine with nearly any word processing program - a lot of it is knowing what they can do and you learn it just by doing a report or two on it. Excel maybe you'd need a lesson... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 For older kids/ adults, I like Udemy and Youtube. Youtube might be a tricky choice with younger kids with the types of questionable video suggestions that might pop up on the sidebar, but Udemy is only going to show you the videos that are included in the course you purchased (with the option to autoplay the next video in the sequence). For example, this 18-lecture MS Word course through Udemy is $29: https://www.udemy.com/comprehensive-microsoft-word/ Once you purchase one course from Udemy, they will usually send discount coupons. We used Udemy for intro to Excel programming (goes beyond simple spreadsheets) and it was very well done. For younger kids... My son's initial exposure to Microsoft Office was via some simple work through these programs. E.g. Word -- he typed short poems or copywork when younger, then had to type his essays for a lit course a couple of years later and learned the tricks of the software that way. Excel -- he wanted to sell some of his used items (bicycle, scooter etc) on craigslist and we suggested that he work out the inventory list and total up the prices on Excel (I showed him some basic things like making a simple, 5-10 item spreadsheet). Later, he made a spreadsheet to compare some courses he wanted to take. Powerpoint -- he delivers presentations to our homeschool group. When younger, I made the slides for him while he watched. When older, he started designing them himself and now uses Powerpoint for simple design projects too. Once they have a meaningful purpose, it shouldn't take long for them to learn it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 I think you all are quite right that kids learn much of the programs just by doing a few simple projects. Mine have typed numerous reports and compositions so that they know the basics of Word, and they all did a typing program. Maybe I need to get more creative and think of something useful for them to work on for Excel and PowerPoint. I also like the idea of giving them a course, and I don't mind paying for it. I will check out Udemy. Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Here is a free basic computer skills course that was suggested in a recent thread. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 I have been looking at getting this: http://www.technokids.com/Store/High-School/TechnoWonderland/computer-class-activities.aspx which was recommended on an old thread here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Haven't used it yet, but will use this free website this year. It was recommended by my dh who teaches faculty and staff at a local college about how to use their computers. He loves it. As I said, I haven't used for homeschoolers, but he seemed to think it would be good for our kids. http://www.gcflearnfree.org 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 I think you all are quite right that kids learn much of the programs just by doing a few simple projects. Mine have typed numerous reports and compositions so that they know the basics of Word, and they all did a typing program. Maybe I need to get more creative and think of something useful for them to work on for Excel and PowerPoint. I also like the idea of giving them a course, and I don't mind paying for it. I will check out Udemy. Thanks! Udemy is great (please compare different course instructors within Udemy for best value) but I would go with free first. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Just let them play with the software. Kids are natural learners. You can use Excel to enter data and create nifty charts. My kids made pie charts of their Halloween candy (8% Snickers, 13% Kit Kat...) There are probably lots of things that are quantifiable that might be of interest to your dc. Put them into a spreadsheet, and compute averages, sums, etc. Make a table of revenues and expenses: does your dc get an allowance? Have him/her enter what he spends it on, formatting it to look like a bank statement. If you do any science experiments with data gathering, entering it into a spreadsheet and graphing the data will dovetail nicely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 (edited) ... Edited June 25, 2016 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 You might get the new Adobe Voice app instead of using Powerpoint. Excel I wouldn't fiddle with. They made us take computer classes in college and so much of that is totally outdated now. Word or at least Pages (the mac version), well obviously they need that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted August 18, 2015 Author Share Posted August 18, 2015 Thanks very much to everyone for all of the ideas and links. I think I will go with Udemy and give it a try first. That looks like it will be a good fit at our house. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 My son is taking a class at Landry to teach it. The first project covers Word and it covers everything I had hoped it would. I work on Mac, so the class helps me know he has all those Word/excel/power point stuff down pat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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