Instructional Overview Module 1: Technology Concepts - Part 3: Technology Terms Concept: Use accurate technology terminology to complete a crossword puzzle; use technology terms to create, populate and query a database for specific criteria, then create, modify, print a report Abstract: Students are introduced to the purpose and content of the Using Technology in Career Exploration unit. They will be assessed in their ability to apply technology knowledge, skills and tools to gather, analyze and make informed decisions about lifestyle and career choices. After the introduction, students research the definition of technology terms they do not know and complete a crossword puzzle. They also create and populate a database with technology terms, query it for specific criteria, and create and modify a report. Instructional/Assessment Resources for Part 3: 1. TekMom s Technology Buzzwords for Students provide electronically and/or print list of words for students (file: tekmom_words_handout.doc; online at http://www.tekmom.com/buzzwords/) 2. TekMom s Tech Buzzword Crossword Puzzle print puzzle and clues for students (file: tekmomxpuzzle_handout.doc; teacher answer key file: tekmomxpuzzle_key.doc) online at http://www.tekmom.com/puzzles/xwdpuzzle1.html) - OR - Interactive Version directions and interactive puzzle/clues for students (directions: tekmomxpuzzle_interactiveguide.doc; interactive puzzle file: tech terms.html; electronic file that checks answers: tech terms (key).wmf; teacher answer key file: tekmomxpuzzle_epuzzlekey.doc) 3. Technology Vocabulary List - print one for each student (file: tech_vocab_list.doc) 4. Online Technical Dictionaries - provide electronic access to a list of online technical reference material (file - online_tech_dictionaries.com) TekMom's Technology Buzzwords for Students http://www.tekmom.com/buzzwords/ Use a Google Search to define terms - type define: file extension at http://www.google.com Computer User High-Tech Directory http://www.currents.net/resources/dictionary/dictionary.phtml TekWeb TechEncyclopedia - http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/ Education World Internet Glossary http://www.education-world.com/help/glossary.shtml The Internet Language Dictionary - http://www.netlingo.com/inframes.cfm PC Webopaedia - http://www.pcwebopaedia.com/ Free Online Dictionary of Computing (FOLDOC) http://www.nightflight.com/foldoc/ 5. Technology Log and Directions (files: directions_tech Log.doc & Tech Log.doc are in the introductory Module 0) (log is based on Journal Log in Assessment 11.2-11_2journal Log.doc) 6. Assessments and accompanying rubrics 7. References (Teacher Notes in section 13 of the binder): Tutorial: Using Excel as a Database (file: Excel Vocab Database.doc) File Formats: (file: File Formats.doc) Information on file formats at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_file_formats Using Technology in Career Exploration 97 Oakland Schools
Sequence of Activities: Assessment 1.5: Crossword puzzle of technology terms Students complete a crossword puzzle of technology terms. 1. Research technology terms and complete a crossword puzzle using the clues provided. Teaching Tip: Distribute the TekMom's Technology Buzzwords for Students and the Crossword Puzzle and Clues to students OR use the interactive version of the crossword puzzle. a. Students review the complete list of technology terms. Using the online version at http://www.tekmom.com/buzzwords/, they click on terms to get definitions for words they don t know and summarize the definitions on the handout. b. Students complete either the print version or the interactive version of the crossword puzzle. Students should open the interactive version (file: Tech terms.html) in their Web browser and follow the directions on the assessment task sheet. (Note directions in tekmomxpuzzle_interactiveguide.doc) A list of the words used in the crossword puzzle is provided and an answer key for each of the two types of puzzles is included. The print version is also online at http://www.tekmom.com/puzzles/xwdpuzzle1.html Teaching Tip: Students can work alone or in groups of 2 3 students to accomplish the task. They could divide the list of terms in the puzzle so they have an equal number of terms to define. Students use their respective definitions to collaboratively complete the puzzle. Extension: Students could work in small groups to review additional terms on the TekMom's Technology Buzzword list or on the Technology Vocabulary List. Students can use definitions on the TekMom's Tech Buzzword website or use online dictionaries like the ones on the Online Technical Dictionaries document. Students use a free crossword puzzle maker to create their own puzzle using the terms and their definitions. The educator could also create additional puzzles for students to use to learn additional terms. Three online sites that could be used to make crossword puzzles are at http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/crisscrosssetupform.html and http://www.puzzle-maker.com/cw/ and http://www.eclipsecrossword.com/ Assessment 1.6: Database of technology terms Students create and populate a database with technology terms. They sort the terms in ascending order and print the results, then query the database for specific criteria and print. Teaching Tip: Explain to students that there are many ways to electronically organize, sort and retrieve data and information. You may want to show examples of how data can be organized, sorted, or retrieved in increased complexity using a table, spreadsheet, and database. Data can be put into a table in a word processed file or into a spreadsheet to organize information into rows and columns and then sort the information. Some spreadsheets have advanced features so the data can be organized, sorted, and retrieved (using a filter/query) from a specific category similar to how a database functions. Using Technology in Career Exploration 98 Oakland Schools
Describe a database as an organized collection of related data that you can sort, search for specific conditions, and retrieve information by using a database program; it can do more sophisticated queries and print more sophisticated reports. 2. Create a database of technology terms. You could return to this task throughout other modules to build, sort and retrieve the data in the database. Teaching Tip: Using a database program or a program like Microsoft Excel that simulates a simple database, show a simple database and explain the terms: database, field, record, list view, form view, criteria, query, sort, and report. a. Students create a database of information and communication technology-related terms. The fields to be included are: the name of the term, its definition, a practical use of the term, and the type of term (hardware, software application, multimedia element, etc.). Students should create and format field titles (column headings) and set column widths and spacing appropriate for the data. An example of an entry in the database might be: Term Definition Practical Use Type database A database is an organized collection of related data that you can sort, search for specific criteria, and retrieve information by using a database program. Create, update and search an address book Software application Teaching Tip: If a database is not available for students to use, they can use a spreadsheet like Microsoft Excel to create and populate the database. Excel has the capability to sort data and query through the filter command. The cells should be formatted to wrap text. NOTE: Refer to the step-by-step tutorial entitled Using Excel as a Database for instructions (Teacher Notes in section 13 of the binder). b. The database should have at least 20 technology terms. Students enter each term in the database, define it in their own words, give an example of its application (i.e., what it is used to do), and indicate the type of term. Teaching Tip: If students need to look up the term, they can use online websites like the ones listed on the Online Technical Dictionaries document to complete the entries in the database. Terms are grouped into categories. Students should consult the Technology Vocabulary List of terms to identify what type (category) each term is. (1) Students will enter the following 10 terms from the crossword puzzle. Spreadsheet Database Scanner CPU Internet URL Pixel Icon Browser Search engine Using Technology in Career Exploration 99 Oakland Schools
(2) They will also enter the following 5 terms from the Technology Vocabulary List. Multimedia Filename extension Word processor Domain Flash drive (3) Lastly, students should pick and enter 5 additional terms of their choice from the Technology Vocabulary List. c. Students should save the file with an appropriate filename: it should contain a meaningful name to designate its contents and the three- or four-character file extension in a folder in the workspace identified by the teacher. Teaching Tip: Ask students to identify a variety of information storage devices and to explain the purpose of each device. Teaching Tip: You may need to review/explain what file formats and filename extensions are. Provide examples such as the following: File format the way information is stored in the file; refers to type of data file File type identifies the type of file by its file extension; the format of a file indicated by its file name extension Filename extension the three or four letters preceded by a period at the end of the filename; indicates the file format or the application that was used to create the file, the type of information stored in the file File extensions for different types of files: Image file formats - TIFF, JPG, PNG, and BMP. EPS, PICS EPS, GIF Animation file formats - AVI, FLI, FLC and MPG Video file formats - MOV, WMV, AVI, RM Audio file formats - WAV, MP3, AIFF Executable program on a PC - EXE Portable Document Format - PDF Text file format - TXT and Rich Text File format - RTF Microsoft Office files:.doc for a Word document;.xls for an Excel spreadsheet;.ppt for a PowerPoint presentation References: List of file formats from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_file_formats File Formats (Tab 13: Teacher Notes) (file: File Formats.doc) Using Technology in Career Exploration 100 Oakland Schools
d. After students populate the database, they should sort the terms in ascending alphabetical order and print the results. They also query the database for type= software. Lastly, students create and modify a simple report. They should print out two reports: 1. entire report but only display and print out the term and definition 2. report containing only the terms that are of the type=software; print out the term, the definition, and the type Extension: Students could copy and paste their terms into a master class database that could be referenced by the class throughout the unit. The list of terms on the handout could be divided amongst the students to collaboratively define all of the terms and populate the class database. Assessments: Students are assessed on their performance on the activities in the module. Rubrics and an observation checklist are provided. Using Technology in Career Exploration 101 Oakland Sc Instructional Module 1 Part 3 Revised January