CLINTON CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

The computer technology course offered at Clinton Christian School, after going through several changes over the years, is now available to every student in every grade. 

The concepts that are learned in the classroom vary from age group to age group; while younger students with little or no computer training will begin by learning exactly what makes up the parts of a computer.  From there, they will gain an understanding of how to properly operate a mouse and keyboard, and what each component can do for that student.  Upon mastering these concepts they are able to begin typing letters and words using Microsoft Word (use of keyboard) and participate in fun and challenging games online at PaulysPlayhouse.com (use of mouse).

As the students progress, they are introduced to KidPix, which is a drawing and slide show program.  Children learn how to draw and create pictures using paint, stamps, stickers and more and then turn these pictures into slideshow presentations similar to Microsoft PowerPoint.

Beginning in third grade, all students begin to learn the basics of typing using the Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing software package.  They are given time each  class period to progress through a series of typing lessons at their own pace, learning virtually every key on the keyboard and which fingers to use when typing.  The skill of typing is one that regardless of a child’s future career choice, will be used regularly for the rest of their lives.

Working with the School Technology Program curriculum, students in upper elementary grades and middle school classes work on several in-class projects that introduce them to the Microsoft Office suite.  Throughout the year students will learn the basics of, and gradually gain mastery skills in, the use of the following software programs:

Microsoft Word (word processing)

Microsoft Publisher (desktop publishing)

Microsoft Excel (spreadsheets and databases)

Microsoft PowerPoint (multimedia presentations)

As students enter high school, the focus begins to shift towards college preparation using computer technology. School Technology Programs offers a wonderful, far-reaching curriculum with exercises that ready students for life after high school, for both college and the workaday world.  Among the myriad of exercises and activities students learn how to search for and apply to the college(s) of their choice, how to prepare a resume, how to find housing, and how to enter the job market.

At Clinton Christian School our technology lab is not centrally located anymore.  Thanks to laptops that can be used throughout the school and wireless networking, students can now incorporate technology into any classroom and subject and have access to the internet when needed.  This allows teachers to have more options in teaching their students, which will allow for a more engaging and fun learning experience.  In addition, technology can be used to educate about and enhance various activities going on around campus, such as church functions, holiday programs, fundraising, sports activities and many more.

The computer technology classes offered at CCS give our students the opportunity to learn and grow in ways unimaginable a decade or so ago.  They will become well-equipped with the ever-changing knowledge of technology and computers that will help them not only in their continuing education, but as they grow into the men and women that God has called for them to become.

Life Skills (Seniors)

Life Skills is an integrated course that uses technology to teach students the important life strategies they will need for the future. Students will focus on three distinct groupings of skills: financial planning, college and career planning and recreational planning. Students will also focus on online research throughout each section of this course.

Through Life Skills, students will learn important skills such as: retirement planning, creating a résumé, finding net worth, creating budgets, college research skills, and interviewing skills. Life Skills will use technology applications such as spreadsheets, databases, word processing, multimedia, and desktop publishing.

Students are provided with project lesson plans for each activity listed in the course outline. There are also handouts and samples for each activity/project. Online activities/projects also have handouts. Prior to beginning the course, the teacher should print copies of the handouts and lessons for each student. Teachers can enhance the projects as desired. Projects are self-paced, so teachers can provide as much initial and ongoing instruction as deemed necessary based on the skill level of the students.

Cyber Ethics & Communication (Grade 6-12 Elective)

Cyber Ethics and Communication is intended to provide students with the skills necessary to conduct themselves appropriately online. This curriculum will provide an overview of ethical issues that arise through the use of advanced technologies.  These issues include but are not limited to cyber-bullying, plagiarism and copyright laws, privacy and online etiquette. The communication portion of the curriculum provides students the instruction necessary for utilizing a variety of Web/write applications such as blogs, wikis and podcasts. Students will explore the educational benefits of using such applications and consider related ethical issues.

To complete this course, students will need access to the Internet as most of the coursework occurs online. School Technology Programs has researched a variety of online Web/write applications to provide step-by-step directions on how to create blogs, wikis and podcasts. School Technology Programs chose hosting sites that were user-friendly, free and appropriate for school use. If an instructor is familiar with other hosting sites and wishes to use something other than what is written in the directions, he or she will instruct the students on those steps. Please note that these online applications are updated frequently by their sponsors so step-by-step directions may vary slightly. 

Fundamentals of Computer Technology (Grade 6-12 Elective)

(We don’t have a finalized “blurb” but the topics covered are: basic computer operations, operating systems, Internet research, projects in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, and FrontPage.

Wall Street (Grade 3-5 Elective)

Students use spreadsheet and graphing skills while learning about the stock market. Students select stocks, create spreadsheets, and chart their results. The projects include creating two spreadsheets with graphs to chart stock information and designing a crossword puzzle using shading and borders in a spreadsheet. Skills include learning spreadsheet terminology, using a spreadsheet, using formulas, creating and modifying charts, using borders and shading, importing graphics, typing, formatting numbers and text, and creating WordArt.