Computer Skills Curriculum
Telecomputing Lesson Plan

Title: Effects of Telecomputing

Other Curriculum Objectives that can be addressed by this lesson plan English Language Arts 2.1, 2.2, 4.1; Social Studies: (Gr. 6) 10.3; Information Skills 1.5; Computer Skills: (Gr. 6) 1.1

Grade: 6
Competency 1.1: Identify ways that telecomputing promotes a global community.

Measure 1.1.2: Given a list of topics (e.g., news, research, disaster relief, sports, banking, education), create a word processed report on how telecomputing can affect that topic.

Materials Needed: A computer in the classroom or a computer lab with word processing software.

Time: Three class sessions.

Terms: Telecomputing, Modem, Upload, Download, Bulletin Board Service, E-mail, Log on, Log off, Internet, Information Highway

Glossary of Telecomputing Terms
Grade 6 Glossary

Activities

Activity:

Day 1

• 1. Remind students that computers can be used to access information from other computers.
• 2. Remind students that one advantage of using telecomputing to access information is that computers can find the information much faster than the human eye.
• 3. Write the following words on the board:

  		News    Scientific Research    Disaster Relief
  		Sports  Banking                Education
  

• 4. Explain to the class that they will have an assignment tomorrow to write a report on how telecomputing can effect one of these areas of activity. Assign each student one of the areas of activity on which they will report. Record this information. Tell them that they can do research if necessary.

Day 2

• 1. Divide the class into groups with all of the students working on news in one group, scientific research in another, etc. Explain that each student will report to the rest of the group the ways that they thought telecomputing might affect their area of activity. Tell them that other students should take notes on ideas that they did not have on their list.
• 2. Have the students return to their places and take out a sheet of paper. Assign them to write a report on how telecomputing might affect their area of activity. Students should complete the activity for homework.
• 3. During the next trip to the computer lab or using a computer in the classroom, have each student key his/her report into the computer using a word processing program, edit it, print it out, and submit it to the teacher.

Extra Step:

Report to the class at the beginning of the activity that you will be posting their reports on a computer network for other classes around the world to read. Once the reports have been completed, batch the files into a single file and post on one or more educational forums (e.g., "Discussion Groups" on Learning Link or "Newsgroups" on FrEdMail).

Measure

Given an area of activity such as medicine, education, or entertainment, have students write a description of ways that telecomputing might affect that activity.