Students in 1st through 6th grade have created stories in “StoryMaker”, a free, online story builder that also provides students with animated visuals that bring the story to life. Suggested sentences are provided for early learners but can be easily edited by older students to customize and develop the story at a higher level of writing. Second and third grade students have begun working with “Paint” and Microsoft WordPad in anticipation of learning how to add pictures to typed documents. ABCYa Animate continues to be a favorite creation tool. Fourth and Fifth Grade students have learned how to save pictures from the internet to use in written work. Copyright use will continue to be addressed. Students have also successfully signed into their Google Docs accounts and have begun customizing their background themes and learning how to use email. Google Drive is next. Sixth Grade has begun the dive into Google Classroom, a VLE/LMS (virtual learning environment/learning management system). Online classes use these systems to enable collaboration and help students meet assignment deadlines. All grades have brushed up on or began typing with “Dance Mat Typing” online. Many of the online resources that the students use in class are found on the St. John website.
