Skip to main content
District
  1. Educational Programs
  2. Special Area Core
  3. STEAM
  4. Computer Education

Computer Education

Students working in a computer labStudents working in a computer labStudents working in a computer lab

 

Welcome to the Computer Lab page for Mandalay and Wantagh Elementary Schools. My name is Mr. Chiu. I am honored to work with students in kindergarten, first and second grades in the Wantagh School District as their Computer Mentor. Students come to the computer lab once every six school days. They learn new tools that support their classroom teacher's instructional goals while enhancing their creativity and problem solving skills.

Explore some of the topics below to practice some skills at home with your child.

Please email at chiuh@wantaghschools.org with any feedback or questions. I am excited to expand your child's knowledge and imagination throughout the school year.

 

 

  • How to access Wixie

    First grade students at Wantagh Elementary and Mandalay Elementary Schools have been introduced to this cool new art program. After clicking the link to access Wixie, click the appropriate choices including the student's monitor number from the Computer Lab and complete the password. Each student has independently logged in at least three times in school so they should be familiar with their monitor number and password. After landing on the Wixie home page, click the white house on the blue bar (at the top left of the screen), find the student's username and double click on it. Your child can click the page turner arrows (at the top right of the screen) to show you their beginning creations. Click "+ Page" on the top blue bar to start a new creation! Enjoy!

  • Students in kindergarten, first, and second grade learned that coding is simply instructing computers what to do. While the concept is elementary, the applications of such knowledge and skill are limitless as students will utilize their knowledge in future years to create video games, create cool science projects, and find career opportunities that interest them. The students have applied and advanced their coding skills on Kodable in the Computer Lab this winter. Ask your child for their Class Code so they can share their progress with you and continue coding at home. Feel free to email me if your child has forgotten the Class Code.

    Here are some additional resources to consider to continue coding at home. These websites/apps are well-regarded and appropriate for elementary age students with some support.

    • Code.org- Elementary (K-5). Kids learn the fundamentals of computer science with drag & drop blocks to create drawings, stories, and games. Free.
    • Tynker - Ages 7+. Kids learn to code using visual code blocks that represent real programming concepts. Tynker is great to guide kids through a variety of visual programming languages, allowing them to code robots and drones, build apps and games, and explore STEAM activities. 10-20 free activities or a paid subscription.
    • Scratch Jr. - With ScratchJr, young children can program their own interactive stories and games. In the process, they learn to solve problems, design projects, and express themselves creatively on the computer. Free. iPads only.

  • How can you enjoy a new book without actually having a book in your hand?

    Recently, first and second grade students learned about digital storytelling and the process of creating a video to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday and Read Across America Day.

    Students learned the necessary steps of creating a digital read aloud video. The students voted on a Dr. Seuss story, took digital photos of the pages, and narrated the text. Students saw a demonstration of audio editing and helped adjust timings on Movie Maker to create the final product.

    Students learned about a different literacy choice, became familiar with the process of creating a video, and exercised their literacy skills through expressive reading (paying attention to punctuation, style, and feeling!) This project also presented opportunities to stress digital safety (ask adults before using Youtube), respect for each other's differences (we each have a different voice), and collaboration.

  • How can you enjoy a new book without actually having a book in your hand?

    Recently, first grade students learned about digital storytelling and the process of creating a video to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday and Read Across America Day.

    Students learned the necessary steps of creating a digital read aloud video. The students voted on a Dr. Seuss story, took digital photos of the pages, and narrated the text. Students saw a fun demonstration of audio editing on Audacity and helped edit timings on Movie Maker to create the final product.

    Students learned about a different literacy choice, became familiar with the process of creating a video, and exercised their literacy skills through expressive reading (paying attention to punctuation, style, and feeling!) This project also presented opportunities to stress digital safety (ask adults before using Youtube), respect for each other's differences (we each have a different voice), and collaboration.

  • How can you enjoy a new book without actually having a book in your hand?

    Recently, first grade students learned about digital storytelling and the process of creating a video to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday and Read Across America Day.

    Students learned the necessary steps of creating a digital read aloud video. The students voted on a Dr. Seuss story, took digital photos of the pages, and narrated the text. Students saw a fun demonstration of audio editing on Audacity and helped edit timings on Movie Maker to create the final product.

    Students learned about a different literacy choice, became familiar with the process of creating a video, and exercised their literacy skills through expressive reading (paying attention to punctuation, style, and feeling!) This project also presented opportunities to stress digital safety (ask adults before using Youtube), respect for each other's differences (we each have a different voice), and collaboration.

  • National Geographic Kids

    Watch animal cameras, learn interesting tidbits about animals, see and share photos of nature, learn about different countries and try science experiments. These activities don't even begin to scratch the surface of the National Geographic Kids website. There's even a "Little Kids" section for the younger explorers in your house.

    CoolMath4Kids

    CoolMath calls itself "an amusement park of math and more." Children can play online math games that help them with addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, decimals, money and more. CoolMath4Kids.com is appropriate for ages 3 through 12.

    ABCya

    ABCya.com is a website that provides educational games and activities for school-aged children. The games on the website are organized into grade levels from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, as well as into subject categories such as letters, numbers, and holidays.

    Starfall

    Starfall teaches children how to read by using games and phonics. Starfall has four reading levels to teach children from ages 2 to 15 how to read. The levels, in order from the most basic to the most advanced are: "learning ABCs" (2-6), "early beginning reading" (2-6), "intermediate beginning reading" (6-10), and "advanced beginning reading" (10-15).

    Enchanted Learning

    Enchanted Learning® produces children's educational web sites which are designed to capture the imagination while maximizing creativity, learning, and enjoyment. Ease of use is a hallmark of our material

    Brain Pop Jr.

    BrainPopis a group of educational websites with over 1,000 short animated movies for students in grades K-12 (ages 6 to 17), together with quizzes and related materials, covering the subjects of science, social studies, English, mathematics, engineering and technology, health, and arts and music.

    Brain Pop

    BrainPopis a group of educational websites with over 1,000 short animated movies for students in grades K-12 (ages 6 to 17), together with quizzes and related materials, covering the subjects of science, social studies, English, mathematics, engineering and technology, health, and arts and music.

    Culture Grams

    Culture Grams: Concise, reliable, and up-to-date country reports on 200 cultures of the world. A trusted perspective on our changing world. Browse, print, or study the complete Culture Grams Online Database, including Kids, States, and World Editions. Culture Grams. Concise, reliable, and up-to-date.

    World Book Online

    An encyclopedia published in the United States. The encyclopedia was designed to cover major areas of knowledge uniformly, but it shows particular strength in scientific, technical, and medical subjects.

    Encyclopedia Britannica

    Explore the updated online encyclopedia fromEncyclopaedia Britannica with hundreds of thousands of articles, biographies, videos, images, and Web sites.

    FactCite at The Lincoln Library

    FactCite is a collection of databases that support curriculum and stimulate young researchers.

    Scholastic Go!

    Providing credible, accurate, reliable content on almost every core-curricula subject,Scholastic GO!®offers endless resources for research in a multitude of media. Explore nonfiction texts, world newspapers, videos and more with this easy-to-navigate digital resource designed to strengthen content knowledge, vocabulary, and core proficiency skills.

    PebbleGo Next

    PebbleGo Next is the next step in research for students grades 3-6. Launching with a States, American Indian studies, Science, & Social Studies modules, PebbleGo Next is carefully aligned to grades 3-6 curriculum objectives. The databases is simple to navigate and offer key reading supports such as read-along audio and word-by-word highlighting along with a variety of downloadable, including prompts to inspire critical thinking.

    PebbleGo

    Each database features expertly-leveled text and navigation specifically designed for your beginning researchers. Enriched with spoken-word audio, text highlighting and audio/video media, PebbleGo builds a foundation of research skills for every learner.

    TrueFlix

    Trueflixis an award winning online resource that leverages the award-winning True Books content to help students hone literacy skills, build knowledge of subject-area content, and cultivate 21st Century skills through the inquiry process.

    BookFlix

    Scholastic BookFlix is a new online literacy resource that pairs classic video storybooks from Weston Woods with related nonfiction eBooks to reinforce reading skills and introduce children to a world of knowledge and exploration.

  • Useful for early readers; contains excellent information on animals, earth and space, biographies of famous people and social studies.

  • Using the internet offers a world of possibilities, but there are certain risks that you need to be aware of. Use the following websites to become familiar with ways to protect yourself online.

  • Clipart of snowflakes

    Snowflakes have symmetry. See if you can make symmetrical snowflakes in this matching game.

     

  • Telling Time

    Animated gif of an old alarm clock with the hands spinning

    First Graders practice telling time to the hour and the half hour. Here are some terrific websites where they can test their skills:

    Great websites for First Graders

    Reading/ELA Sites for 1st Grade:

    Other Sites:

     

  • A wonderful site for beginning readers, as well as young children getting ready to read

  • That Quiz
    Posted by Shannon Conaty on 10/18/2013
    Math activities for students of all grade levels

    Fact Monster
    Posted by Shannon Conaty on 10/18/2013