Site Technology Specialist & Computer Instructor
Alfia Wallace: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Students at Dixie Elementary learn a wide range of technology skills at each grade level. Internet safety and cyber-bullying education are incorporated into the technology curriculum at all grade levels. Dixie subscribes to EdStop1 (which includes Brainpop) and Everyday Math for integrated online learning support.
- Kindergarten: In kindergarten, students learn to use a mouse and to navigate the interfaces of graphics manipulation, reading and math software both in the classroom and in the school's state-of-the-art Mac computer lab.
- 1st Grade: In 1st grade students create a Junior Botany slideshow in Kid Pix software and also create a book called "Me on the Map", which expands their use of Kid Pix tools while teaching them geography.
- 2nd Grade: Students in 2nd grade explore their social studies and science curricula in the lab with a variety of multimedia projects.
- 3rd Grade: Students begin a touch typing curriculum with Type to Learn software which continues through 5th grade. 3rd graders also begin learning word processing in Microsoft Word, presentation software with Apple Keynote, and Internet research using pre-selected, safe websites. They also learn about file formats and how to convert and export various proprietary formats into cross-platform compatible .jpgs and .pdfs.
- 4th Grade: Dixie 4th graders do Mission Reports in Microsoft Word, book reports in Apple Keynote, research California historical figures for their wax museum projects, and explore a variety of web quests and online learning opportunities.
- 5th Grade: While continuing with their touch-typing curriculum, Dixie 5th graders visit the computer lab twice a week to work on curriculum-driven research and multimedia projects. They learn newsletter layout in MS Word, how to record sound in Garageband and export it as an mp3, how to import sound into presentations and podcasts, and how to make charts and do basic functions in MS Excel.
Alfia Wallace has been with Dixie School teaching technology, maintaining the website, and serving as campus computer tech since 2002. She hosts the GeoClub lunch club in E2 on Mondays and Tuesdays. At the district level, Mrs. Wallace teaches G.A.T.E. classes in technology and language to students in grades 4-8. She also teaches afterschool computer programming classes in the district via San Rafael Rec. and runs a science seminar for high school students at Terra Linda High School. Her website is plumsite.com.
> Click here for the District Technology Plan 2012 – 2014
