This week we will take a peek at Tech TEKS 6G. Here is the “official” verbiage.
(6) Technology operations and concepts. The student demonstrates a thorough understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. The student is expected to:
(G) implement effective file management strategies such as file naming conventions, location, backup, hierarchy, folder structure, file conversion, tags, labels, and emerging digital organizational strategies.
I think this is something most of us could actually use some help with. Organization is an important life skill in general. Teaching and modeling how to keep their digital files can go a long way in making things easier for both students and teachers.
We have started addressing this Tech TEKS this year already by meeting with, or scheduling to meet with, all 6th grade students in the district to introduce/review Office 365. Students have been working in OneDrive, the district’s option for online storage and collaboration. We have walked through creating folders for each core subject. We then discuss how to use these folders effectively to stay organized, keeping all files associated with that subject in its proper folder.
Another important skill pulled from this Tech TEKS is file conversion. An example for when this would be needed is when sharing information online with others, whether it be through email, a blog post, or any social media platform. Many times you are creating in Word or Publisher. If the people you are sharing with do not have these programs, the file can often display funny or not open at all. A best practice is to convert the file to a PDF. The PDF file type is universal. It can be opened on almost all devices.
Our image has a built-in file converter that many of you may not be aware of. By simply right-clicking on the file name you are given options for common conversions for the file type you are starting with.
Conversion can be as easy as 1, 2, 3:
- Right-click on the file name
- Choose File Converter from your options
- Select To PDF
The file will be converted and saved back to the same location/folder as the original file.
LCISD Digital Learning 6-8 