ROBOTICS AND PROGRAMMING

FLOBOT
Flobot- the virtual robot with fun and learning built in! Poor Flobot is lost and all alone in the rainforest and only our COMPUTERTOTS can help! Students will practice programming the robot to follow commands entered by students, navigate through mazes and around obstacles, dance, avoid hazards, and complete a variety of tasks. They will be captivated by the rich adventure settings as they solve problems, make logical decisions, and use simple, individual commands and more complex, sequential commands to teach the lovable robot how to react and what to do.

PRO-BOT
COMPUTERTOTS will develop an understanding of the principles of basic programming while inputting a sequence of commands to cause the Pro-Bot to move forward and backward and to turn left and right. They will be introduced to and experiment with simple programming concepts using the Probotix software and practice programming the virtual (on-computer) robot. The concrete (on the floor) Pro-Bot will be used to make the connection between the virtual programming steps on the computer to the concrete steps with a real robot.

OFFICE SKILLS

TECHTOTS
COMPUTERTOTS students will explore the computer and have guided experiences that demonstrate the way that computers relate to their lives. Following our proprietary scope and sequence, the students will learn basic computer operations, familiarize themselves with the keyboard, practice desktop skills with pull-down menus...and HAVE FUN! They will create a slide show project that demonstrates the skills they have developed. Anyone with Internet access can view the slide shows.
www.computerexplorers.com/nwhouston and go to Videos

DIGITAL/GRAPHIC ARTS COURSES

ITZABITZA
In 2009 COMPUTER EXPLORERS joined Microsoft and Sabi, Inc. to issue a joint press release announcing our use and endorsement of the ItzaBitza software. This educational computer game is the newest part of our curriculum. Designed to nurture creativity, inspire play, and encourage children to read, ItzaBitza is an exceptional teaching tool. What makes this computer game unique is the "Living Ink" technology from Sabi. "Living Ink" is a drawing recognition technology that evolved from work started within Microsoft Research by the Sabi team members. We look forward to engaging our COMPUTERTOTS with this new tool!

PODCASTING
Students will create a slide show that includes graphics, text and sound in the subject areas of Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science. This show will then become a podcast when posted to a web site. Anyone with Internet access can view the podcast.
www.computerexplorers.com/nwhouston and go to Videos

KRAZY ART
The artist in each of our COMPUTERTOTS will grow as this Krazy ArtRoom interactive multimedia software program is explored. Students will combine creativity, special effects, animations, imaginative art tools, sound, backgrounds, and exporting capabilities to show off your artistic talents.

DIGITAL MOVIE MAKING
Students will become moviemakers as they use Digital Blue^TM - Digital Movie Creator^TM 2.0 to create their own movie. After they shoot their video clips with the digital camera, they will put these clips together into a storyboard to create their movie. Students will also add a title, credits, transitions, and special effects.
Anyone with Internet access can view the movies.
www.computerexplorers.com/nwhouston and go to Video