Tejas and Jyoti are back to school after the summer break.

Moz: How was your summer vacation?You must have had fun with your family and friends.

Tejas: I had asked my parents to buy some video games, but my mother suggested that I should do some fun activities in my holidays which are also educational.

As I am interested in Maths problems, she asked me to look for online Maths games.

Jyothi: I wanted to improve my English vocabulary in the holidays, so my parents suggested that I should look for crossword puzzles online.

Tejas: This is exciting, what did you find?

Tejas : I used what I had learnt in our last class about gathering information. I discussed with my mother about how to search for online maths games. I applied the constraints that it has to be for 10 year old students. I had some questions like, Is it free, or should I pay?

Moz: So how did you decide which games were interesting to play finally?

Tejas: I noted the information about the website URL in a notebook and discussed with my parents. I also showed it to Jyoti when she visited my house. We then selected three online games . We really had a lot of fun and also learnt about averages, fractions.

Moz: Let me also see these games, can you give me the URLs?

Tejas: Sure , this is the list

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The different steps of gathering information?

Step 1: Identify the goal and State it clearly.

1.1 Discuss about the task with your partners.

1.2 Identify and define the goal. State it clearly.

Step 2: Analyze the goal and identify the requirements for sub-tasks.

2.1 Identify various sub-tasks of the goal.

2.2 Identify requirements related to each sub-task.

2.3 List what you already know about the requirements of each sub-task.

2.4 List the questions to which, you need to find answers.

2.5 Write down ‘What you know’ and ‘What you do not know’.

Step 3: Identify the information required to accomplish each sub-task.

3.1 Gather the information required for each sub-task.

3.2 Classify the information being gathered into categories.

3.3 List the classifications of each sub-task.

Step 4: Identify resources that provide information about each sub-task.

Some sources of information are:

Libraries, Internet, places related to the task.

People like parents, grandparents, teachers, and friends.

Step 5: Record information in a note-book or paper.

5.1While finding information:

5.1.1 From people: Be prepared with a set of questions. This helps you to not miss any important information.

5.1.2 From resources like libraries, books and Internet:

Note down the information as you are reading.

5.3 Capture the information under appropriate categories.

5.4 Search all available resources to get answers for all the questions that you had listed.

5.5 Lookout for other important information regarding the task.

Step 6: Consolidate and organize the information gathered from various resources.

5.3.1 Group related information into categories.

5.3.2 . Lists, tables and Venn diagrams are different ways of consolidating information.

What are the different steps of decision making?

Step 1: Gather and consolidate information.

Step 2: Identify the constraints (conditions to be satisfied).

Step 3: Use logical thinking to identify choices that satisfy the constraints.

Step 4: Take the decision.

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Moz: Why did you make alist and not a table?

Tejas: I made a list as there was only one column, if you also want the name of the link used for playing the game , here is the table:

Website address / Name of the game /link

Jyoti: I wrote a To do list for the vocabulary improving activity that my parents had suggested:

  1. Search for vocabulary based games on the internet
  2. If the displayed lists are not interesting or age appropriate, improve the search keywords by discussing with parents
  3. Note the URLs of websites
  4. Bookmark the websites
  5. Play the vocabulary games and note the new words learnt along with the meanings
  6. Send the list of URLs to Tejas/friends by email

Moz: why did you use numbers in the list?

Jyoti: We had learnt that lists should have numbers if it sequential and bullets if the order is not important.

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The list helps us to easily remember instructions. It also helps us to check if we have completed all tasks.

Lists can be organized in multiple ways. One of the ways to arrange items in the list is in alphabetic order. Another way is to organize it sequentially. If the order in which the items listed are to be done is important, number the items in the list.

uses of a list

A list is useful to:

  • Organize information systematically.
  • Highlightimportant points in long sentences and paragraphs.
  • Enhance readability and grab reader’s attention.
  • Remember instructions and announcements.
  • Find the information that we need faster.
  • Know order in which tasks need to be done.

Different uses of a table

A Table is useful to:

  • Organize a collection of related data in rows and columns.
  • Find information easily.
  • Catch attention of the reader.
  • Compare information on different categories.

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Moz: How did you go about searching for the games?

Jyoti: I used the concepts/skills learnt in the Internet lessons in our 5th grade while searching for word search games , crossword games and vocabulary games.

Moz: What were the keywords you used for searching? How did you navigate to the games that you wanted to play?

Jyoti: I first typed the keyword : crossword, and the first link displayed was a bookshop named Crossword! Then I tried “Word search games” , the search engine displayed links which I visited and the games were not suitable for my age.

Moz: So how did you improve the search keywords?

Jyoti: I remembered that phrases with relevant words would be helpful and then typed: “word search games for 5th grade students”. This gave me a good list of links and I bookmarked the links for future use.

Tejas: Each site had hyperlinks pointing to different grades or games . It was also easy to navigate using the browser back button or by using the menu on the web page.

Moz: So why don’t you share the addresses of web sites and some of the new words that you have learnt ?

Jyoti: Yes, I first checked with my parents about using Internet, also showed them the sites which I was browsing. Tejas and I also sent emails to each other giving the list of URLs that we compiled.

Tejas: On some of the websites, I noticed some pop ups , asking me to fill some personal details like age, name and I closed the pop ups.

Moz: Why don’t you mail these URLs to your classmates?

Jyoti: We were not sure about spamming their inbox, so we decided that after the school reopens we will ask them individually. If they are interested, we will email them the list.

Tejas: We also followed the SMART rules while browsing on the internet

List of URLs for vocabulary games:

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What is a computer network?

A computer network is a collection of computers and devices interconnected to one another. Devices in a computer network can be shared by users of the network. Files, data and information on the computers in a computer network can also be shared by users of the network.

What is a computer virus?

A computer virus is a program that can attach to files and perform actions ranging from annoying (e.g., popping up messages as a joke) to dangerous (e.g., deleting files). To avoid virus attacks on computers, scan the attachments received along with e-mail using a virus protection software.

  • Internet is a combined collection of many interconnected computernetworks around the world.
  • Sharable information on the Internet is called the World Wide Web (www).
  • A web site is a collection of related web pages of information.
  • Information on a web site is accessed by using the Internet applicationcalled the browser.
  • A web site is accessed by using the web site address called the URL.
  • A hyperlink is a mechanism by which a web page is linked to another related web page.
  • If you move your mouse over a hyperlink, it will usually change to theshape of a hand.
  • The Back button takes you to the web page which you were viewing, before coming to the present page.
  • The Forward button has the opposite function of the Back button. It takes you forward to the next web page, within a sequence of pages that you have already accessed.
  • The address of a web site that you would like to visit again can be saved using Bookmarks.
  • A web search engine is a web site that helps you search for information on the World Wide Web.
  • The search results are usually presented as a list of links.
  • To send and receive mails electronically using computers, use e-mail.
  • The unique identification in combination with the e-mail service provider’s name is called the email address or the email Id of the user.
  • Sending identical messages to numerous recipients by email when it is really not necessary, is called spamming.

What are the safety measures for Internet browsing and searching?

  • Seek permission of parents/teachers before using Internet.
  • Do not give personal information while browsing.
  • Close the pop up. Do not perform any action requested by the pop up. This may cause the applications on your computer to stop working.
  • When you come across information that you do not like or is upsetting, inform and discuss with your parents about the same.

What are the safety measures while sending and receiving emails?

  • Do not share your password with anyone not even your best friend.
  • Always check with your parents before reading email from someone you donot know.
  • Beware of viruses in attachments. Scan attachments before downloading.
  • Always check with elders whom you trust before believing any informationmailed to you.
  • Send mails to multiple users only if it is absolutely necessary. Do not Spam.

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Moz: Looks like you have really revised all the skills/concepts learnt in your 5th grade by this activity of searching for online educational games.

Tejas: After playing these games, we were wondering if we could build such games using Scratch

Moz: Scratch was a beginners programming language, but to build games you will need higher level programming languages like Java, Python, Basic etc.

This year you willhave a lot of fun while learning about how a computer works, a new programming language called BASIC and also how to make presentations.

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