Graphing Apples in OpenOffice

(click photo to see full-size)

I want to thank those of you who participated in our informal apple survey. Today I had my 9yr. old son tally the results and make a graph in Open Office. It looks like Golden Delicious apples were the winner.

Lately I have been looking at ways to integrate technology into our curriculum. Truth be told, I'd rather they were rarely on the computer, but that's just not going to happen in my house. They see me on the computer all the time. They know I blog, Tweet, Facebook, digital scrap and write articles. My husband is in an IT related field as well, so he's on the computer often. Computers are a big part of our lives. My goal is to show them how to responsibly use technology, and to use it for learning, not just to keep them busy. I previously wrote about how we are starting to integrate digital scrapbooking into their schooling. I realized that I haven't been teaching them any word processing/database skills. Other than typing and playing educational/Webkinz games, they haven't been using much technology, and they haven't been using it as a tool for showing what they have learned.

So today's graphing lesson was intentional. We needed to review graphing skills and I wanted my son to learn how to create a table using OpenOffice. Combining the two created a great thinking activity. He first had to sketch out the graph on paper and record the results from my blog. Then we worked together to create his sketch on the computer. I taught him how to set up the table, add color, add columns, merge cells and change fonts. He loved working on the computer (I knew he would which is why I started with him--lol). In fact, after the graphing assignment, he stayed in OpenOffice and wrote a play! His idea! The boy who earlier that day was giving me grief about just filling in answers for a personal writing exercise wrote a mini-play.

So do you use technology with your schooling? (Technology can be more than computers--video recorders, Ipods, etc.) To what extent? Certain ages? Any great ideas on how to use technology at home to promote learning? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject.