FAQs

What do you do in a session?

Lots of things…
  • Check in with your student. Ask them how their day was. Talk about events in your own life.
  • Do a one-time activity. Play a game. Explore some websites. Talk about features on facebook. Explore some comic strips generators. http://www.bitstrips.com/ create/comic/ is a fun one.
  • Create an email account. Talk about privacy and security.
  • Play the Gwigle game.
  • After a few sessions begin working on a project. Tease out what a student is interested in. Any topic is okay—sports, celebrities, food, movies…
I've never worked with kids before. What do I do?
  • Teenagers are people too. They respond well to the same things that other people do.
  • Express concern and interest in what they want to do. Remember that trust can take a while to build.
  • Patience is important.
  • On the other hand, being firm and clear about expectations helps the relationship as well.
  • Be genuine.
  • Be yourself.
  • Sometimes C4K students are shy or reticent to get started. Giving them 2-3 options instead of open-ended questions helps.
  • Use simpler language—pictures or photos instead of graphics or Photoshop, music instead of audacity—website instead of Dreamweaver.
  • Laugh with them and at yourself.
Projects seem overwhelming. How do I get started?
  • Play first.
  • Build slowly. Decide a topic of interest. Edit some photos. Make a logo for a business.
  • Make a small product so that you and your student have something tangible to build from.
  • IF YOU MAKE A WEBSITE-- COME UP WITH A PAPER PLAN FIRST!!!!!
Where do kids save their work?
  • Labshare... or the L:/ drive-- Every student has their own folder. Keeping the folders organized is a great activity to do at any time.
My student doesn't seem motivated or My student only wants to play games. What do I do?
  • Sometimes our students can seem "turned off". Be firm about your expectations. Ask them what they like to do online. Talk about what goes into making those games or activities. Start a compare and contrast document about games. Build parts of what those games do. Students can make "dress up" pictures in Photoshop or Fireworks or can make games in Powerpoint, Flash, GameMaker, Scratch, Alice. Our expectation is that our students will be engaged. We talk about it frankly during training and during lab time. If your student continues to be disengaged let us know and we can intervene.