Teaching with Computers and Software within the Workshop Rotation Model

I originally started experimenting with software in my Sunday School back in 1990 when my church created what has become known as The Workshop Rotation Model for Sunday School.

Computers were brand new to education back then and there was very little Christian software in existence, but we couldn't ignore the dramatic increase in ATTENTION our kids were experiencing in our early computer lab. Begun with two donated 386 IBM PCs, we used some simple quiz programs, and Bible trivia games. (Pictured right: two of my students in that original computer lab circa 1992 with the 386 computer).

The Workshop Rotation Model (WoRM) is a natural for incorporating computers into Sunday School. Why? Because in the WoRM, the kids go to a different workshop each week for four to five weeks while the teachers stay put. And all the grades are working on the same story in each workshop each week for four or five weeks in a row.

This means your computer lab teacher sees a different grade group each week.

Benefits include:

1. You don't have to have new software each week because the kids are always changing.
2. You can reuse software every month or two because each grade only come in every month or so.
3. After the first week of a "rotation" the teacher really knows the software and is already improving their lesson plan.
4. As the kids rotate through different workshops, their story proficiency grows --making a computer quizzes easier to use because they have a growing knowledge of what's in the quiz.
5. As kids rotate, they don't get bored with any one teacher or medium.
6. They anticipate coming into the computer lab with great excitement.

Read more of my articles ABOUT the Rotation Model at:

http://sundaysoftware.com/rotation/articles4rotation.htm

You can also order the Workshop Rotation Book at www.sundaysoftware.com/order.htm
Look for it at the end of our online order form.

Neil MacQueen

Name Badger -- Single Nametags made Easy

Sunday Software releases it's first non-game title:

Name Badger

The point of this software is simple: Give Sunday Schools and Churches a simple interface for walk-up users to find and click their name on a laptop, --which prints out a single nametag from a thermal label printer.

Nametags are an essential fellowship tool, especially for the members (staff people often don't understand the importance of nametags because they know lots of people).

The problem with nametags, however, has been daunting:

• People don't wear permanent ones. They tend to forget about them.


• People lose their permanent nametags, or walk out the door and leave them at home.


• New members and visitors don't get permanent tags for a long time.


• Kids mangle permanent nametags.


• And everyone's handwriting is either TOO SMALL or completely UNREADABLE

Enter Name Badger... installed on a used/free laptop, placed at the point of ENTRY for whatever even you need nametags for, and hooked up to a fast thermal label printer.

Release Date: January 10, 2010

www.sundaysoftware.com/namebadger

Name Badger is a great example of the type of church software niche programmers have been ignoring. Yes, there are nametag printing programs if you want to make them IN BULK. And yes, there are nametag programs for preschool security check-in, if you want to pay hundreds of dollars. Name Badger is $35 and works on older equipment hooked up to an inexpensive label printer.