4. Digital Workspace Essentials

Introduction

Welcome to Thing 4: Digital Workspace Essentials!

Ever spent ten frantic minutes searching for an assignment right before the bell rings? Or completely missed a deadline because you didn’t have tools to keep you on task? We’ve all been there! Your device can be either a total disaster zone that stresses you out... or your ultimate superpower.

In this unit, you’re taking full control of your digital life. Whether your school uses Google or Microsoft, you’ll learn how to tame the chaos and level up your daily routine:

• Drive / OneDrive: Clean up the clutter and organize your files so you can find anything in seconds.
• Docs / Word: Format like a pro and make your work look slick and professional.
• Calendar & Tasks: Lock down your schedule and crush your to-do list before it crushes you.

Why build these skills? Because you’re going to need them for your final mission. At the end of this unit, you’ll work solo or assemble a crew to design and build your very own Digital Escape Room.

• You’ll use your new doc-formatting, file-hiding, and task-organizing tricks to create mind-bending puzzles and lock away secret codes.
• Will your classmates have what it takes to break out of your room, or will they be stuck forever?

Stop digging through digital clutter. Grab the controls and build a workspace that actually works for you!

Learning Objectives

When you have completed this Thing, you will:

• Understand the different ways to organize materials inside a folder with naming conventions. [Empowered Learner]
• Learn advanced word processing features. [Creative Communicator]
• Share documents and folders, choosing appropriate privacy settings. [Digital Citizen]
• Collaborate with others on a project. [Global Collaborator]

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED: BECOME THE ESCAPE ROOM MASTERMIND

Have you ever done an escape room for a party, team building, or just for fun? Finding hidden clues, cracking secret codes, and escaping before time runs out is an absolute rush!

Guess what? You don't need a physical room to build one—you can create your own digital escape room right inside Google Docs or Microsoft Word!

While playing the video below, highlighting 8th graders race against the clock in a digital escape room challenge, focus on these discussion questions:

• What do you see happening?
• What do you hear as they collaborate?
• What do you wonder about how it was made?

Direct link (2:41 min.)