Course Syllabus
Policies and Procedures
You are expected to commit to regular study time and communication time online with the class and with the instructor, just as you would with any traditional high school course. You are expected to log into the course at least three days per week. There is no specific time you are required to log in, and you may enter the course at any time. If you are too busy to "attend" class online three times per week, you are too busy to take this class.
Online Attendance and participation
I will keep track of online attendance weekly. Failure to "show up" for the weekly work three or more weeks (whether or not they are consecutive weeks) will result in a failing final course grade.
If you decide that you do not want to complete this class, PLEASE officially drop the class. I don't have the authority to drop you from my roster. When grades become due at the end of the term, the only option I have is to give you whatever grade you have earned. If you stopped attending, that grade will be an F.
Assignments and Projects
To receive credit for each unit assignment, it must be received by me no later than 11:59pm on the deadline date. Late assignments will not be accepted. Assignments should be submitted within blackboard and not sent via email attachment unless the instructor requests that you do so.
Written Assignments (Summaries and Reports)
For any written assignment I expect you to use proper grammar, sentence and paragraph composition, spelling, capitalization and punctuation to the best of your ability. Please don't write assignments as though you are sending an informal e-mail to a friend. These are actual formal written assignments you are submitting to your teacher.
I will deduct points for careless writing because you are, after all, high school students. I'm not an English teacher and I have probably made numerous mistakes in this syllabus and other assignment descriptions. I won't go through your paper with a fine toothed comb and mark all your errors, but I will notice errors in basic grammar, text format, the absence of the use of paragraphs and capitalization errors, especially words like “I”. Spell out the word "you" and don't just type "u". Capitalize the first word of each sentence and proper nouns. Do your best work and don't be lazy, that's what I'm asking.
Quizzes and Exams
Quizzes and Exams will not be accepted late regardless of the circumstances - they must be completed during the scheduled range of time. Quizzes and Exams are will be due no later than 11:59pm on the due date of that unit. You are responsible for the material in the textbook, the material assigned as reading from additional sources, the training assigned, and the material from any online presentations. You are also responsible for the knowledge gained by participating in and completing assignments, projects, and threaded discussions. You are allowed to use your books and notes when you complete a quiz or exam, but you are not allowed to have other students take the quiz or exam for you and there is a time limit on each exam.
It is not possible to revise your quiz answers once you have submitted the quiz for grading. If you neglect to answer some questions on a quiz - regardless of the reason - (i.e. you forgot some, etc.) you will NOT be allowed to go back and answer those questions once you have submitted your quiz.
Grading
There will be no "Incomplete" grades given in this course. Your final grade will be calculated by dividing the total number of points you earn in the class by the total number of points possible during the semester. The result is a percentage, which will be assigned a grade. See the DUE DATES document under the syllabus link for a chart showing how many points are required for each letter grade.
Important Note: I use a wide variety of assessment methods in this course including assignments, projects, quizzes, discussions, web research and written papers. The competencies of this course include not only computer applications but also computer and technology concepts . Papers in this computer course are appropriate because it demonstrates your ability to utilize a word processor and it demonstrates your understanding of computer concepts. It also demonstrates your ability to utilize the Internet to compile information.
As an online course, this section will be taught much differently than if you were to take it in a classroom environment. You would not be accurate to compare what your friends might be required to do in a face-to-face course to what you will be required to do in this course. I want to make it clear that online courses are usually MORE work because more responsibility for learning and understanding is placed on the student. Online courses are not structured or taught the same way as face-to-face courses.
A student can determine his current grade based on the number of points earned divided by the total number of points available up to that point in the course. Final letter grades will equate to the following scale:
A 90% - 100% 657-733 points
B 80% - 89% 583-656 points
C 70%-79% 510-582 points
D 60%-69% 437-509 points
F Below 60% less than 437 points
Due Dates & Coursework
You may begin a unit from the course content home page at any time after the instructor allows you access into the unit, but you should complete the units in order. It is acceptable to work ahead in the course, as long as you complete things in the correct order. Every unit has a specific deadline date by which all work for that unit must be completed. Once a unit's deadline date has passed, you will no longer be able to submit work for that unit. I do not accept late work.
The units of work in order are:
Discussions
There are numerous threaded discussions in the course. Threaded discussions are online discussions much like a classroom where I will open up a question or topic to the class for comments. You will have the opportunity to respond to the question or share your ideas about some topic. Your response will be posted much like on a bulletin board so that other students can read your comments and respond. There is not a specific scheduled time that you have to be in the threaded discussion area, because the original question and all the responses will be available there until the deadline I place on the discussion. However, in order for there to actually be a discussion, we need a steady back and forth between students.
For the majority of the threaded discussions, students are expected to participate and will be assigned points for their participation. To receive credit for each threaded discussion, your entry must be posted no later than 11:59pm on the due date. In most cases in this course, not only will you post your comments, but you will respond to other students who have posted their questions or comments. I expect students to use complete sentences and use appropriate tone, language, grammar and spelling.
Be aware that anything you post in the discussions board is considered public and is viewable by classmates and the professor. Please be respectful and considerate when making postings.
It is possible to have more than one threaded discussion in a unit, so students should be attentive to and read through all the discussion entries and respond as you feel led. Each student is expected to participate in the threaded discussions, but this is not a contest of who can supply the most responses. Your motivation for participating should be to learn and to share. Please refrain from posting responses that are void of any content.
Verify Your Assignment Submissions
Please read the Syllabus "FAQs" (Frequently Asked Questions) about verifying assignment submissions.
Courtesy Code
Please follow the rules of common courtesy in your e-mail messages and threaded discussion responses. Your classmates will expect fair, honest feedback. Criticism and praise will both be a part of the procedure. It is expected that class discussions will result in differing opinions. Please be courteous to all your classmates and myself. Also be aware that anything you post on the discussion board is considered public and is viewable by all your classmates and the professor. Please be respectful and considerate when making postings. Any inappropriate or vulgar messages will result in disciplinary action, not excluding a failing grade for the semester or expulsion from the course. I expect students to use complete sentences and use appropriate tone, language, grammar and spelling.
Safeguards and Deadlines
Odd things happen in cyberspace. E-mail gets lost, servers disconnect temporarily without warning, and logins are occasionally impossible. Don't wait until the last moment to get things done. Allow yourself time to meet deadlines. Heavy Internet usage occurs during the evening hours of 7 - 10pm. You may want to consider logging into the course at other times if possible.
If you experience computer difficulties, you are responsible for solving your own technical problems. Your instructor will not be able to help you with computer or Blackboard issues you experience. For all questions relating to SCS login or passwords including webmail, and for problems accessing Blackboard, you can contact SCS Tech Support. Contact information is found in Unit 0.
For troubles with CourseMate assessment software please contact our book publisher's technical support. Contact information is found in Unit 0.
Be sure to save a back up of every piece of your work on a regular basis. "My computer ate my homework" and "I had it done but my disk is bad" and "I thought I sent that to you through e-mail" do not negate my policy that late work will not be accepted. You should copy yourself into each and every e-mail you send to me.
Plagiarism and Cheating
It is important that you are aware that engaging in any form of plagiarism is considered academic misconduct by the district and various disciplinary actions may be taken, including expulsion from the school. Plagiarism is defined as the appropriation of and use of another person's writing and passing it off as the product of one's own efforts. If you copy someone's work and submit it as your own, it is plagiarism. (See SCS's Student Handbook).
Academic Integrity, doing ones own work in course assignments and on tests, is one of the most important values in education. Receiving credit for cheating violates that value. It is unacceptable for you to copy or submit another person's work as your own, allow another person to complete your work for you, complete work for another student, or use unauthorized resources for tests. For this course, quizzes and tests may have a time limit, but you are allowed to refer to your textbooks and notes during quizzes. If you participate in cheating or plagiarism you will receive a failing grade for the semester.
Policies and Procedures
You are expected to commit to regular study time and communication time online with the class and with the instructor, just as you would with any traditional high school course. You are expected to log into the course at least three days per week. There is no specific time you are required to log in, and you may enter the course at any time. If you are too busy to "attend" class online three times per week, you are too busy to take this class.
Online Attendance and participation
I will keep track of online attendance weekly. Failure to "show up" for the weekly work three or more weeks (whether or not they are consecutive weeks) will result in a failing final course grade.
If you decide that you do not want to complete this class, PLEASE officially drop the class. I don't have the authority to drop you from my roster. When grades become due at the end of the term, the only option I have is to give you whatever grade you have earned. If you stopped attending, that grade will be an F.
Assignments and Projects
To receive credit for each unit assignment, it must be received by me no later than 11:59pm on the deadline date. Late assignments will not be accepted. Assignments should be submitted within blackboard and not sent via email attachment unless the instructor requests that you do so.
Written Assignments (Summaries and Reports)
For any written assignment I expect you to use proper grammar, sentence and paragraph composition, spelling, capitalization and punctuation to the best of your ability. Please don't write assignments as though you are sending an informal e-mail to a friend. These are actual formal written assignments you are submitting to your teacher.
I will deduct points for careless writing because you are, after all, high school students. I'm not an English teacher and I have probably made numerous mistakes in this syllabus and other assignment descriptions. I won't go through your paper with a fine toothed comb and mark all your errors, but I will notice errors in basic grammar, text format, the absence of the use of paragraphs and capitalization errors, especially words like “I”. Spell out the word "you" and don't just type "u". Capitalize the first word of each sentence and proper nouns. Do your best work and don't be lazy, that's what I'm asking.
Quizzes and Exams
Quizzes and Exams will not be accepted late regardless of the circumstances - they must be completed during the scheduled range of time. Quizzes and Exams are will be due no later than 11:59pm on the due date of that unit. You are responsible for the material in the textbook, the material assigned as reading from additional sources, the training assigned, and the material from any online presentations. You are also responsible for the knowledge gained by participating in and completing assignments, projects, and threaded discussions. You are allowed to use your books and notes when you complete a quiz or exam, but you are not allowed to have other students take the quiz or exam for you and there is a time limit on each exam.
It is not possible to revise your quiz answers once you have submitted the quiz for grading. If you neglect to answer some questions on a quiz - regardless of the reason - (i.e. you forgot some, etc.) you will NOT be allowed to go back and answer those questions once you have submitted your quiz.
Grading
There will be no "Incomplete" grades given in this course. Your final grade will be calculated by dividing the total number of points you earn in the class by the total number of points possible during the semester. The result is a percentage, which will be assigned a grade. See the DUE DATES document under the syllabus link for a chart showing how many points are required for each letter grade.
Important Note: I use a wide variety of assessment methods in this course including assignments, projects, quizzes, discussions, web research and written papers. The competencies of this course include not only computer applications but also computer and technology concepts . Papers in this computer course are appropriate because it demonstrates your ability to utilize a word processor and it demonstrates your understanding of computer concepts. It also demonstrates your ability to utilize the Internet to compile information.
As an online course, this section will be taught much differently than if you were to take it in a classroom environment. You would not be accurate to compare what your friends might be required to do in a face-to-face course to what you will be required to do in this course. I want to make it clear that online courses are usually MORE work because more responsibility for learning and understanding is placed on the student. Online courses are not structured or taught the same way as face-to-face courses.
A student can determine his current grade based on the number of points earned divided by the total number of points available up to that point in the course. Final letter grades will equate to the following scale:
A 90% - 100% 657-733 points
B 80% - 89% 583-656 points
C 70%-79% 510-582 points
D 60%-69% 437-509 points
F Below 60% less than 437 points
Due Dates & Coursework
You may begin a unit from the course content home page at any time after the instructor allows you access into the unit, but you should complete the units in order. It is acceptable to work ahead in the course, as long as you complete things in the correct order. Every unit has a specific deadline date by which all work for that unit must be completed. Once a unit's deadline date has passed, you will no longer be able to submit work for that unit. I do not accept late work.
The units of work in order are:
- Unit 0 - The First Week of Class
- Unit 1 - Introduction to Computers
- Unit 2 - Microsoft Office Suite
- Unit 3 - Microsoft Word
- Unit 4 - Software
- Unit 5 - Hardware
- Unit 6 - Microsoft Power Point
- Unit 7 - Microsoft Excel
- Unit 8 - Computer Security & Maintenance
- Unit 9 - Microsoft Access
- Final Exams
This syllabus and the accompanying course schedule of due dates will be followed as closely as possible. However, because I prefer to focus on the process of learning rather than the content of the course alone, I (the instructor) reserve the right to alter the syllabus, the schedule, and any learning activity as I feel needed. Any alterations will be communicated.
Discussions
There are numerous threaded discussions in the course. Threaded discussions are online discussions much like a classroom where I will open up a question or topic to the class for comments. You will have the opportunity to respond to the question or share your ideas about some topic. Your response will be posted much like on a bulletin board so that other students can read your comments and respond. There is not a specific scheduled time that you have to be in the threaded discussion area, because the original question and all the responses will be available there until the deadline I place on the discussion. However, in order for there to actually be a discussion, we need a steady back and forth between students.
For the majority of the threaded discussions, students are expected to participate and will be assigned points for their participation. To receive credit for each threaded discussion, your entry must be posted no later than 11:59pm on the due date. In most cases in this course, not only will you post your comments, but you will respond to other students who have posted their questions or comments. I expect students to use complete sentences and use appropriate tone, language, grammar and spelling.
Be aware that anything you post in the discussions board is considered public and is viewable by classmates and the professor. Please be respectful and considerate when making postings.
It is possible to have more than one threaded discussion in a unit, so students should be attentive to and read through all the discussion entries and respond as you feel led. Each student is expected to participate in the threaded discussions, but this is not a contest of who can supply the most responses. Your motivation for participating should be to learn and to share. Please refrain from posting responses that are void of any content.
Verify Your Assignment Submissions
Please read the Syllabus "FAQs" (Frequently Asked Questions) about verifying assignment submissions.
Courtesy Code
Please follow the rules of common courtesy in your e-mail messages and threaded discussion responses. Your classmates will expect fair, honest feedback. Criticism and praise will both be a part of the procedure. It is expected that class discussions will result in differing opinions. Please be courteous to all your classmates and myself. Also be aware that anything you post on the discussion board is considered public and is viewable by all your classmates and the professor. Please be respectful and considerate when making postings. Any inappropriate or vulgar messages will result in disciplinary action, not excluding a failing grade for the semester or expulsion from the course. I expect students to use complete sentences and use appropriate tone, language, grammar and spelling.
Safeguards and Deadlines
Odd things happen in cyberspace. E-mail gets lost, servers disconnect temporarily without warning, and logins are occasionally impossible. Don't wait until the last moment to get things done. Allow yourself time to meet deadlines. Heavy Internet usage occurs during the evening hours of 7 - 10pm. You may want to consider logging into the course at other times if possible.
If you experience computer difficulties, you are responsible for solving your own technical problems. Your instructor will not be able to help you with computer or Blackboard issues you experience. For all questions relating to SCS login or passwords including webmail, and for problems accessing Blackboard, you can contact SCS Tech Support. Contact information is found in Unit 0.
For troubles with CourseMate assessment software please contact our book publisher's technical support. Contact information is found in Unit 0.
Be sure to save a back up of every piece of your work on a regular basis. "My computer ate my homework" and "I had it done but my disk is bad" and "I thought I sent that to you through e-mail" do not negate my policy that late work will not be accepted. You should copy yourself into each and every e-mail you send to me.
Plagiarism and Cheating
It is important that you are aware that engaging in any form of plagiarism is considered academic misconduct by the district and various disciplinary actions may be taken, including expulsion from the school. Plagiarism is defined as the appropriation of and use of another person's writing and passing it off as the product of one's own efforts. If you copy someone's work and submit it as your own, it is plagiarism. (See SCS's Student Handbook).
Academic Integrity, doing ones own work in course assignments and on tests, is one of the most important values in education. Receiving credit for cheating violates that value. It is unacceptable for you to copy or submit another person's work as your own, allow another person to complete your work for you, complete work for another student, or use unauthorized resources for tests. For this course, quizzes and tests may have a time limit, but you are allowed to refer to your textbooks and notes during quizzes. If you participate in cheating or plagiarism you will receive a failing grade for the semester.