Teacher: Dr. John Kuzmich, Jr. (Dr. Data)
August 12, 2008
Course Procedures: http://www.kuzmich.com/carmody/class_syllabus.html
| On the first day of class, a class expectation contract
is given to every student. It is required that both parent and student
provide signatures agreeing to follow the class behavior expectations.
Deadline for returning the signed contact is due on the first Friday of
the class. Students will maintain a class notebook which will consist
of a check list of all assignments to be completed as well as the completed
assignments graded and returned. Notebooks will be graded approximately
every two weeks. The class ontract is to go in the notebook as well as
this and every prepared instruction and class assignment.
All returned assignments will be put in a portfolio available for parents and students to review periodically. Students are responsible for picking up the assignments and putting them in their notebook. No food or gum is allowed in the computer classroom. General soft talking is permitted when students are working on assignments but not when the teacher is not presenting information to the class. Students are graded for class participation from the beginning bell to the last 5 minutes of class at which students are putting their instructional materials away. Students will begin class daily with "TYPE!" The goal is to type 20 words per minute with 98% accuracy. Between 5 and 10 minutes will spent daily on typing skills. When a student can test out of typing by achieving the above criteria, they can work on other class projects at the beginning of class. Daily classes begin with a self-paced sponge activity that is short, followed by more in-depth class assignments and instruction. A course calendar syllabus is published on a wall calendar so that students know forthcoming lessons. Class participation points can only be learned by being in class. Students can make up these points when they are absent. Approved absences do not earn class participation points. All tests and assignments can be retaken an unlimited number of times to improve a student's grade provided they have not legally missed that class period or they were not caught cheating on it. Always check Dr. Data's 24-hour voice messaging system for the latest lesson plans, including upcoming class assignments and tests. Phone number is: 303-982-8883. Course Contents: Keyboarding: Students will first learn typing skills on the Alpha Smart, dedicated word processor, in the Alpha Smart lab for three week of extensive touch typing instruction. After the third week through the rest of the semester, students will type with the "All The Right" software tutorial typing program at their workstation for about 10 minutes a day. Students will be tested every Friday by this software application. Word Processing - "Clarisworks." You will spend about four weeks learning "Clarisworks, " a PC/Macintosh word processing program. See "7th Grade Electronic Word Processing Assignments" for a more detailed list of the 18 classroom activities and projects that will be completed in this unit of instruction. Also included will be a preliminary and a final penpal letter for Korean students who have been studying English in Seoul, Korea since first grade. See the instruction sheet on how to prepare and submit penpal letters along with personal photos and memorabilia. Database Management - "Clarisworks" You will spend about two weeks learning "Clarisworks," a PC/Macintosh database management program. See "7th Grade Elective Database Management Assignments" for a more detailed list of the eight sponge activities and one project that will be completed in this unit of instruction. See "7th Grade Exploratory Database Management Operation Instructions" on information about how to learn "Clarisworks." There will also be a student project in which students design and create their own database including class worksheets. Spreadsheet Management: "Clarisworks: Learn the basics of a spreadsheet on a PC/Macintosh software suite program. Class does four assignments in four days such keeping score with a blowing team. See "7th Grade Elective Spreadsheet Assignments" for a more detailed list of the four class activities that will be completed in this unit of instruction. Computer Graphics/Painting - "Clarisworks" You will spend about two weeks of learning "Clarisworks, a PC/Macintosh platform drawing/painting program. See "7th Grade Painting and Drawing Assignments" for a more detailed list of the six sponge activities and painting contest and "Painting/Drawing Operational instructions" on how to operate the program. Internet Search Engines: "Netscape Navigator" Learn how to surf the World Wide Web with Internet Search Engines with the Netscape Navigator browser. See "7th Grade Internet Assignments" for a more detailed list of the five classwork activities. Must have a parent release form signed in order to participate in these Internet activities. Multimedia Slide Show Presentations: "Microsoft Powerpoint" Learn to create your own PowerPoint slide show presentations for student presentations in their classes. See "7th Grade PowerPoint Assignments" for a more detailed list of the daily classwork activities. Multimedia Newsletters and Web Pages: "Microsoft Publisher" Designing and creating newsletters and web pages are two very exciting software applications available to students and adults alike. See "7th Grade Publisher Assignments" for a more detailed list of the daily classwork activities. Computer Music: "Band-In-A-Box" Learn how to compose music electric bass, piano and drums to some contemporary pop tunes in jazz, rock, Latin and Blues styles. Creativity & Animation: "Click & Play" Approximately one week of class time in which the students design computer games with animation and special sound effects. Final Exam - Optional Project For those students who would like to improve their grades, there are two optional final exam projects that can significantly raise their grades. See "Optional 7th Grade Computer Exploratory Final Project!" for a more detailed information about this project. Project content can be from any unit of instruction offered in this class. |