November 11, 2005

Dear Carmody 7th Grade Elective Computer Class Students and Parents:

Carmody Parent Portal is up and running! Please check your child's Parent Portal on-line for the final grade for the second grading period and beginning next week, you will be able to view grades of the third period everyday for an update of your child's work by dinner time. Suggest you check on your child's daily assignments.

Any assignments/tests on the progress report with a blank grade, an "M" or a "zero" at the right side of the assignment means one of three things.

• Student was absent and consequently did not complete and submit the assignment to Dr. Data. Note: all assignments need to be made up with a deadline of November 4th for the second grading period.
• Never completed the assignment or did not do it.
• Student forgot to put their name on the printed assignment. Believe me, this happens nearly every day.
• Completed the assignment and probably printed it out but never picked up the assignment at the printer and therefore did not submit it to Dr. Data.

Solution for missing assignments? Since the Carmody Parent Portal (Infinite Campus) does not have an instant undo feature, it is possible that grades can get lost in their entry into the grade book. Two essentials things can help in immediately restoring any missing grades as identified below:

• Students are to put all returned assignments into their notebooks as permanent records so that they can easily validate that they did the assignment or
• Students whenever possible need to save their work on their server folder so that their saved work can be validated by printing it again or viewing it whenever needed.

Many Important Things To Take Notice Of:

Higher Grades & Floating 'A' Options!

1. What's coming next in Dr. Data's classes? For more insight, go to: <http://www.kuzmich.com/carmody/Curriculum_Preview.html> and go to the Spreadsheet section or simply view it below.
7th Grade Explorer Spreadsheet Assignments!

(6 assignments in 9 days!)

By Dr. Data

November for first semester and April for second semester classes

We will now concentrate on spreadsheets as the next instructional segment of the Elective 7th Grade Computer Class. Please be aware of the number of assignments and specific skills that need to be mastered and completed as part of your grade. You are responsible for all assignments. Individual handouts are available for each assignment. All completed assignments need to be kept in your class notebook after they are graded. Fridays will be set up for all typing tests with additional options of making up incomplete assignments, extra-credit work and computer games.

Note: many of the following required spreadsheet and extra-credit assignments ca be done at home if you have a computer with a spreadsheet, such as Microsoft Excel, Corel Quatro Pro, Clarisworks, etc.

Required Spreadsheet Assignments

• Demonstration Sheet - Assignment #1
• First Spreadsheet - Assignment #2
• Clarisworks Spreadsheet: Parts 1 through 6 - Assignment #3
• Class Party
• Clothing Purchase
• Baseball batting averages
• Math roots/squaring
• Bowling
• Magic numbers
• Family Budget Spreadsheet - Assignment #4
• Food Storage Spreadsheet - Assignment #5
• Final Spreadsheet Project - Assignment #6


Makeup Day - available on to be announced Fridays


Extra-Credit Assignments

• See Dr. Data for the extra-credit assignments, such as Y2K Food Storage Spreadsheet. They can be done at home or in class for extra-credit at 25 points per assignment.
  
2. For more insight about spreadsheets, please go to: http://www.kuzmich.com/carmody/spreadsheet_syllabus.html and electronic spreadsheets began on Tuesday, November 15, 2005 about 1.5 weeks. Here is what follows next in the sequence of upcoming instruction. Internet Search Engines: 1 week, PowerPoint Multimedia Slideshow Presentations: 2 to 4 days, Newsletters and Web Pages: 3 to 5 days, Drawing and Painting: 1 week, Computer Music: 4 days, Designing Computer Games with Animations & Sound Effects: Individual Unit Final Projects! (nine of them) for the remainder of the semester with option Final Two Weeks Syllabus by Creativity With Graphics! Choose various projects with Microsoft Publisher, Band In-A-Box, Clarisworks, and Klik & Play.

3. Perhaps, you might want to coach your child in getting ready for their final project in spreadsheets. Students will need to bring some information to class on Wednesday and Thursday, April 27-28, 2005. Here's the project.

Final Spreadsheet Project

(200 to 300 Points: Depending On Quantity and Quality of Work)

by Dr. Data

November, 2005

Create two spreadsheets that utilize the following ingredients:

• Addition of at least 10 or more cells
• Subtraction of at least 2 cells
• Division of at least 2 cells
• Multiple at least 10 cells
• Average of at least 10 cells
• Optional: square root formula!

  You must use labels (words), raw data (numbers) and formulas in design your two spreadsheets. Sample projects might be: Allowance of Friends, Exotic Vacations, Student Grades, Sport’s statistics, Bowling, Baseball Averages, etc. Yes, final project spreadsheets need to be printed out with the formulas being displayed.

4. 25 extra-credits will be awarded to any student whenever there parent prints out a parent portal progress report with a parent signature and is submitted to Dr. Data once a week. Note: there with no limitation of the number of weeks extra-credit points can be earned between now and the end of the semester.

5. Final database projects will be presented on Monday, November 14, 2005. Try to have your child in class for the 500-point presentation so they don't miss the 500 grade points.

6. Two Floating A's can be earned for your child if you. . . can help team-teach with Dr. Data for one day with regards to spreadsheets, Internet search engines, PowerPoint, newsletters, and/or web pages. These software applications are a bit more challenging and any parent who can and will teach-teach with Dr. Data for one school-day, your child will receive two floating A's.

7. If your child doesn't have a B or an A grade, please refer to the web site entitled: "Success Guaranteed if Students/Parents Follow These Guidelines... at: <http://www.kuzmich.com/carmody/Success.html>. While no system is perfect, these guidelines should make a world of difference in helping your child obtain a satisfactory grade and in a timely manner by involving parents and students together in a unified plan with Dr. Data!

8. An improved Carmody Middle School web site has been created for the 7th Grade Elective Computer Classes at: http://sc.jeffco.k12.co.us/education/staff/staff.php?sectiondetailid=98057&sc_id=1129152153. It directly links to the class web site with specific links to make it easier to do all of your school browsing at the Carmody school web site at http://sc.jeffco.k12.co.us/education/school/school.php?sectionid=280 and then go directly to Dr. Data's classes without having to leave the Carmody web site.

9. Two Floating A's can be earned by any and all students who can learn Multimedia Fusion, a multimedia authoring application, by being able to demonstrate how this creative software application works and then teach others in class during the remainder of this semester! Note: Carmody Middle School has recently been awarded a free site license for the PC lab to upgrade our Klik & Play multimedia authoring application with Multimedia Fusion. The only catch is that we have to learn how to use the product first. The application has a retail value of $99 per workstation so it is $3,000+ grant plus we get a free update to version 2.0 when it becomes available. The problem is that all of the students love Klik & Play so much, that Dr. Data has had difficulty getting students to learn Multimedia Fusion which is now loaded on most of the computers in the PC Lab. This application can also be downloaded for free for 30 days. Just go to: http://www.clickteam.com/English/ourdownloads.php and learn more about Multimedia Fusion at: http://www.clickteam.com/English/multimedia_fusion.htm.

   Multimedia Fusion is the most flexible, powerful, and full-featured authoring tool available today. Best of all, you can get superior and impressive results with no programming skills or knowledge required. Discover the secret tool used by so many multimedia pros, game creators, and people from all walks of life. Multimedia Fusion provides you with everything you need to start creating software of your own imagination and design. From multimedia applications and presentations, to exciting games and stunning screen savers, you can be creating, sharing, and even publishing your work in no time. And the manufacturer is now really to give our students a free $99.99 version for home use if that student(s) can design a creative game with written documentation on how to replicate the game with step-by-step "how to" instructions. Who knows, you might have a professional computer programmer in the making in your home!

10. Break-Away Day with a Computer Gaming Extravaganza in the Carmody PC Lab! Join us in the computer Whiz Chips Games Breakaway Day activity. This break-away day is sponsored by the Whiz Chips Club. It will feature a full day of gaming at Carmody Middle School with a zero budget!. The main stay of the gaming day will feature Klik & Play and the latest acquisition, Multimedia Fusion, which is a high-end gaming program that Carmody recently received a thirty-workstation site license because of excellence in designing and creating animated computer games from the manufacturer.

    In addition, there will be other exciting, interactive networking computer games available as well: such as “Need for Speed 3,” “Terminal Velocity”, “Simm City 2000,” “Test Drive 4,” “Delta Force,” “Counterstrike” and others!! This Break-away Day is a great activity for computer wizards of all abilities and it is all free. Lunch will be available for purchase in the Carmody cafeteria. If you have any questions, please see Dr. Data in room 110, the PC Lab or simply e-mail me at: jkuzmich@earthlink.net.

    Cost: Free with a maximum or 20 students. Break-Away Day times are from 7:30 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. with school bus transportation home with cafeteria services available as well. Note: most Carmody Break-Away Day activities are very expensive because they require school buses and admission prices plus lunch, etc. But this one is absolutely free. Suggest your child sign up early when Break-Away Day sign up begins because this activity will probably be sold out the first day. If you e-mail me that you want your child in this activity, I will keep a running list and submit to the admission before the sign-up begins so we have our students enrolled first!

    P.S. Carmody students who write a short training manual on how to make simple but creative games with Multimedia Fusion, are eligible to receive a free copy of Multimedia Fusion for their home use with a retail value of $99.99.

Hope this information is helpful.

Dr. Data