Computer Application Introduction Course Syllabus

GREENFIELD HIGH SCHOOL

COMPUTER APPLICATION INTRODUCTION

COURSE SYLLABUS

 COURSE INFORMATION:

Course: 

Computer Application Introduction

Subject:  Business

Career Technical Education (CTE) Industry and Pathways:  Information Technology, Media Support and Services.

Grades:  9-12

Course Length:  2 Semesters

Software:  Latest edition of MS Office.

Materials: Century 21 Computer Applications and Keyboarding. 9th Edition.  Hoggatt  & Shank

MS Word command sheet.

Location: 

Greenfield High School  

225 El Camino Real

Greenfield, CA  93927

Room 101

 Instructor Information

Instructor:  Henry Wong

Phone: (831) 674-2751 extension 1101

 COURSE  DESCRIPTION:

 This is a beginning course in the office education program designed to teach students the concepts of computer literacy, computer operation, and the technology involved with receiving and sending information.  This class will teach and improve the students' keyboarding skills while they are learning how to produce documents for their personal, school, and job-related needs.  English-related skill-building will be emphasized during practice.  Receiving and sending information via the internet and using MS Publisher will also be taught. 

Specific areas of emphasis include keyboarding, computer literacy, beginning and intermediate word processing, the internet, and the use of digital cameras and scanners. 

Students will learn/practice on personal computers using MS Word.  Reference manuals will be produced by the students consisting of command sheets and examples of the work produced.  This manual will allow the student to remember and reproduce all work done in the class.

ATTENDANCE  POLICY:  Greenfield High School's attendance policy will be followed.  10% of the students grade every quarter will be based class participation and citizenship.

TARDY  POLICY:  Greenfield High School's tardy policy will be followed.  Tardy students will serve one hour after school detention, and Saturday school on the 5th tardy.  Tardy students must wait  by the door so they don't disturb the class and allow time for the teacher to change absence to tardy, to look-up past tardy and detention records, and to fill out appropriate tardy paperwork.

CLASSROOM  RULES: 

  1. Behavior:  Defiance of authority (not doing what is asked of you by the teacher), lying, theft,    destruction of property, fighting, graffiti, not responding immediately and quietly to a request to go outside or to the office, inappropriate printing.

 Action:  Referral-which may include a 1 or 2 day suspension from class and/or after school detention.  Defiance of authority is automatic 2-day class suspension.

  1. Behavior:  Not reporting graffiti, theft, computer changes, or destruction of property at your workstation at the beginning of class.  1Using the internet without permission, 2cheating, 3having electronic devices out, 4making/leaving a mess, showing disrespect towards the teacher or other students, disruptive noises and behavior, swearing, shouting out, laughing, throwing objects, not doing your work, and eating/drinking in class.

Action:  Sent to the door and/or a change of seats and/or after school detention referral.

1Unauthorized internet use will result in removal of internet access. 

2Cheating:  Students are not to delete any work (unless I tell them to) and immediately report any work accidentally deleted.  Cheaters will receive an F for all work associated with that segment of learning.  Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to administration.

3Give the device to teacher.  Steps to getting it back:  Student, parent, VP keeps it. 

4Students making/leaving a mess will wait to be dismissed. 

  1.  Behavior:  Talking when the teacher is talking, or when told not to talk, unproductive talking with others, failing to raise your hand and waiting to be called on, wandering and visiting at the beginning, and during class.

Action:  One warning will be given.  On any second occurrence, the student will be sent to the door.  An after school detention may be given.  In addition, a change of seats may occur.

  1. Printers use:  Students are allowed to get their own papers from the printer.  Abuse of the printer include:  Wandering, visiting with others, talking at the printers, having more than 4 people at the printer, inappropriate printing, and wasting paper and ink.

Action:  Student will not be allowed out of his or her seat.

Notes:

  1.   If inappropriate behavior takes place the last 15 minutes of class the action will occur the following day as well.
  2.   After 2 times by the door, referrals will be issued instead.  .
  3.   A parental conference will be requested with the third referral. 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the course, the students will have learned:

  1. Hardware and software concepts
  2. Keyboarding
  3. Beginning and Advanced word processing using MS Word
  4. The internet
  5. MS Publisher

 COURSE CONTENT:

 Keyboarding

 Time Frame:  Nine weeks (the entire first quarter)   

 The students will learn how to touch type by using the textbook Century 21 Computer Applications and Keyboarding, 9th edition by Hoggatt and Shank, and Microtype 5.  Other resources from Cortez Peters will also be used to teach and reinforce keyboarding. 

Six keys will be taught and practiced each week.  Time will be given to practice the letters previously learned.   After six weeks, all the letters and punctuation marks will be learned.    

Within two weeks, it is important for the teacher to test each student individually to make sure they are striking the correct keys with the correct fingers.  Missed keys will be written down and practiced by the student before learning new letters.   

The last three weeks of the first quarter will be used to learn missed keys and to increase speed.  Improve the student's accuracy first, then their speed. 

 MLA style reports must follow the basic keyboarding course to continue to reinforce keyboarding skills.  This will continue for another three weeks.    

 Grading:  Three grade types are given.    

  1.  Accuracy grade:  Every two weeks, the students will be graded individually on the letters they have learned and given an accuracy grade.  This interval may be shortened according to need.       

The final grading scale for accuracy: 

Missed Letters    Grade

      0-3                      A

      4-6                      B

      7-9                      C

     10-13                   D

      14+                      F

 The actual scales to be used will be based upon the total number of letters being tested. 

  1.  Production grades are given based upon how much production work the student has done.  These may be Cortez Peter's timed writings or the timed writings from the textbook.  These timed writings are to be graded on a curve.
  2.  NWAM grades are given.

 The final scale for NWAM.

 NWAM SPEED     GRADE

              36+                  A    

            31-35                 B

             26-30                C

             21-25                D

        BELOW 20            F 

To pass the first semester the students:  1.  Must type at least 21 nwam.  2.  Must learn how to touch type by striking the 34 letters and punctuation marks of the keyboard with the correct fingers and without looking. The students must not miss more than 13 keys.  

MLA-Style Reports

Time Frame:  Three weeks (the first  three weeks of the second quarter)

 Using a command sheet, the students will learn how to properly format MLA-style reports.  The command sheet and examples of the students' work will be put in a three clip folder which the students will keep and use as a future reference.

Grading:  At the start of the second week of reports, the students are to be tested individually and are to work on their missed letters before they work on their reports.  This test is worth 100 points and the scale is as follows:  

 Missed Letters   Grade

           0-2                           A

           3-4                           B

           5-6                           C

           7-8                           D

           9+                            F

 The MLA-style reports will be graded on a curve based upon the total amount of reports that the students are able to format in the given time.  Total errors made while doing the reports will be subtracted from the report grade.  

Total points possible:  300   

Top 25%=A, next 25%=B, next 25%=C, Last 25%=D or F. 

Numbered Lists

Time Frame:  One week (fourth week of the second quarter)

Using the command sheet and the textbook the students will format numbered lists.  Examples will be printed and added to the student's manual to serve as an example for the future. 

Grading:  Grading will be on a curve based upon the total amount of numbered lists the students are able to format in the given time.  Total amount of errors will be subtracted from the grade.   

Top 25%=A, next 25%=B, next 25%=C, Last 25%=D or F.  Total Points:  100

Announcements

Time Frame:  One week (fifth week of the second quarter)

 Using the command sheet and the announcement handout, the students will format announcements.  Examples will be printed and added to the students' manual to serve as an example for the future. 

Grading:  Grading will be on a curve based upon the total amount of announcements the students are able to format in the given time.     

Top 25%=A, next 25%=B, next 25%=C, Last 25%=D or F.  Total Points:  100

Memorandums (Memos)

Time Frame:  One week (sixth week of the second quarter)

 Using the command sheet and the textbook, the students will format memorandums.  Examples will be printed and added to the students' manual to serve as an example for the future. 

Grading:  Grading will be on a curve based upon the total amount of announcements the students are able to format in the given time.  Total amount of errors will be subtracted from the grade.   

Top 25%=A, next 25%=B, next 25%=C, Last 25%=D or F.  Total Points:  100

MS Publisher

Time Frame:  Two weeks (seventh and eighth week of the second quarter)

The students will learn how to use MS Publisher by doing four projects:  A greeting card (Christmas card), current calendar, mailing labels, plus one additional different project of their choice, which may include:  Signs, T-shirt iron-on transfers, business cards, invitation cards, awards and certificates, resumes, letterheads, stationery projects, etc.

Grading:  Each project is worth 50 points for a total of 200 points. 

 Review Of Keyboarding

 Time Frame: One week (last week of  the second quarter)

 After winter break and the learning of MS Publisher (5 weeks of no production keyboarding), the students are to review the keyboard.  They are to be tested individually and are to work on their missed letters as they work on timed writings.  The goal is to make sure the students are still keying accurately and quickly.

Grading: 

Missed Letters  Grade

           0-2                 A                 

           3-4                 B

           5-6                 C

           7-8                 D

           9+                  F

 Total Points:  100

 Personal/Business Letters

 TIME FRAME: 1.5 weeks (First 1.5 weeks of the third quarter)

Using the command sheet and the textbook the students will format personal/business letters.  Examples will be printed and added to the student's manual to serve as an example for the future.

Grading:  Grading will be on a curve based upon the total amount of numbered lists the students are able to format in the given time.  Total amount of errors will be subtracted from the grade.

Top 25%=A, next 25%=C, Last 25%=D or F.  Total Points 100

Personal Letters

TIME FRAME:  1.5 Weeks 

 Using the command sheet and the personal letters handout, the students will format personal letters.  Examples will be printed and added to the student's manual to serve as an example for the future.

The personal letters are to be composed, not just copied, thus, English-related skills will be taught and reinforced.

Grading:  Grading will be on a curve based upon the total amount of personal letters the students are able to format in the given time.

Top 25%=A, next 25%=B, next 25%=C, Last 25%=D or F.  Total Points:  100

 Business Letters

 TIME FRAME:  One week (fourth week of the third quarter)

 Using the command sheet and the textbook, the students will format business letters.  Examples will be printed and added to the student's manual to serve as an example for the future.

 Grading:  Grading will be on a curve based upon the total amount of business letters the students are able to format in the given time.

Top 25%=A, next 25%=B, next 25%=C, Last 25%=D or F.  Total Points:  100

Outlines

TIME FRAME:  3 Days (fifth week of the third quarter) 

Using the command sheet and the outline handout, the students will format outlines.  Examples will be printed and added to the student's manual to serve as an example for the future.

Grading:  Grading will be on a curve based upon the total amount of outlines the students are able to format in the given time.

Top 25%=A, next 25%=B, next 25%=C, Last 25%=D or F.  Total Points:  100

Table of Contents

Time Frame:  3 Days (fifth week of the third quarter)

Using the command sheet and the table of contents handout, the students will format table of contents.  Examples will be printed and added to the student's manual to serve as an example for the future.

Grading:  Grading will be on a curve based upon the total amount of table of contents the students are able to format in the given time.

Top 25%=A, next 25%=B, next 25%=C, Last 25%=D or F.  Total Points:  100

Review Of MS Word

Time Frame:  Three weeks (Weeks 6, 7, 8 of the third quarter).

Using their command sheet and manuals, the student's will review the following documents they learned in MS Word:  Reports, numbered lists, announcements, memorandums, personal/business letters, personal letters, business letters, outlines, and table of contents.  There are 12 jobs per review package and four review packages.  The students will do as many jobs and review packages they can in three weeks. 

 Grading:  Two grades will be given for the review packages. 

  1. Review package 1:  First 25% done will get A's, next 25% B's, next 25% C's, last 25% D's and F's.  Total errors over 6 will lower grade.   

     Total points:  200

  1. Review package 2-4:

     When the three weeks are up, the total number of jobs from review package 2-4 are added and the following grade is given:  

      Top 25%=A, next 25%=B, next 25%=C, Last 25%=D or F.  Total errors over 12 will lower grade. 

     Total Points:  300 points. 

 Review Of The Keyboard

 Time Frame:  1 week (last week of the 3rd Quarter)

The students are to be tested individually and are to work on their missed letters as they work on timed writings.  The goal is to make sure the students are keying accurately and quickly once again.  Timed writings will be typed below the time writings they took in the 1st quarter to see how much they have improved.   

Grading:

Missed Letters   Grade

       0-2                      A

       3-4                      B

       5-6                      C

       7-8                      D

          9+                    F

Total Points:  100

 Internet

Time Frame:  Four weeks  (first four weeks of the 4th quarter)

The students will learn how to use the internet.   

Grading will be as follows.

Topic:  Searching the internet for information.

Points:  100

Topic:  Setting up and using E-Mail.  The students will send and receive E-mail messages.

Points:  100

Topic:  Sending and receiving attachments.  The attachments to be sent and received are documents, pictures, and videos.  One of the MS Word documents that will be sent is a bibliography of the student. 

Copy and paste of web-site address to E-mail messages is also covered.

Points:  100

Topic:  The use of misc.web-sites to accomplish tasks such as:  online purchasing of goods and service (eg. amazon.com), online banking, navigating school web sites, gathering information, making travel arrangements, getting directions with Google maps, gathering real estate information through  mlslistings.com and zillow.com, and expanding entertainment options.

Points:  100

Grading Standard:  Grading will be on a curve based upon the total amount of work done in a given time.

Top 25%=A, next 25%=B, next 25%=C, Last 25%=D or F.  Total Points:  400

 Advanced Word

 Time Frame:  Two weeks (Week five and six of the 4th quarter)

Using the command sheet, the students will learn advanced Word concepts and format advanced Word documents.  Examples will be printed and added to the student’s manual to serve as an examples for the future.

Grading will be as follows:

Feature: Tables

Total Points:  100 points

Features:  Word art, clip art, shapes, SmartArt, charts, text boxes, cover     page,  watermarks, misc. templates, sorting, and inserting symbols.

Total Points:  200

Feature:  Macros

Total Points:  100

Grading Standard:  Grading will be on a curve based upon the total number of advanced word documents completed in a given time.

Top 25%=A, next 25%=B, next 25%=C, Last 25%=D or F.  Total points:  400

Hardware And Software

Time Frame:  1 week (week seven)

 The students will learn the following hardware and software concepts:

Hardware:

  1. Computers, printers, scanners, digital cameras, fax, CD and DVD re-writers, etc.
  2. The function of the parts within a computer.
  3. Features, and what to look for when buying a computer.
  4. Where to buy computer equipment.
  5. Cost of computer equipment.

Software:

  1. The different types of software available.
  2. Where to buy software.
  3. Cost of software.
  4. Special emphasis on:  Windows, MS Office, Photo Shop, and anti-virus programs.

 Grading:  One test will be given on hardware and one will be given for software.  Each test will be worth 100 points.

         Scale

Percent       Grade

  90-100           A

   80-89            B

   70-79            C

    60-69           D

59 or below     F

Keyboarding Review

Time Frame:  2 weeks (Last two weeks of school)

 The students are to be tested individually and are to work on their missed letters as they work on MLA-Style reports.

  1. They are to format 10 reports from a handout.   
  2. They are to format 10, 1-page reports on the topics of their choosing from the "Ideas to Write About" handout. 
  3. They are then to format 10, 2-page reports using copy and paste from the internet.  Copy and paste must be from three different sources and the copy and paste font must be changed to red.    No more than one page may be from copy and paste.  Online references must be cited.    

Time writings and tape drills will also be given at this time as well.

Grading for keyboarding test:

Missed letters  Grade

          0-1                  A

          2-3                  B

          4-5                  C

          6-7                  D

       8 or more           F

Total points:  100

Grading for MLA reports.

Reports     Grade

  25-30             A

  20-24             B

  15-19             C

   10-14            D

 13 or below    F  

Total points:  300