Syllabus and Policies

Technology Syllabus

Mr. D. Scott Arnold

darnold@district70.org

Course Description: During this course students will focus on typing, basic computer skills and responsible computer use. Students will develop a basic understanding of Internet safety, ethical computer use, keyboarding, opening and closing software files, Microsoft Office application, copying and pasting files or text, copyright laws, and searching the Internet. This course will cover basic and intermediate skills and shortcuts using, but not limited to the Adobe, Microsoft Office suites.

Class Expectations: I have three expectations of my students:

1. Respect Yourself

2. Respect Others and the Property of Others

3. Take Responsibility for Your Choices

Class Rules:

Come to class with clean hands- laptops are harder to clean than a regular keyboard.

Operate equipment properly- do not change any settings to include profile picture or the dock.

Make sure you listen- lids will be closed when the teacher is talking

Push in your chair- leave the room as you found it put headphones away, close computer lid and all chairs pushed in.

Use your inside voice- learning is better if we can all hear

Touch keyboard lightly- this includes treating the equipment in a gentle manner, immediately notify the teacher if you notice anything different about your computer, you are responsible for any damages, repairs or replacements.

Eat and drink outside the lab- no candy, gum, water, leave your back packs on the risers outside my room

Remember to do your best

All students must sign and have parents sign an Acceptable Use Agreement form. Students are expected to abide by the School Handbook, which includes the school’s Technology and Internet Acceptable Use Policy. Students MAY NOT check their personal email, chat, visit websites that have not been approved by me or listen to music on the school computers during class. Students caught doing any of these things will lose the use of the computers for the remainder of the class period and lose their participation points. If this becomes a repeated problem there will be further consequences.

Consequences & Discipline: I have high expectations for behavior and expect my students to abide by the school rules, class expectations and rules at ALL times. Those who choose to be disruptive or behave in a way that is not acceptable at school will have one or more of the following consequences.

-warning

-removal from class activity to complete Red Light Form

-0pts for daily participation grade

-phone call home

-discipline referral

Grading Policy: You will be graded on keyboarding, effort/attitude, skill lessons, activities and projects that demonstrate skill mastery.

The grading scale is as follows:

90-100 A 80-89 B 70-79 C 60-69 D 0-59 F

Assignments will be worth the following:

Daily Participation/Warm Up Activities 5pts

Projects- 10pts per class period (2 class period = 20pts, etc)

Quizzes- 10pts

Tardy/Attendance: I will follow the Swallows Charter Academy Attendance Policy. Students must have a pass from the office when they are tardy to my class. Students who are frequently tardy or absent will have difficulty staying on top of the learning that will take place because this class is activity and project based. I expect students to use class time wisely and ask for help when they need it.

Make Up & Late Work: Students will be given an opportunity to make up work from absences, but due to the hands-on, project-based nature of much of our learning make up work may not directly reflect what happened in class. Alternate assignments may be given in place of classroom activities and projects. It is the student’s responsibility to find out what he/she missed during his/her absence. A copy of the previous days assignments will be in the folders on my desk. I will do my best to add a comment to a grade in Power School that is missing. Late work will be accepted for most assignments and projects, in accordance with school policy.

Extra Credit: Occasional Extra Credit opportunities will be given.

Extra Time In Class: Students finish projects and activities at different times. There will likely be times when a student has spare time. This time can be used in several ways. Students may use spare time, not class time that is to be spent on class work, to use one of the programs or applications we have available to us on our computers, or to visit approved sites on the Internet. Students must have approval to visit some websites.

Parents/Guardians:

Much of our work is done entirely on the computer this means that your child regularly will not physically have papers to bring home after completing assignments/projects/quizzes in Technology Class. I will try to post some of the projects online for you to see what you student has been working on in my class. You can always visit my classroom website to see what projects we are working on. (Will be active by September 2019)