Computer
Applications I +
BTT-Introduction to Information Technology in Business
Mr. Harville
SY 2004-05
TEACHER: Brian Harville
ROOM: B3.1
E-MAIL: brian_harville@eu.odedodea.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Computer Applications I, BTT is a study of topics
necessary to develop students’ fluency with computer hardware and software as
used in business, education, and society.
This course is normally taken in the 9th grade, but is also
frequently taken in the 10 th ,11th ,or 12th
grade by students who transfer to AFNORTH with no computer credit. It is an introductory level course worth .5
credit toward graduation. It can be skipped by those students who already have
a good working knowledge of computers and who know they will be taking a
higher-level computer course in a later year to meet their graduation
requirement. Such higher-level courses
include programming languages and multimedia.
The Computer Applications course is normally followed in the second
semester by Publications and Presentations.
These two courses provide the 1.0 credit required for graduation.
COURSE
GOALS/OBJECTIVES/STANDARDS: As
a result of taking Computer Applications, students should find themselves in a
better position to utilize the computer to assist them in schoolwork and in the
workplace. Specifically the student
should be able to do the following:
Information
Management
q
demonstrate
an understanding of the information technology terms used in business;
q
explain key
infrastructures relevant to information technology;
q
manage an
information technology work environment;
q
electronically
manage personal data and computer files.
Software Applications
q
demonstrate
the skills required to enter data by using appropriate keyboarding techniques;
q
demonstrate
the use of basic functions and features of common business software;
q
produce
documents that meet basic business standards and formats.
Electronic Communication
q
use
electronic tools to communicate effectively with others;
q
demonstrate
an understanding of the legal issues relating to electronic communication.
Electronic Research and Ethical Issues
q
use a
variety of electronic media to find relevant information;
q
analyze the
various uses of the Internet in a business environment;
q
analyze the
ethical issues concerning the use of electronic information.
Career Opportunities
q
describe
career opportunities related to information technology;
q
assess their
information technology skills and competencies;
q demonstrate an understanding of information technology
programs designed for use in secondary
schools.
SCOPE & SEQUENCE: Computer Applications I is substantially project based and attempts
to integrate various computer applications in a close-to-reality manner. The following sequence is typical, but
depends on the projects selected in any given semester. The projects selected also influence the
relative time weighting of the various applications as course elements. Applications may be revisited late in a
semester to study advanced features and interrelationships among the
applications, so the indicated times are not necessarily contiguous:
Hardware/Software Concepts 3 weeks
Word Processing 3
weeks
The Internet and Research 2 weeks
Careers/Ethics 2
weeks
Databases 4
weeks
COURSE GRADING/ASSESSMENT: Grading is based on quizzes, projects, tests,
and a semester exam. Some or all
projects may be evaluated as part of a portfolio of work. A point system is used to weight
assignments, as follows:
Quizzes – 50 points, each
Tests – 100 points, each
Projects – 50 to 200 points
each, depending on the level of difficulty and the time required to complete
them.
The
first and second quarter grades and the semester exam are weighted 40%, 40%,
and 20%, respectively in calculating the semester average. Video recording may be used to help the
instructor assess his own and students’ interactions. Students will be informed when video is in use.
CLASSROOM
EXPECTATIONS/CONSEQUENCES: Headwear is not permitted in
the classroom. Because students are
frequently required to present projects and/or ideas to the class, any behavior
that ridicules or appears to ridicule other students is unacceptable
behavior. Students are expected to
conduct themselves in ways that do not interfere with the rights of other
students to learn or the ability of the instructor effectively to conduct his lesson. Students may be removed from the classroom
to immediately restore an acceptable atmosphere, possibly without other
warning. Students will be counseled,
when amenable, or referred to administration, when not. A parent conference and/or an acceptable
written commitment to manage behavior may be required before re-admitting a
student.
CONTINUOUS SCHOOL PROJECT
GOAL: AFNORTH International Middle/High School’s
CSP (Continuous School Progress) goal is, “All students will improve their
written communication skills across the curriculum.” The 6 + 1 trait is the
model selected to improve school-wide writing in all subject areas. The 6+1
Trait writing framework is a powerful way to learn and use a common language to
refer to characteristics of writing as well as establish a common vision of what
“strong” writing looks like. Teachers and students will use the 6+1 Trait model
to identify areas of strength and weakness as they continue to strive towards
continued writing improvement. Success of all students requires that the 6 + 1
Trait become a consistent and integral component of each course taught at
AFNORTH International Middle/High School.
Computer
Applications students will demonstrate mastery of the 6+1 Traits through one or
more of the following: written
critiques of peer work; logs of project production steps; reports on people,
concepts, or social issues from the field of computers.
TEXTBOOKS: The following texts are used in the course, but are not issued to
students. Some of these texts and parts
of them are used solely as desk references.
Exercises completed as class assignments are done from some:
Computer
Technology, Paradigm Publishing, 2002
Office
2000 Introductory Concepts and Techniques,
Course Technology, 2001
Discovering Computers 2002, Course
Technology, 2001
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: A wide variety of instructor generated supplemental handouts are
used. Relevant videos or parts of
videos on computer related topics as well as other multimedia resources are
occasionally used.
SUPPLIES
(REQUIRED/RECOMMENDED): Students should use a
loose-leafed notebook or folder in preference to a bound notebook because of
the large number of supplemental handouts they receive.
HOMEWORK POLICY: Homework assignments are both explicit and
implicit. Explicit assignments are
often related to preparing, outside of class, data that will be entered in the
computer during class time. Implicit
assignments include the review of information, such as vocabulary lists, class
notes, and project assignments, which relate to on-going success in the course. Failure to keep up with homework assignments
usually results in wasting the class time allocated to completing projects, in
turning in incomplete work, in being unprepared for quizzes, and, therefore, in
lower grades. Homework assignments my
occasionally be collected to check for completeness, but will primarily be
evaluated by the student’s preparedness to perform successfully on other
classroom tasks, especially unannounced quizzes.
MAKE-UP WORK POLICY: As a general rule, any project due during a period of planned
absence must be done before the absence in order to get credit. Athletic events and family trips (among
other things) are planned absences.
When projects are due soon after a planned absence, the student is
normally expected to have his work ready to turn in with the rest of the
class. This may require the student to
work ahead and to do parts of assignments before his departure in order to be
ready fully to participate in the class on return. To this end, students may arrange to do work during lunch, after
school hours, or during the seminar period before a planned absence. In all cases, a plan for dealing with a
planned absence should be discussed with the instructor before the absence. This policy is intended to help students
avoid getting hopelessly behind and becoming overwhelmed with make-up work.
Because
most work must be done on a school computer with the assigned software and in
the presence of the instructor, it is normally not possible to give any
significant amount of work to be completed during the planned absence.
Late
work is not accepted. If work is
incomplete at the time and date it is due, the incomplete work should be turned
in to avoid a zero. Such work will be
partly evaluated on the extent to which the assigned task was completed as well
as on the normal criteria for that assignment.
Unplanned absences (as for illness) are an exception to this policy;
planned absences are not, if the student has failed to make alternative
arrangements with the instructor before the absence.
SPECIAL COMPUTER LABORATORY
REQUIREMENTS: Because
of the closeness of the computer environment and the presence of large amounts
of expensive and delicate equipment, there are additional rules and procedures
for using the lab/classroom:
1. Students have assigned seats in the computer
lab and may not change seats without permission from the instructor. If classes are merged in the lab, an
alternate seating arrangement may be required, as directed by the instructor.
2. When entering and leaving a computer work
station, students must sign in and out on the use log of the machine they
use. The log for each computer is kept
in a plastic jacket placed beside each computer. A column for comments is provided on the log form. It should be used to record any problems
encountered on the machine. If the
problem is serious, the instructor should be called and he may tell the student
how to fill out the log.
3. Food and beverages are not allowed in the
lab.
4. Personal CD’s may not be used in the
computer CD drive. Personal software
may not be brought to the lab. Software
may not be downloaded or installed by students.
5. Roughhousing, pushing, running, or touching
other students, no matter how friendly or insignificant is may seem, is very
hazardous in the computer environment.
Such behavior is dealt with especially severely.
6. Damage to the computer hardware or software,
whether deliberate or accidental, creates serious problems for following
classes. Repairs take time and cost
money. Students are expected to use
computers and their associated equipment and furniture with care and
immediately to report any problems to the instructor. Unnecessary adjustment or abuse of chairs, reading boards,
monitors, mice, wires, or other equipment which subjects it to excessive wear
can cause serious damage in the long term.
7. The computer labs are crowded, so extra
books, bags, and clothing should not be brought to the computer lab. If a bag must be brought and it is too large
to fit under the student’s desk, materials needed for the class must be removed
from the bag and the bag must be left in an area designated by the
instructor. In no case will any bag or
extra clothing be taken to the computer seating area.
8. Floppy disks and CDs from outside may not be
used in classroom computers without being virus checked by the instructor. This includes disks used on other computers
in the school as well as disks from home.
In general there should be no movement of floppy disks in or out of the
classroom, except to deal with emergency situations and with the specific
permission and control of the instructor.
9. The Internet is for use only in support of
class projects and assignments. Advance
permission of the computer instructor is necessary if you need to do an
assignment for another teacher. No
personal use of the Internet is acceptable at any time, including,
specifically, use of the Internet to access personal email accounts.
10. All printers are networked. Care must be taken to insure that the
correct printer is selected prior to sending a job. Simply pressing a print icon on the desktop is not acceptable
because the correct printer may not be set up.
This is especially true the first time a student prints each day. Jobs must not be repeatedly sent to the
printer if a job does not come out. The
problem may be that the printer is out of paper or jammed or that the network
is clogged, and, when the condition is corrected, a large amount of unwanted
and wasteful output may be produced. The
control panels of printers that might be receiving a student’s work should be
checked for error messages and the instructor notified if any are found. It is every student’s responsibility to
leave printers in proper condition for the next user. Students may be allowed to reload paper trays from the stock of
paper in the room, but only after they have received instruction in the correct
ways to do it.
11. A wide variety of software is available on
the computers, however, students are permitted to use only that software that
has been part of their formal lessons or for which they have been given
specific special permission by the instructor.
Students are not to “surf” the hard drive. Attention should always be focused on class projects or
extensions to those projects, and any extra time on the computer should be
spent exploring advanced features of the assigned software.
12. Both floppy disks and network folders are
used for storing students’ personal files.
For backup purposes, work should normally be saved in both places. Since the C: drive of each computer is
subject to periodic manual and automatic maintenance to keep it clear of
extraneous files, students will eventually loose any files placed there.
13. Work for computer based classes must nearly
always be completed in class, with specific assigned software, and in the
presence of the computer instructor.
Although preparations for computer assignments, such as reading and data
collection, are often done as homework, the execution of most assignments is
done during assigned class time. Makeup
must be scheduled during seminar or at another time that has been pre-arranged
with the instructor.
14. Computer workstations should always be left
in good order. This means correctly
shutting down the computer desktop, leaving the physical surroundings of the
computer safe and tidy, and completing the computer use log.