FRESHMAN FOCUS

Instructor:Mr. Jeff Harris

School: Snohomish High School

Email:

Phone:360-563-4159

  1. COURSE DESCRIPTION

Through cooperation with the Microsoft IT Academy, students will have the opportunity to become Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certified in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint at no cost. Students will be introduced to the world of technology in the 21st century. Some areas of study will include social media, social networking, blogs, Google Docs, student email, web-based presentation software, and more. Students will also take career and interest inventories that will help guide their high school and beyond plan. Students will study what they want to do in the future and how to get there from here. This will include looking at graduation requirements, university requirements, and career requirements.

  1. COURSE OUTLINE

Part 1: Introduction to Technology

  • Saving, Organization, Files, Folders, Privacy, Public Information
  • Gaggle Student Email
  • Personality Test
  • Social media, technology, cell phones, multitasking, cyberbullying
  • Being successful in high school

Part 2: Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Certification in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel

Each software program we study will layout as follows:

  • Pre-Test
  • Learning how to use Word/PowerPoint/Excel
  • Assignments and Projects
  • Word Certification Review
  • Microsoft Office Specialist Exam: Word Basic/PowerPoint Basic/Excel Basic
  • Enrichment Opportunity: Students who pass the exams early can study for the Expert exam for that specific program.
  • Competition Opportunity: Taking this test is a competitive event in Future Business Leaders of America. Students can also take this same test at the FBLA State Competition. See Mrs. Sanchez for more information

Part 3: College and Career Unit

  • Career Inventories and Research
  • College Research
  • Exploring college admissions requirements
  • How to make yourself a strong college applicant
  • Four Year Plan

Part 4: Current Technology

  • Creating videos
  • Xtranormal animations
  • Adobe products
  • Online resources
  1. GRADING

Letter grading aligns with the student handbook

Grading Categories:

MOS Certification Test25%

Daily Assignments75%

MOS Certification Test Grading Scale

To become MOS Certified, students must score at least 700 out of 1000

The following is a grading scale that provides incentive for students to re-take the exam and gain certification. Students will get at least two attempts to pass each exam in class. More attempts may be available on students own time if the teacher believes the student has made an effort to learn the material.

A score of zero means the student did not attempt the exam, cheated on the exam, or put in little to no effort on the exam. Teachers reserve the right to assign a zero to students who they feel are not giving their full effort on the exam.

Raw ScoreGrade in class (%)

00%

1-9950%
100-19955%
200-29960%
300-39965%
400-49970%
500-59975%
600-69980%
700-1000100%

  1. COURSE RULES
  1. Late work will be accepted for reduced points
  2. Academic honesty means students do their own work and do not plagiarize. Consequences range from zero points on an assignment to an administrative referral.
  3. Respect each other
  4. Keep the computer lab clean
  5. Be at school and on time to class every day. If you are gone, see me to get your missing work. Unexcused absences/tardies will result in disciplinary action.
  6. Keep cell phones put away and on silent. Ipods/music are ok if you are working on an assigned task. They are never ok when I am giving instruction to the class.
  7. Leadership points are to give you incentive to be your best. For example, a way to earn leadership points would be to help a fellow classmate, work on your typing speed, or find an enrichment opportunity when you are finished with your own work.
  1. COMPUTER LAB RULES

Freshman Focus – Snohomish High School

Food and Drink

Food and drinks are not allowed in the computer lab. All food must be put away before you enter the classroom – water bottles are accepted.

Malicious Acts

Intentional malicious actions to bypass the Snohomish School District’s Network policies will result in immediate disciplinary action, up to and including suspensions, and revocation of computer privileges.

The use of proxy servers is a deliberate attempt to bypass both the agreement you and a parent or guardian signed, as well as the Children’s Internet Protection Act.

Music and Copyright Law

It is illegal to use the machines for copying music (ripping and burning).Observe all copyright laws in regards to music and image files.

Publishing to the World Wide Web

If you are publishing to the WWW for school you agree to the following:

No personal information, copyrighted material or content that contains inappropriate, pornographic, hateful, harassing, sexist or obscene materials.

Links to external sites must be approved by the instructor.

You may not publish for any political or commercial purposes. (ASB exceptions are allowed).

Workstation Maintenance

You share your workstation with five other students every day. In order to ensure that each student is able to easily follow along with instructions, all machines must remain the same. Do Not make any alterations to the desktop, wallpaper, shortcuts or programs in anyway. Inform the teacher immediately if your machine has been altered or you will be held responsible for any damages or misuse of the computer.

------cut here and return------

I have read the rules and requirements for Freshman Focus and computer lab rules at Snohomish High School. I agree to follow/that the student will follow these rules, and any departure from the rules will result in disciplinary action which may include revocation of computer use privileges.

Student’s Name: ______Student’s Signature: ______

Parent/Guardian Name: ______Parent/Guardian Signature:

Freshman Focus – Snohomish High School