8th Grade Technology Education Syllabus

Fall 2006

 

 

Instructor:     

 

Mr. John Footland

Phone:              941-330-1855 ext. 113

Email:               JohnFootland@ssas.org

Website:  http://www.ssas.org/TeacherSpace/Footland/index.htm

 

From the instructor:

 

Welcome to 8th grade Technology Education.  The purpose of this class is to prepare all students to be citizens and employees in a society that becomes increasingly technological and global every day.  The reason why we need our students to be literate in the use of technology is because they will be the creators of our future, the ones who use the next generation of technology and will be making decisions related to technology that are more sophisticated than we could even dream of. 

 

 

Course description:

 

Technology Education is a class that works to reinforce and compliment the materials presented in other courses while introducing technological and problem solving skills.  At the eighth grade level we will be expanding on the computer skills taught in the sixth and seventh grades while having an emphasis on the telecommunications aspect of technology.  There will be several projects both individual and team that will give the students an understanding of the role that technology plays and will play during the course of their lives.  Through this course the students will be developing the skills that they will most definitely need in order to be successful in high school, college and beyond.  With the use of hands on activities the students will obtain technological literacy, basic skills, and increase their self-awareness.  Some examples of what the students will be doing for team projects include making short videos using digital cameras and designing their group web pages.

           

 

Major concepts/content:

 

v     Impacts of technology

v     Systems of technology

v     Problem solving

v     Operation and functions of computers

v     Use of productivity and multimedia tools

v     Demonstrate leadership and organizational skills

v     Telecommunications concepts

 

 

How to do well:

 

1.  Not only attend class but also participate

2.  Go over any notes and or handouts a little each day (this will eliminate a need to cram)

3.  Work and study with friends

4.  Ask questions whenever something isn’t clear

5.  Hand in all assignments on time

6.  Don’t confuse the amount of time you spend studying with the quality of your studying

7.  Keep an open mind and respect classmates, yourself and your instructor

 

 

EVALUTATION

 

 

Quizzes:

 

At various times throughout the course you will receive quizzes.  The exact day that a particular quiz will be given will vary.  Most quizzes will be about ten questions in length.  These questions will be directly related to information that has been covered since the last quiz.  Quizzes will be given at the start of class so it is important to be in class on time and on task.

 

 

Tests:

 

During this course there will be two tests.  The first test will be at the mid point (end of the second quarter) and the other at the end of the course.  The final test will not be comprehensive that is it will only pertain to material gone over during the second half of the term.

 

 

Daily work / late assignment policy:

 

It is expected that all daily work and assignments be completed by their respective due dates.   Any work that is not turned in within the first five minutes of class is considered a one day late and 10% will be deducted.  Work will lose 10% each day that it is late up to 5 school days.  Extenuating circumstances will be dealt with at the discretion of the instructor.  If there is a situation that you know about in advance I would like at least three days notice and prefer that the work be completed ahead of schedule.  Keep in mind that the number one culprit of late and low quality work is procrastination. 

 

 

 

Grades:

 

Grades will be broken up into the follow areas:

 

            Independent learning activities            20%

           

            Group learning activities                       20%

 

            Quizzes                                                20%

 

            Tests                                                    20%

 

            Daily work / class participation            20%

 

Academic dishonesty:

 

You are expected to adhere to the principles of academic honesty.  ALL instances of cheating or plagiarism will be taken very seriously.  There will be NO CREDIT given for any instance of cheating whether it is a small assignment or a final exam.  Multiple instances of cheating will be dealt with more severely.  Although you are free to study and work with other students, it is expected that all of the work you do in this class will be your own.