In order to obtain the knowledge needed to pass this class, you will need to bring the following items to class every day: a sharp pencil (or two), paper, you text book, and class handouts. You may find it helpful to keep all of your work for this class in one notebook or folder. You are required to take notes in here!!! Space will be made available to you on the hard drive or network, since debugging routines save files. Most of your programs can fit on floppy disks, but "pen drives" are much more reliable.
Class starts at 9:53 and ends at 10:41 Please be in your seat and ready to start class at that time. Those of you at remote locations who are in class earlier or must stay later than this may use the time to check for my email messages or to post assignments. Work done in class will affect your grade so attendance is important.
There are three types of assignments you will be doing in this class. At least half of the work needs to be done on the computer. I will give some class time to work on the computers, but I cannot guarantee that all students can finish all assignments in this time. You WILL have to use some study hall time to complete your work, or work at home. If you do not have a study hall, other arrangements will have to be made. Most (but not all) of the assigned work will be collected and graded. A good part of any computer programmer's job is writing documentation. Writing skills are important to this field. You will have written reports to complete in every week. These reports are to be word processed. Grammar and spelling will count in these reports, as well as the professionalism of the content. Each chapter in our book ends with a list of projects. These projects will make up one third of your grade. You will be required to do three or four of these projects in each chapter.
All assignments are to be emailed to me. If your school makes special provisions for student email, make arrangements as soon as possible. Also you will need to know how to attach files to an email, and how to "zip" multiple files together in one attachment.
Programming in definitely a job based class. When you are in a job, deadlines are deadlines. I am much less lenient on late assignments in this class. I expect all assigned work to be complete and in my in-box by the time I check my email on Monday mornings. Anything later than that will have points deducted (see the grading rubric). I expect you to be responsible enough to understand the assigned work. If at any time you do not understand an assignment, it is up to you to ask for help. (I can't read your mind) Since most questions seem to be emailed to me, don't wait until the end of the week to ask, you may not get your answer back in time. It is also your responsibility to make up assignments missed due to absence.
We will have tests at the end of each chapter. The tests will be in AP format, with both multiple choice and free response questions. They will be short enough to complete in one class period. These tests will count for one third of your grade.
As the year goes on and we acquire programming skills, we will be doing some more realistic AP practice testing. This testing may graded and should help you prepare for the AP exam in May.
We will have semester projects and final projects in this class. These count for one third of your semester grade.
Grades will be assigned using the following scale:
Chapter projects will count for one third of your marking period grade. Chapter tests count for one third. Written reports will count as one sixth and answers to the chapter questions will count as one sixth.
The topics covered in this class will include:
Communications
Please communicate with me both in and out of class. If you have questions in class, please ask, don't be shy. Outside of class please email your questions I usually check my email 2 or three times per day and will try to answer as soon as possible. If you have programming questions, please remember to send the program as well. I also have MSN messenger turned on during the day. I realize chat is bocked at school, but if your ay home for some reason feel free to chat. I won't guarantee a quick response since I may be in class. My MSN login is mpriniski@hotmail.com
Also feel free to email eachother. I will try to keep an updated list of email addresses on my communications page.
Rubrics
5 – Assignment handed in by the end of the due date.
4 – Assignment handed in 1 school day late.
3 – Assignment handed in 2 school days late.
2 – Assignment handed in 3 school days late.
1 – Assignment handed in 4 school days late.
5 - Assignment is insightful, completely the thoughts of the writer. There are no
spelling or grammar errors. There is a minimum of 200 words.
4 - Writing shows mostly original thought. There are only one or two spelling/grammar
errors. There is a minimum of 170 words.
3 - Writing shows some original thought. There are multiple spelling/grammar errors. There
is a minimum of 150 words.
2 - Writing shown little original thought. Spelling and grammar is a definite problem.
There is a minimum of 100 words.
1 - Writing shows no original thought. Spelling and grammar errors cloud the meaning of
what is said. There are less than 100 words.
5 – Program compiles and runs correctly. Program solves all of the requirements of
the problem. Internal documentation is complete and useful.
4 – Program compiles and runs. The basic ideas of each problem requirement is
addressed, but not completely solved. Internal documentation is present, but incomplete.
3 – Program has 3 or fewer compiler errors. Each of the problem requirements are
addressed, but not necessarily solved. Internal documentation is incomplete or confusing.
2 – Program has 3 to 5 compiler errors. Some of the problem requirements are not
addressed. Internal documentation is not present. Coding is confusing.
1 – Program has more than 5 compiler errors. The program requirements are not
addressed. Internal documentation is not present. Coding is confusing.