Mr. Quentin Reed Webb
Computer Essentials - CB02
Welcome Stapley Students in Periods 1 through 3!
I am excited to have your son or daughter in our “Computer Essentials” class. This is a one semester “foundations” course. In our class students will learn computer applications and concepts as they develop correct keyboarding skills. They will also learn the effective use of an operating system, multimedia input devices, and various common software applications. This is a “hands-on” course in which the students will use Internet Explorer and other Microsoft Office XP programs including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Dragon introduction to voice recognition software.
During this semester students will learn the essentials of:
1) Digital Communications Tools
2) Keyboarding
3) Word processing
4) Desktop publishing and document formatting
5) Computer applications (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel)
In the computer lab your student will have access to the best available equipment and learning resources. In addition to my basic classroom behavior rules, we expect each student to respect the school lab’s property, hardware and software, and other materials. All classes use the same shared “work stations” throughout the school day, so even the loss or inoperability of one computer station can impact a later class student’s ability to “learn”. So we must be very respectful of the tools that we share. Student grades will be based upon the progress that they make and their individual skill development and understanding of the computer tools that we use. Key assignments will include preparing business letters and resumes, basic reports, including charts and graphs, plus informal and formal graphic and pictorial presentations, and finally preparation of a term paper or essay in conjunction with the student’s other coursework.
Parents and students will have access to their weekly grades on-line at the Stapley website, in addition to the formal 9 week mid-term, quarterly, and end-of-semester grades. Fifty percent of each grade will be based upon in-class work habits and participation, and the other half based upon tests, quizzes, timed-writings and keyboarding accuracy. There will be periodic homework assignments where students will be tasked to do very basic research into computer operations and business applications. The standard MPS grading scales will be used. I recommend students consider purchasing a basic "Flash drive" to enable them to port key PowerPoint and other Word software between home and school, and to save essential documents (also saved in their individual folder on our Stapley "My Home" lab server) for CB02 or any other class projects.
Our Room 136 computer lab will be open and available to your student on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 3:45 PM to 5 PM to make up any missed assignments or to get extra practice time on the computer system. Please contact me at 472-2736 or at my e-mail address if you have any questions or concerns. I am committed to the success of each student!