1. Course Description:
This course is for high school juniors and seniors. The course is an
intense immersion into computer programming targeted at students who intend to
pursue a career in programming or a related field. This course is not intended
for students who just want to try computer programming to see if they enjoy it
or not. A beginning class in computer
programming at the student’s home high school is a better choice for student
who want an introduction to programming.
2. Classes Taught:
The 2023-2024 school year classes are as follows:
●
Fundamentals of Programming
(CSIS1400) 1.0 HS credit (4 SLCC college
credits)
●
Object Oriented Programming
(CSIS1410) 1.0 HS credit (4 SLCC college
credits)
●
Database Development 1.0 HS credit
●
Embedded Programming 0.5 HS credit
●
Mobile Programming 0.5
HS credit
More information about these courses is available online at:
https://www.jordantech.org/apps/pages/programming.
In addition to these courses, students have the opportunity to optionally
create a portfolio to prepare them for scholarship applications and industry
employment. The JATC-North portfolio
activity is described online at:
https://www.jordantech.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=713041&type=d&pREC_ID=1142110
3. Prerequisites:
Students must be juniors
or seniors in high school. There are no
course prerequisite requirements, but students should have some prior exposure
to programming. This might be through
taking a programming class offered at the student’s home high school, or taking
the JATC web design course. Another
avenue is an online introduction to programming class or self-study.
Students need to have
basic computer skills such as typing, file manipulation, and a basic
understanding of Windows.
4. Instruction Methods:
Class is composed of programming
concept presentations, discussions, coding demonstrations, exercises,
activities, individual and group work, projects, and an optional
portfolio. Students are given time during the class period to complete
programming assignments so that I am available to help them with their
assignments. If a student is unable to
complete assignments during class time, they are expected to work on their
assignments outside of class.
5. Career and Technology Student
Organizations (CTSO):
As students in
technology, being involved with organizations with other technology students
nationwide is beneficial. The computer
programming students are given the opportunity to join and compete in state and
national competitions with students from other schools. The two CTSOs that align with this subject
matter are the Technology Student Association and SkillsUSA. You can find out more about these
organizations on their respective web pages.
Participation in either of these organizations is optional, but
registration does require a registration fee.
6. Textbooks:
There are no required textbooks for this class.
7. Classroom Behavior: These classes are stepping stones
towards preparing students to enter the professional workforce. As such,
students will be expected to exhibit the same level of professional behavior
they would if they were working in industry. Specific expectations are as
follows:
●
Demonstrate
responsibility, integrity, courtesy, and respect for others.
Bullying, mocking, derogatory statements, discrimination, and intimidation will
not be tolerated. Students are expected to use language that is appropriate for
a professional workplace.
●
Treat
the classroom facilities and equipment with care. The morning class and afternoon class share
the same computers, so students are responsible to keep a clean and orderly
work space.
●
Internet
access should be limited to sites necessary to complete classwork.
Accessing inappropriate sites, playing games, or internet surfing are
unacceptable activities and may lead to a loss of computer privileges.
●
Limit
use of personal phones and tablets. Brief communication with parents
and other relatives is fine. However,
extended phone use is unacceptable.
After the class reaches three violations, students will be required to check
their phones in when they enter the classroom.
If you require your student to have their phone for personal reasons,
then I’ll ask you to make sure your student complies with the device use
policy.
●
Inform
teacher when leaving the classroom.
JATC does not issue hall passes.
Students are trusted to stay within the school grounds and let their
teacher know when they are leaving the classroom. Students must inform the teacher if they plan
to go anywhere other than the restroom or drinking fountain. Students are not allowed to leave school
grounds during the class period without the permission of the teacher, front
office and a parent checkout. Any
student who leaves the school during the class period will be marked as truant
and their parents will be informed.
●
Students
are expected to do their own work. Students are encouraged to work
together, help each other, and collaborate on projects and assignments. However,
cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, or license misuse will not be tolerated
including:
1. Use
of any unauthorized assistance in quizzes, tests, or exams;
2. Use
of sources not authorized by the instructor on assignments, projects, papers,
or presentations;
3. The
acquisition, without permission, of tests or other academic material;
4. Unauthorized
file sharing, copying work or allowing others to copy work;
5. Collaboration
beyond the scope that is allowed by the instructor;
6. Taking
graded assessments outside of class without instructor supervision except where
approved by the instructor.
7. Using
deceit to gain academic credit.
8. Using
code generation tools and artificial intelligence tools to generate solutions
to programming assignments.
Any of the
above will result in a failing grade on that work for all parties involved.
Most behavioral problems will be
handled between the student and instructor. In the unfortunate event of
repetitive or more serious behavior problems, the student’s parents and/or the
school administration will be consulted.
Consequences for more repetitive problems include the possibility of
being dropped from the course with a failing grade.
8. Tardiness and Attendance: Students should be punctual and ready to
start at the designated time. Roll will be taken and tardiness recorded. We
will move at a rapid pace in order to complete the course material, so students
who miss class will have a difficult time catching up. Students must notify the
instructor prior to their absence and make up any missed work after returning
to school. Parental/school excuses are required for all absences. Each
JATC period is worth two periods at a home high school. If a student is absent for one week, they
miss almost 12 hours of instruction time.
Historically, here is a close correlation between student attendance and
grades. In programming, each new concept
builds upon prior concepts. A student
with excessive absences can quickly fall behind and, due to the fast-paced
nature of this class, not be able to recover.
9. Assignments and Projects: Students are expected to submit
assignments and projects by the due date. Unless prior arrangements are made
with the instructor, late assignments and projects will receive a 15% late
penalty so long as they are submitted within one week of the original due date. After one week, the student will receive a
zero for that assignment. If a student is absent (due to an approved reason),
it is his/her responsibility to get assignments and due dates from the
instructor or online from the Canvas LMS. Previously assigned work that is due
on the day a student is absent must be turned in the day the student returns to
class in order to receive full credit.
10. Periodic Quizzes: Quizzes will be given periodically to
monitor progress and reinforce concepts. Quizzes may or may not be announced in
advance. Students who are absent on the day of a quiz will not be allowed to
take the quiz unless the absence is excused by the student’s parent/guardian.
If a student is tardy he/she can take the quiz, but must finish the quiz by the
time deadline.
11. Exam Policy: Exams will be given periodically to
measure each students’ understanding and mastery of the concepts. In the case
of an excused absence, the student must make other arrangements for the exam
with the instructor at least one week prior to being absent.
12. Grading Policy: Grades are not weighted.
Grades will be determined based on points earned divided by total points.
Grades are based on
exams, assignments, projects, quizzes, certification tests, state mandated
competency tests, and classroom citizenship in accordance with the following
grading scale:
A 94 – 100%
A- 90 – 93%
B+ 87 – 89%
B 84 – 86%
B- 80 – 83%
C+ 77 – 79%
C 74 – 76%
C- 70 – 73%
D+ 67 – 69%
D 64 – 66%
D- 60 – 63%
F 0 – 59%
Fractional percentages are rounded to the next highest whole
percentage.
13. Grade Access: The online Canvas Learning Management
System hosts all curriculum, assignments, quizzes and tests. The official records for each student are
kept in the Skyward system, which can be accessed by all parents. For concurrent classes at SLCC, we are
required to use the SLCC Canvas system.
Classes that are not concurrent will use the JSD Canvas system. Since the SLCC Canvas system does not
synchronize with Skyward, your student may have handed in an assignment for
which the grade is not yet posted. If
you have specific questions about grade posting please contact the teacher.
14. Failure Policy:
In programming, each new concept builds upon prior concepts. Students who do not fully master the
fundamental techniques of programming risk falling hopelessly behind. We want this class to be a positive experience,
and for each student to succeed.
Therefore, if a student receives a failing grade (less than 60%) in the
first quarter or semester, their status in the program will be reviewed and if
it is deemed best for the student they may be transferred back to their home
high school.
15. Computer Policy: Students are to use the classroom computers
and equipment for the completion of assigned work. The use of personal
computers in class during the class period is prohibited, unless approved by
the instructor. Use of the school computers
for other purposes, including inappropriate web use, chat room participation,
or game playing is prohibited and can lead to the loss of computer
privileges. Game playing is not computer
science or programming. Students may develop some games as a part of the
course; however, this is a fast paced college level course and there is no time
for game playing. If your student finds that they are “bored” or “finished;”
there are plenty of extra credit programming opportunities, CTSO contests,
industry certifications, and the opportunity for your student to propose and
work on their own project.
16. Heightened Computer Rights: Due to the
advanced nature of this class, students have computer rights and online access
rights beyond those in their home high school.
These rights are necessary for the class to use advanced software
development tools. Even though students
have advanced access rights, they are bound to follow the computer and internet
assess rules as described in this document.
Since these rights include the ability to install applications, students
are forbidden from installing any software on a school computer without the
express permission of the instructor.
Installation of illegal or “pirated” software can have legal
ramifications, and any student who disobeys this rule will be subject to
discipline up to and including being removed from the class and returned to
their home high school.
17. State Skill Mastery Exams: This course covers concepts in
accordance with Utah Department of Education guidelines. As such, every student
is required to take the Utah State skills competency exams for each course by
the end of the semester in which the course is taken.
18.
Industry Certifications:
There are several industry certification exams available for this
course. The following certification
exams are required and will count towards the student’s grade:
- Certiport IT Specialist : Java
- Certiport IT Specialist : Database
- Certiport IT Specialist: Computational
Thinking
There are additional certifications covered by the class
testing fee that students can optionally earn.
The student testing fee covers three attempts at any of the Certiport IT
Specialist certification exams.
19. Concurrent Enrollment: Concurrent enrollment at Salt Lake
Community College (SLCC) is mandatory for the first semester of this class. The
SLCC courses and corresponding high school courses are:
SLCC Course SLCC Credit High School Course High School Credit
CSIS1400 – Fundamentals of Programming 4 credit hours Computer Programming 2 1 credit hour
CSIS1410 – Object Oriented Programming 4 credit hours Advanced Computer Programming 1 credit hour
Students and parents
should understand that the grade received for the concurrent portion of the
course will become part of the student’s permanent college transcript. More information about concurrent enrollment can be found at: http://www.slcc.edu/concurrentenrollment/.
Should a student decide to withdraw from the class, the student must
follow the withdrawal procedures as defined by SLCC. JATC cannot withdraw a student from an SLCC
class. Withdrawal deadlines will be published and communicated to students
during the first week of school. Withdrawal
after the SLCC withdrawal deadline is not permitted except where extenuating
circumstances result in an undue hardship.
Students must apply for a hardship withdrawal with SLCC, not JATC.
20. Class Fees:
Required Fees:
●
Certification Testing Fee: $100
●
SLCC One-time Student Registration Fee: $40 (Note: Not necessary if a student is previously
enrolled at Salt Lake Community College)
●
SLCC Concurrent Tuition: $40 ($5 per credit hour)
Optional Fees:
●
Parking Pass: $20
●
Computer Science Honor Society (for students meeting the requirements):
$10
●
Technology Student Association Dues: $10
●
SkillsUSA Dues: $25
●
Hoodie and/or T-Shirt. Note: Due
to fluctuations in pricing, prices for hoodies and T-shirts will be determined
and published at the beginning of the school year.
21. Communication: My objective is to provide a
positive classroom experience and appropriate educational materials to give
your student the maximum opportunity to succeed. I have an open door policy and
encourage both students and parents to contact me with any questions or
concerns. Should there be anything I need to know to help make this a more positive
experience for your student, please let me know. My preferred contact method is
by email to the address provided above. If your student has special needs,
the more you are willing to tell me about their situation, the more able I am
to customize content delivery to give them the maximum opportunity for
success. Any sensitive information you
give me about your student to help me better serve their instructional needs is
held in strict confidence. In my
experience, students thrive when parents and teachers work together to provide
the best learning experience for the student.
22. Notice of Non-discrimination: Jordan
School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic
background, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation,
creed, age, citizenship or disability in its programs and activities.
23. Policy Changes: This document is subject to change. All policies
and procedures may be modified at any time according to school policy and
instructor discretion. See instructor with any concerns or questions.
Updated May 23,
2023