This course is designed to develop basic entry-level skills required for careers in the digital publishing industry.  The content includes computer skills; digital publishing concepts and operations; layout, design and measurement activities; decision-making activities; and digital imaging.



YOUR REQUIREMENTS

Here are the things you need for this class:

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1. HEADPHONES

I will provide for those who don't have any at home, but I will not hand them out because you were lazy and didn't want to bring them.

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2. Z-DRIVE ACCESS

Every student is given hard drive space that they can save their projects to and work from any computer.



3. MYGRAPHICSLAB LOGIN

I will provide these for you.



4. GMAIL ADDRESS

Everyone needs to have a Gmail address so that I can keep in contact with you when needed.

 



​YOUR BUSINESS

Every student will create a business that grows as you complete your work in this class.  The more work you do; the more points you get; the bigger your business grows.  So, in that sense, the points you receive in this class act as money for your business.  One point on a work assignment equals one dollar for your business.



YOUR BUILDING

Before you start working, you will give your business a name and you'll be given a building graphic that you can view by going here (Leaderboard).  As you get more money you'll get a bigger building.  Your building can grow up to four times.  In order to get the highest building you have to have a lot of money (which is an average of an A) by the end of the class.  I will give you the money amounts you need to reach each level when I have them completely figured out (this is all a work-in-progress - you will be my guinea pigs!).



BUILDING COSTS

Building 1 - $0

Building 2 - $372 (by the first​ interim)

Building 3 - $501 (by the first 9 weeks)

Building 4 - $623 (by the second interim)



YOUR BADGES

In addition to getting a bigger building, you will also have a chance to earn badges for exceptional work. These badges will be shown on the Leaderboard page along with your building.  You can receive badges for all kinds of things like doing extra work on your projects, or doing lots of freelance or even helping your fellow students (or even me!) with any problems they may come across.  Below is a list of the badges you can receive (PSSST!  There are also some hidden ones).



BADGES

        -   You were here on the first day!

        -   You brought in a signed syllabus!

        -   You completed your first freelance gig!

        -   You helped one of your co-workers solve a problem!

        -   You aced a quiz!

        -   You found a shortcut for a problem and shared it with the class!

        -   You gave a suggestion that changed a project!





YOUR PRIZE

The link I gave you above that lets you see your building is the Leaderboard page.  On that page, you will be able to see everyone's building and badges along with a list of the top five students with the most money.  At the end of the class, the student with the most money will receive a prize (to be determined).  It won't be some silly thing like a piece of candy either; there will be an actual money value attached to the prize so it will definitely be worth it to try your best to get the money you can!  In the event of a tie, the student who has the most badges will take the prize.



​YOUR WORK

So let's talk about how you can make money!  Like I said before, you make money by doing your work. The better you do, the more money you make.  It's just like any point system in your other classes.  If a project is worth 50 points, you have a chance to make $50.  If you only get 25 points, then you only make $25.  Pretty simple, right?



In this class we will be working in MyGraphicsLab which is an online learning system that teaches you everything you need to know to pass this class.  In addition to projects and quizzes it includes a full online textbook.  I am new to the system so we will be going through this together, but I have played a little bit with it and I'm positive you'll pick it up in no time.  As it stands, the order of class will go as follows:



1. INTRODUCTION

I will give a lecture introducing each section in the MyGraphicsLab system.  We will talk about the major concepts and anything extra I want you to know before you start digging in.



2. PROJECTS

After the introduction, you will sign into MyGraphicsLab and start working on the projects assigned.  These projects help you give you the practice you need to get familiar with the various programs and design concepts we will go through in this class.



3. QUIZZES

After you finish your projects you will complete any quizzes assigned.  These quizzes will test your knowledge gained by completing the projects.



4. FREELANCE (EXTRA CREDIT)

If you finish the projects and quizzes before they are due then you can work on freelance assignments for extra money to go towards your business.  In the business world, freelance refers to work that you complete on your own, apart from your normal business assignments.  So, if I worked for a design company but I did some work on the side for a friend, that work is considered freelance because I wasn't assigned it by my boss (and my company makes no money from it).  The best part about freelance work is that you get to make extra money!!  And, of course, that money can go towards lifting your grade and building your business.  I will give a list of the approved freelance work but you can also find tutorials or projects online that you can work on, so long as I have approved them first.



In addition to freelance, I will also be posting links to special online games awarding extra competition money to those with the highest scores.



5. REVIEW

After we finish all of our projects and quizzes we will have a review to make sure that everyone is comfortable with the content before we move on to the next section.



Each section will have a due date.  I will let you know when everything is due and when you should have your projects and your quizzes completed.  You can check the Calendar for due dates when I post them.  If you don't finish your work on time then you will lose $5 for every day that it's late.  I am here in the morning before school and you can also come during your lunch period (if I don't have a class or if there is available space).



YOUR ATTITUDE

I know that every teacher talks about attitude and how it can affect your success in this class.  WELL, THEY'RE RIGHT!!!  That's why everyone keeps bringing it up.  I don't expect all of you to become professional businesspeople when you walk into my class by I do expect a few things from you.



1. WORK ETHIC

Honestly, it doesn't take much to pass this class.  If you do the work in full and turn it in on time, you are guaranteed a passing grade.  That's it.  I don't really want to fight you guys on getting your work done because you have a lot of in-class time to get it done and I don't assign homework.  You should be grateful for the privilege of no homework and spend your time wisely.  I can certainly devise a bunch of writing assignments for you to complete at home and will if I feel the class is abusing this privilege.

 



2. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, AND A THIRD PRACTICE!

The whole reason I give you all the work I do is because you need the practice!  I have noticed that when students don't know how to do something, they HATE trying to do it.  So, I'll be giving you a lot of assignments having you do the same thing over and over again.  Trust me, when you get the hang of it, you'll actually enjoy it!



3. PROBLEM SOLVING (AKA GOOGLING IT, OR, ASKING A CO-WORKER)

When you're learning something new, it is often very hard to get the hang of it and you will run into a lot of problems during this class.  The best thing about being in a technology class is that you have access to the World Wide Web!  You know how when you can't figure out who sang a certain song but you know the lyrics?  How would you figure out that problem?  You would Google the lyrics right?  The same thing can be done with any problems you  have in this class.  If you try to get something to work, and you have followed the directions perfectly, you can always Google your problem and I bet you that you will find an answer. Also, I bet you that you're probably going to be sitting next to someone who either had that same problem or didn't and may know what you did wrong.  You can always ask them as well!

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I'm telling you this, not because I want to make my job easier, but because part of my job as a teacher is to teach you how to figure out something when you don't know it.  I can teach you all the ins and outs of the programs we will be using but if you come across something and I'm not here, I want you to be able to figure it out on your own.

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4. FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS

All the projects in this class have directions you need to follow, in order, to properly complete them.  If you don't follow the directions, line-by-line, in the order they are given you will have major problems.  In fact, I've had students have to completely start their projects over because they skipped a step in the beginning.  So, just follow the directions and you'll be fine.



5. LISTEN

If you don't listen, you don't know and knowing is half the battle.  When I'm speaking, you need to stop what you're doing and listen.  I don't know how many times I have had to go over something over and over again with multiple students because they weren't listening.  So, here is my rule:  After I go over something with the class, if you don't hear me, and don't speak up to let me know you didn't hear me, I will NOT go over it again.  You need to LISTEN while in class and it's not my fault if you don't pay attention.



6. OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE

Here is a list of words you are not allowed to say in this class:

-gay

-retarded

-f*ggot

-n*gger

-any other racial slurs

-curse words



This list is not comprehensive and it is up to ME whether or not what you've said is offensive.  In the event that I hear any of these words from anyone, they will get an immediate referral.



7. COMPUTER USE

The computers in this lab are for working only.  Any other use is prohibited unless authorized by me.  If I catch you doing anything other than work, and I haven't given you permission, you will get an immediate referral.



8. FOOD

NONE.



9. MUSIC

The good thing about having music in class is that it helps a lot of you focus on your work and stay on task.  The bad thing about having it is that for the rest of you, it is a HUGE distraction.  I want to be fair to everyone and so I'm not going to allow you to listen to music during class.  I will, however, give you special days where you ARE allowed to listen to music and I'll tell you beforehand so you can bring in the appropriate gear.  If those days go well, we will have more of them.  If they go badly, we will have none.  So don't take advantage!!



10. CELLPHONES

Do I really even have to talk about this?  NO PHONES.  If I see them, it's an immediate referral.



YOUR CLASS

I am the teacher and I've put together a lot of stuff for you but this is still your class.  I want to hear from you!  Please let me know what you like about the class, what you don't like about the class and what you think I need to change.  You can contact me or just talk to me anytime.