Section IndexThe Path to Coding Mastery
Makers Digital Citizens Grade 4 Lab Works Communication and Organization Skills Radio Waves |
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Throughout our lab activities, you'll be learning to use and attempting to master these types of software applications:
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Mr. Jaco's grading system:
Many students (and parents) are curious as to how I work out grades for students. Here it is in a nutshell:
Do no more and no less than I demonstrate for any activity, and you've earned a Satisfactory grade on that activity - you have satisfied the basic (minimum) requirements of the assignment. This a a positive grade! You've learned the basics but you haven't fully demonstrated that you're ready to use it on your own.
Because my assignments almost always have an open-ended element to them, you earn a Good grade when you've followed some of my suggestions for developing your work past our starting point and have demonstrated a wider understanding and mastery of the activity in the process. This a higher positive grade because you've shown that you can use the knowledge on your own, but with some guidance to get you there. You can stop here if you don't want to go deeper. You've done a lot!
So, what earns an Outstanding grade? This requires a certain level of extra learning taken on by you. You may find yourself struggling to get something to work that you've added to the assignment (that includes the original assignment) but goes beyond the original expectations of the activity, and you seek out additional understanding to get it to work, say, or to refine it in a way that interests you. By making this extra effort to inject something on your own into your learning, even if the added element doesn't work (but everything else does), you've taken the extra step that leads you to an O grade.
Also, if you have developed a strong understanding of what's needed in the assignment and are able to share it and guide others, that can be a contributing factor to earning an Outstanding grade in another way.
Sometimes I have an assignment that is simply a focused demonstration of your acquired skill, and those who complete the task successfully and most efficiently (in other words, first) will earn an O, usually going to the top 10% of finishers who meet all the other requirements of the assignment.
Because working with technology often has a distinctly binary aspect to it, (i.e. it either works or it doesn't), I could always grade based on whether your project "works" or not, with failure resulting in a negative grade. That would bring no value to your learning, however, so I will never do that. Failure is part of the scientific process, as well as disciplines like engineering, and all the arts. We often learn as much, if not more, from figuring out what doesn't work and making it better than from succeeding immediately.
However, simply giving up and doing nothing when things don't work right the first time is probably the only path that will usually lead to a negative grade. Another way to earn a negative grade is to simply not do the assignment the way it was described in the first place. I have reasons for expecting assignments to be done in a certain way, because I am looking for a demonstration of your specific skills. Doing it "your way" may not demonstrate these skills, so there has to be a price for making the wrong choice.
Finding out where and how things go wrong can be very instructive, though, so I always encourage students to not give up even when things seem impossible to solve. It can be frustrating at first, but when you finally do get something to work - the feeling is wonderful!
Do no more and no less than I demonstrate for any activity, and you've earned a Satisfactory grade on that activity - you have satisfied the basic (minimum) requirements of the assignment. This a a positive grade! You've learned the basics but you haven't fully demonstrated that you're ready to use it on your own.
Because my assignments almost always have an open-ended element to them, you earn a Good grade when you've followed some of my suggestions for developing your work past our starting point and have demonstrated a wider understanding and mastery of the activity in the process. This a higher positive grade because you've shown that you can use the knowledge on your own, but with some guidance to get you there. You can stop here if you don't want to go deeper. You've done a lot!
So, what earns an Outstanding grade? This requires a certain level of extra learning taken on by you. You may find yourself struggling to get something to work that you've added to the assignment (that includes the original assignment) but goes beyond the original expectations of the activity, and you seek out additional understanding to get it to work, say, or to refine it in a way that interests you. By making this extra effort to inject something on your own into your learning, even if the added element doesn't work (but everything else does), you've taken the extra step that leads you to an O grade.
Also, if you have developed a strong understanding of what's needed in the assignment and are able to share it and guide others, that can be a contributing factor to earning an Outstanding grade in another way.
Sometimes I have an assignment that is simply a focused demonstration of your acquired skill, and those who complete the task successfully and most efficiently (in other words, first) will earn an O, usually going to the top 10% of finishers who meet all the other requirements of the assignment.
Because working with technology often has a distinctly binary aspect to it, (i.e. it either works or it doesn't), I could always grade based on whether your project "works" or not, with failure resulting in a negative grade. That would bring no value to your learning, however, so I will never do that. Failure is part of the scientific process, as well as disciplines like engineering, and all the arts. We often learn as much, if not more, from figuring out what doesn't work and making it better than from succeeding immediately.
However, simply giving up and doing nothing when things don't work right the first time is probably the only path that will usually lead to a negative grade. Another way to earn a negative grade is to simply not do the assignment the way it was described in the first place. I have reasons for expecting assignments to be done in a certain way, because I am looking for a demonstration of your specific skills. Doing it "your way" may not demonstrate these skills, so there has to be a price for making the wrong choice.
Finding out where and how things go wrong can be very instructive, though, so I always encourage students to not give up even when things seem impossible to solve. It can be frustrating at first, but when you finally do get something to work - the feeling is wonderful!
Remember what FAIL stands for:
First Attempts In Learning
First Attempts In Learning
Web Searching Strategies
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Using Windows At School
LOGGING ON -
If a tap on the [Space Bar] or click on the screen doesn't wake up the computer, it may require a more effective method:
The 3-Finger-Salute (Ctrl-Alt-Delete): With your left hand, make a 'V' with your first two fingers, and put one of them on the Ctrl key and the other on the Alt key. Press those down and keep holding them while you press the Delete key with one finger on your right hand. If done correctly, you should see the screen change to the Windows Logon Screen.
Windows Logon Screen: If your user name is not showing, you will need to Switch Users. Choose Other User and you'll finally see the full logon screen that asks for a user name and a password.
Your User Name is assigned to you, and to you only. [First and Second Graders have a shared class user name.] When you type in your User Name, make sure you spell it the correct way and with no spaces anywhere.
Your password will be assigned when you first start school. After that, you can change it yourself if it follows the Strong Password requirements of the network system: at least 7 characters, one upper case letter, one lower case letter, and one number.
Things to Remember:
If a tap on the [Space Bar] or click on the screen doesn't wake up the computer, it may require a more effective method:
The 3-Finger-Salute (Ctrl-Alt-Delete): With your left hand, make a 'V' with your first two fingers, and put one of them on the Ctrl key and the other on the Alt key. Press those down and keep holding them while you press the Delete key with one finger on your right hand. If done correctly, you should see the screen change to the Windows Logon Screen.
Windows Logon Screen: If your user name is not showing, you will need to Switch Users. Choose Other User and you'll finally see the full logon screen that asks for a user name and a password.
Your User Name is assigned to you, and to you only. [First and Second Graders have a shared class user name.] When you type in your User Name, make sure you spell it the correct way and with no spaces anywhere.
Your password will be assigned when you first start school. After that, you can change it yourself if it follows the Strong Password requirements of the network system: at least 7 characters, one upper case letter, one lower case letter, and one number.
Things to Remember:
- Your User Name is permanently assigned and is unique.
- You must NEVER share your password with anyone
- Your Password is assigned at first but is not permanent.
- You can change your password at any time, but you must always figure out a way to remember the password you choose,
and it must follow Strong Password requirements. - Your User Name and Password together unlock the computer so you can use the school's network system.
Fifth Grade is when we start really finding about what goes on inside the computer,
starting with the wonders of the binary numbering system.
From there, we'll check out how unusual numbering systems can have value
beyond what we've become used to
(the system you started learning when you first began to talk).
You like color?
We're going to figure out how computers work with color
compared to the way your eyes work with color.
(It's pretty amazing, really.)
Then, we'll start really developing Work Flow skills to the max.
Guess what?
We're going to write and type and create words on pages and edit them,
just like you've done many, many times before,
but we're going to learn ways to work smarter when you do it.
And the projects we'll be writing should be right up your alley
- because YOU will get to decide what you're writing about.
starting with the wonders of the binary numbering system.
From there, we'll check out how unusual numbering systems can have value
beyond what we've become used to
(the system you started learning when you first began to talk).
You like color?
We're going to figure out how computers work with color
compared to the way your eyes work with color.
(It's pretty amazing, really.)
Then, we'll start really developing Work Flow skills to the max.
Guess what?
We're going to write and type and create words on pages and edit them,
just like you've done many, many times before,
but we're going to learn ways to work smarter when you do it.
And the projects we'll be writing should be right up your alley
- because YOU will get to decide what you're writing about.
