Syllabus (Under constuction)

Mr. Zendt - Lab Room C133
Email: jzendt@alvinisd.net
Tutoring: Wednesday 3:00pm – 4:00 & Friday 3:00pm – 4:00 or by appointment.

Welcome!
To be successful in my (and any) class, students must be able to:
• Complete all work (even if not collected for a grade).
• Study outside of class.
• Ask for help when stuck.
• Bring an open mind and try new things.
• Work independently and in groups.
• Participate in all Classroom Activities

Course Materials
Each student is required to bring:
• Flash Drive with one gigabyte (1 GB) free.  USB 2.0 or 3.0 (3.0 is preferred).
• Pencils or Mechanical Pencils for Notes and Written Assignments.
• 3 Ring Binder: About 1" thick, or space in a larger binder

The Binder
You will receive quite a few handouts of programming references and take a reasonable amount of notes. Organization is a major key to success in this class. So here's how I recommend setting up your class binder:
• Reference: Function Reference Cards
• Notes: Notes taken in class
• Tests: Tests and Quizzes

Software used in class (in order of use):
• Greenfoot: www.greenfoot.org
• Eclipse: http://www.eclipse.org/
• Microsoft Visual Studio: https://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/products/visual-studio-community-vs.aspx
• GameMaker Studio: http://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker
• Unity 3d: http://www.unity3d.com/

Assignments
All programming assignments will be turned in via assignment upload on Google Classroom.

Some homework assignments will REQUIRE the use of a computer at home.  Most of the software used in this class is compatible with both PC and MAC, is completely free to use, and is clean of any malware.  Only download from the links that I have provided.  (MS Visual Studio is PC-only, so projects will be in-class focused for that unit.)

Remember students have access to the Internet and a printer through the Manvel High School library.

Grades
Grading is based on the District AP Level 60% Major / 40% Daily grading weights.

Minor Programs/Homework (20%): We will have a few labs without rubrics to practice concepts and the rare worksheet.  These assignments are graded on completion.

Project Checkpoints/Quizzes (20%): As a project heavy class, keeping on schedule is an important job for students.  When we have a multi-week project, there will be progress checkpoints to make sure students are staying on task and making progerss.

Tests and Projects (60%): This category includes major tests structured like AP exams, and may contain multiple choice questions and free response questions. This category also includes larger programming projects that span multiple weeks.

A note about assistance from peers: you may ask others for help on an assignment, but copying of another student's program (or small sections of) is NOT allowed and will be considered cheating/plagiarism. Changing variable names does not count as original work. Ask HOW they solved the problem, not WHAT is the solution. If you are helped by another student, please include them as a "with help from" in your program header!

Google Classroom
I will use Google Classroom as the primary means of assignment submission and grading. Please create an account (if you haven't already) and join my class. I will check Google Classroom during most evenings, so if you ever have any trouble with an assignment, post a question and myself or another student will try to answer. I will stop checking around 8pm-9pm, so don't post at midnight expecting an answer!