Course Information

Course Description:

Technology Foundations is designed to enhance and/or develop language and mathematical skills that serve as a foundation for drafting technology and that are necessary for employment in the technical workforce.

Students will develop problem-solving skills, will enhance communication skills, and will be encouraged to become independent thinkers.

Course Objectives:

Upon completion of this course, the student will have the skills to be able to:

1. Efficiently and accurately solve basic mathematical operations dealing with whole numbers, fractions,    decimals, and percents

2. Apply basic mathematical operations to the drafting field

3. Read, analyze, and interpret graphs

4. Apply basic graphing principals to the drafting field

5. Effectively and respectfully communicate in writing by using complete sentences, correct grammar, appropriate punctuation, and logical paragraph development

6. Apply basic communication skills to the drafting field

7. Accurately read technical passages for information.

Prerequisites and Corequisites:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Course Topics:

The topics to be covered in Technology Foundations for Drafting include:

• Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing whole numbers
• Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions
• Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimals
• Percents    
• The eight parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections
• Punctuation: periods, question marks, exclamation marks, quotation marks, commas, semi-colons, and colons
• Reading for information

Course Modules:

Module 1: Mathematics:  Whole Numbers (4 hours)

Grammar: Eight Parts of Speech (2 hours)

Module 2: Mathematics:  Common Fractions(4 hours)

Grammar: Eight Parts of Speech (2 hours)

Module 3: Mathematics:  Decimal Fractions (4 hours)

Grammar: Eight Parts of Speech (2 hours)

Module 4: Mathematics:  Percentages, Averages, Estimates (4 hours)

Grammar: Writing Paragraphs (2 hours)

Module 5: Mathematics:  Final Project (3 hours)

Grammar: Final Project (3 hours)

Specific Course Requirements:

Access to a computer connected to the Internet and a desire to learn!

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

Required Textbooks:

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course:  http://rodp.bkstr.com

Supplementary Materials:

Available on-line.

Hardware Requirements:

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm

Software Requirements:

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm 

Instructor Information

Faculty Contact:

Faculty contact information can be found by clicking on professor on the navigation bar.

Virtual Office Hours:

Office hours can be set up by appointment.

Instructor Response Time:

Instructor response time will be within 24 -48 hours.

Assessment and Grading

Testing Procedures:

All work for this course will be done online. Online work for this course includes lessons, quizzes, discussion board questions, emails, and emails with attachments.

Grading Procedure:

A minimum average of 77 is required to receive credit for this course.

Students will be graded on:

Progress – Meeting the time schedule set forth in the calendar

Participation – Posting messages and responses

Tests (or Quizzes) and Projects

Grading Scale:

A = 93 - 100

B = 85 – 92.9

C = 77 – 84.9

Assignments and Participation

Assignments and Projects:

Students will be required to complete a sequenced list of assignments, tests (or quizzes), and projects arranged by course section or module with due dates.

Class Participation:

Students must participate in all interactive aspects of the course design. Students are expected to communicate with the instructor as a learning resource and must check the course bulletin board and calendar frequently for announcements. Students must actively participate in threaded discussion events with the instructor and other students. The instructor will post topics for students’ comments.  

The Discussion Forum is a powerful tool for sharing ideas, asking questions, and resolving problems. Please make extensive use of this resource. We will continue to grow together.

Course Ground Rules

Participation in this course is the key to doing well.  Be sure timed tests and projects are turned in by the due date as posted on the Course Calendar. 

Students should check the discussion boards often to see if there are new discussions or announcements.  If you have questions about a topic, the discussion board is a great place to ask it.  Remember that the only bad question is the one not asked. So, if you are unsure of something ask about it. 

Students are expected to respect the rights of others at all times when communicating with the instructor and other students.  All students will follow proper netiquette at all times.

If you have a technical issue, address it at once to avoid falling behind in the class.

Guidelines for Communications

Email:

Participants will follow these standards without exception in all communications:

Always include a subject line.

Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of "emoticons" (IE. :) is the smiley face) might be helpful in some cases.

Use standard fonts in 12 point size.

Do not send large attachments without permission.

Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.

Respect the privacy of other class members. 

Discussion Groups:

Follow these standards:

Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.

Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather than starting a new topic.

Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other’s ideas. If you cannot think of a way to diplomatically say what you want to communicate, do not say anything at all.

Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.

Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.

Be positive and constructive in group discussions.

Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.

Web Resources:

There is also support for you at www.rodp.org/help.htm

Columbia Guide to Online Style by Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor

Citation Styles Online http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite6.html

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses. 

Students With Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus.  If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

Technical Support

If you are having problems logging into your course,
timing out of your course, using your course web site tools, or other technical problems, please contact the Eduprise Help Desk by calling :

1-866-550-7637 (toll free)

or go to their website at:

http://help.rodp.org