Journalism Class Contract 2014-2015

WelcometoJournalismatTalentUnlimited.Thisclassexplorestheskillsandtechniquesusedbyprofessional
journalistsinthemodernmedialandscape.Studentswilluseresourcesinthecomputerlabtolearnjournalisticskills,
thinkcriticallyaboutinformationfromthemedia,andeventuallyproduceanonlinenewspaperaswellastheirown
blogs.

Gradingpolicy:
Projects/Tests 30%
Classwork 25%
Professionalism 25%
Blogs 20%

Projects/TestsProjectswillbeassignedfromtimetotime,eachwithagivenrubricthatwillbediscussedwhenthe
projectisassigned.Testswillcovermaterialexplicitlycoveredinclass.

ClassworkThereisoftenaclassworkassignmentduebytheendoftheperiod.Classworkassignmentsare
gradedonascaleof15.Toreceiveall5points,theassignmentmustbecomplete,factuallycorrect(when
applicable)andreflecteffortbythestudenttoshowwhatheorshehaslearned.

ProfessionalismStudentsmustshowrespectfulandprofessionalconductinthisclass.Studentsareexpectedto
beinclassontimeandreadytoparticipateinclassactivities.Alloftherulesofthecomputerlabmustbeobserved.
Donotdoworkfromanotherclassduringourclasstime.Respondappropriatelytotheteachersdirections.Be
respectfultowardtheteacher,yourpeers,technologyandyourself.Followingtheseguidelineswillensurethata
studentwillreceivefullcreditforprofessionalism.

BlogsStudentswillwriteweeklyblogentriesontheirownwebsitemadefortheclass.Blogsaremoreflexiblethan
regularwritingassignments,andstudentsmaychoosetowriteaboutatopicoftheirchoosing,aslongasitis
schoolappropriate.Blogswillbeexplainedinmoredetaillater.

LateworkJournalismdemandstimelywork.Turninginworkafterthestatedduedatewillresultinhalfcreditforthe
assignment.Assignmentsmorethanaweeklatemaynotbeaccepted.Frequentlyturninginworklatecannegatively
impactastudentsprofessionalismscore,furtherloweringthegrade.

ConductintheComputerLab
Nofood.
Usethecomputeronlyforclasswork.
Keepanythingthatcouldspillawayfromthecomputers.
Donotattempttochangethecomputerssettings.
Otherrulesapply.

I,____________________________,havereadandunderstandthedetailsofthiscontract.Iunderstandthatfailure
toconductmyselfappropriatelyintheComputerLabcanresultinthelossofcomputerprivilegesatschool.Iagreeto
followtheguidelinesabove.Furthermore,Iunderstandthatthisclassisanopportunitytolearnnewskillsandexplore
topicsthatinterestme.

__________________________________________ Date______________________