Lesson 1: Introduction to James Madison High School

Lesson 1: Introduction to James Madison High School Welcome! Welcome to James Madison High School! And congratulations on taking this first important step to achieving your dream. You re probably quite excited and perhaps a little anxious. Take a deep breath and try not to worry. Our students come to us for many different reasons and from a variety of backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common. Like you, they all have a burning desire to succeed. And we re here to help you maximize your chances of success. James Madison High School is a unique institution in many ways. For instance, our program allows you to earn your diploma completely online. You can enroll in classes and plan out your studies on the schedule that works for you. You don t need to worry about traveling to a physical location or making it to a class at a certain time. You don t need to adhere to someone else s schedule. You can take advantage of the convenience and flexibility that online education offers. Additionally, we re here to guide you every step of the way: to get you started, to keep you motivated, and to help you stay the course. Once you ve successfully completed all of your

program requirements, you ll graduate with an accredited high school diploma that shows the world your true capabilities. You should be excited! We re certainly excited to help you get started. Who We Are: A Look at the School James Madison High School (JMHS) was established in 1996 for students who needed a more flexible approach to their high school education. Since that time, JMHS has enrolled thousands of students from all around the globe. JMHS provides the curriculum students need to complete one to four years of high school coursework. The length of your program will vary, depending on how many credits you need to meet the curriculum requirements. Once you ve successfully met all program requirements, you ll receive an accredited high school diploma. Our program is completed fully online, although some of your courses may utilize books and study guides that you receive in the mail. However, you ll manage your coursework and access your instructors and community resources via our online learning management system (LMS). In 2007, JMHS was merged into our larger educational organization, Ashworth College, in order to provide a more fully integrated set of services to our student body. Together, our schools offer a variety of programs, including high school diplomas, career certificate programs, career diplomas, and undergraduate certificates, as well as associate, bachelor s, and master s degrees!

DID YOU KNOW? A high school diploma tells employers that you ve successfully completed a high school curriculum. A high school diploma is often a minimum requirement for a job, so this step is quite important! A high school diploma is also the very first step in the education ladder. Once you ve completed high school, you may be interested in continuing your education. The following information can help you to understand the levels of education that are available once you ve completed high school. Career certificates show that you ve completed coursework in a specific technical or professional career area. They re also a good way to figure out what kind of work you might like to do as you launch a career. An associate s degree shows that you ve completed the required coursework for a twoyear college program. An associate s degree is the type of degree obtained from attending a two-year or community college program. Undergraduate certificates show that you ve completed a course of study in a particular subject area at the undergraduate college level. Undergraduate certificates are useful not only for obtaining certain kinds of jobs, but also for figuring out your personal interest areas. Our Mission Statement James Madison High School prides itself on helping students to achieve their educational goals. As an educational institution, our mission is simple. As stated in our mission statement, we Empower students to achieve their aspirations through flexible, convenient, affordable, and highly relevant educational programs. Let s talk about what these words mean to us and, more importantly, to you. We want to empower our students to take control of their own lives. If you re empowered, you ll feel that you can take the necessary steps to change and improve your circumstances. We think of our students as proactive, goal-oriented individuals who wish to develop their knowledge and skills with formal learning experiences. We consider your aspirations to be your deepest and strongest desires for yourself. Consider for a moment: Who are you now? When you look into your future, what do you see? What are your goals?

Our flexible curriculum is designed with YOU, the student, in mind. Our courses are set up so that you can study at any time, any place, using any pace that works for you. Schedule your studies around your life. By convenient, we mean easy to access and easy to use. Affordable means a valuable, quality education at a relatively low price. Highly relevant means content and subject matter that aligns with what you need to know and do to be successful in the real world. Our educational programs will teach you what you need to know about your area of interest. A bachelor s degree shows that you ve completed the required coursework for a four-year college program. A bachelor s degree is the type of degree obtained from attending a four-year college or university. Graduate certificates show that you ve completed educational work beyond the undergraduate level. Many people pursue graduate certificates as a way to specialize in a certain field. A master s degree shows that you ve met the requirements to complete a degree that s higher than a bachelor s degree. Most master s programs equate to two or three years worth of courses taken beyond the bachelor s level. As you begin your coursework, remember that all of our course offerings are accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council As you can see, a high school diploma is your very first step to a wide variety of career and educational opportunities! (DETC), which is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency. Additionally, JMHS which is based at our headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia is regionally accredited by the AdvancED Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).

Accreditation is important, because it shows that a school and its programs have been carefully evaluated by a regulatory body and have met that body s requirements for quality education. Many employers look at a school s accreditation record because they know that accreditation means that your education comes from a credible, reliable source. School Policies As a James Madison High School student, you re expected to obey all school standards and requirements. Our school policies govern the academic standards and requirements you must maintain to continue matriculating as a current student. They also outline required behaviors and conduct for all students. It s important for you to become familiar with these policies, so that you understand how you re expected to conduct yourself as a member of the student body. Our school policies are thorough and cover a wide range of topics, including Academic honesty Grading Dismissal for grades Conduct and communications Proctored exams and assignments Retaking of exams/assignments Changing diploma program Compulsory attendance

It is important for you to be familiar with all of these academic policies. To review them in full, please consult your James Madison High School Handbook. Two important policies are summarized below. Academic Honesty Policy James Madison High School requires honesty in all coursework. At all times, students are expected to submit their own original work for all assignments, to present only their own original work and ideas in discussions, and to properly cite original authors and others when referring to other sources. The school reserves the right to review any graded examinations or assignments to determine if plagiarism the use of another s thoughts or words as one s own, either intentionally or unintentionally has occurred. The school reserves the right to change the grade of any examination or assignment if plagiarism is found to have occurred. All charges of plagiarism will be fully investigated by school staff. The result of this investigation may lead to disciplinary actions as outlined below. Warning Student may be counseled by staff. Student may attend training workshop and produce a paper on the topic of academic integrity. Student may be required to revise and resubmit the original assignment with possible grade penalty. Student may be required to submit alternate assignment.

Probation Student may be counseled by staff. Student may attend training workshop and produce a paper on the topic of academic integrity. Student may be required to revise and resubmit the original assignment with possible grade penalty. Student may be required to submit alternate assignment. Student may receive a failing grade for the assignment. Student may be dismissed from the course and/or suspended from the institution. Dismissal Student will be academically dismissed from James Madison High School. Please note this list is not comprehensive. Other appropriate actions may be taken by the school.

Anti-Bullying/Anti-Cyberbullying Policy James Madison High School does not tolerate bullying or cyberbullying behavior on the part of its students. To show our support for anti-bullying efforts, we have adopted Georgia s statewide anti-bullying policy, as developed by the Georgia Department of Education. You can access policy and additional resources from the Learning Resource Center (LRC) via the Learning Resources tab in the Student Portal. Use this link: http://community.ashworthcollege.edu/community/learning _resource_center/high_school_center/high_school_guidan ce/anti-bullying_resources If you re the victim of cyberbullying behavior, access the Learning Resource Center to find out what to do. Lesson Objectives Before you dig deeper into this part of your course, let s take a look at what you should expect to learn. After completing this lesson, you will be able to: Describe the James Madison High School (JMHS) The Georgia Bullying Law (O.C.G.A. 20-2-751.4) (a) As used in this Code section, the term "bullying" means an act which occurs on school property, on school vehicles, at designated school bus stops, or at school related functions or activities, or by use of data or software that is accessed through a computer, computer system, computer network, or other electronic technology of a local school system, that is: (1) Any willful attempt or threat to inflict injury on another person, when accompanied by an apparent present ability to do so; (2) Any intentional display of force such as would give the victim reason to fear or expect immediate bodily harm; or (3) Any intentional written, verbal, or physical act, which a reasonable person would perceive as being intended to threaten, harass, or intimidate, that: (A) Causes another person substantial physical harm within the meaning of Code Section 16-5-23.1 or visible bodily harm as such term is defined in Code Section 16-5-23.1; (B) Has the effect of substantially interfering with a student's education; program and general requirements for completion. Explain the overall structure of JMHS courses. (C) Is so severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating or threatening educational environment; or (D) Has the effect of substantially disrupting the orderly operation of the school.

Outline the major components of the online Learning Management System (LMS), locate important resources such as instructional staff, community resources, and the Student Handbook and navigate the site with ease. What You ll Learn: A Look at the Program James Madison High School is incredibly flexible. Our open-enrollment track allows students to enroll in the high school program at any time of the year, without having to wait for a semester or class start date. This flexibility means you can start and finish the program on the schedule that works with your lifestyle. This flexibility also means you can start anywhere in the program that you need to in order to complete only those courses you require to qualify for a high school diploma. The JMHS program is self-paced. That means you can move through the program at the pace that works for you. Note that some courses do require you to complete assignments within a set period of time these are indicated as maximum time limits. Additionally, research indicates that students who work through their studies at a steady pace have a higher completion rate than others. So, even though you can move forward at your own pace, you should make sure that pace is one at which you can make good progress. The instructional model in place at our school is a team approach. Our team includes teachers, assistant teachers, and academic advisors. These individuals work together to provide students with the right amount of instructional and academic support to meet their individual needs.

You ll manage your program via the learning management system (LMS). This is just a fancy name for a central online location where you ll find your learning resources, instructional support, assignments, and examinations. Although you may receive some materials in the mail, the LMS is the place where you ll go to find most of the information, resources, and people that will help you to be successful with your studies. The LMS is filled with materials and tools for your use. We will look at the LMS in more detail shortly. James Madison High School offers two program options for students: the General Diploma program and the College Preparatory Diploma program. Both programs are aligned to academic requirements set by the state of Georgia as well as the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The General Diploma program is for students who wish to earn a high school diploma and intend to continue their education at a twoyear community college or technical school. Many community colleges and technical schools will accept students who have earned a general diploma. However, it s important for students to contact the community college or technical school of their choice to first ask about admission requirements. It s important to understand what classes you may need for future academic requirements

before you begin your program. The General Diploma program is 23 credits. It can be completed in two to three years if a steady work pace is set. Students must complete the program within six years of the date of enrollment.* The College Preparatory Diploma program is for students who plan to continue their education at a postsecondary institution such as a four-year college or university. This program offers more challenges, demands more from the student, and includes more rigorous assignments, including written assignments, research projects, and problemsolving work. The College Preparatory Diploma program can be completed in three to four years if a steady work pace is set. Students must complete the program within six years of the date of enrollment.* *NOTE: In extenuating circumstances, a student may apply for a six-month extension beyond six years to complete either diploma program. Approval for this extension is at the discretion of the academic principal of James Madison High School. Consult the Student Handbook for the specific course requirements for each program. According to the Student Handbook, course requirements are shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 High School Course Requirements. Please consult the most current version of the Student Handbook for any updates. You can find the Student Handbook in the learning management system. After logging in, click the Learning tab in the banner; then click Documents, Student Handbook. The Learning Management System As already mentioned, the learning management system (LMS) is a key part of the high school program. It s the central location for your program. The LMS links you to your course materials, study tools, instructional staff, community resources, time management tools, discussion groups, and more. It s important to become familiar with the layout of the LMS so that you know where to find everything you need. This lesson

has been designed to help you do just that. Think of this section as a roadmap. The roadmap will show you where to find everything that you need to be successful in your high school program. One important element of the LMS is the ability to connect with others. Through the LMS, you ll be able to talk directly to your instructional advisers as well as other students. It s important for you to recognize that learning by distance does not mean learning alone. Think of the LMS as your learning community. Here you ll find people who, like you, are looking to learn, grow, and get an education. You ll have the opportunity to talk to and learn from them and they can help and learn from you, too. And, remember, our instructional staff is always available to help. We want you to be successful as you pursue your diploma. Think of the staff as your instructional guides. You ll find them to be experienced experts in their fields who are passionate about education and sharing knowledge with others. The instructional staff has also worked closely with instructional design experts to create classes that help you to be successful. Each class will cover everything you need to know about the subject at hand. The learning is set up in manageable chunks that you can work with easily. The assignments are designed to help you demonstrate what you ve learned in each part of the course. The first thing students need to do when they start a program at a new school is to find their way around. If you were entering a traditional school, you would probably wonder: How do I get around? What classrooms am I in? Where do I register for classes? What is my class schedule? How do I find my books? Who can help me?

An online school isn t all that different from a brick-and-mortar school. Of course, you already know that you ll be getting around using your mouse, touch pad, or keyboard. However, just like a physical school, it s important for you to have answers to all of your questions before you start your first course. This part of your course is designed to help you find your way around. For example, if you re reading a lesson for a biology class, you want to focus on biology, not on trying to figure out where to find the reading assignment. When you re ready to turn in an algebra assignment, you want to spend your time focusing on doing the best work you can rather than worrying about how you will go about uploading your work for grading. So, this section is meant to give you a good grasp of the nuts and bolts of the LMS. It will help you become familiar with all the components of the site. You ll find pretty much

everything you need within the LMS, from course materials and assignments to the Student Handbook to community forums to talk to instructional staff and other students. The only areas you ll miss are the gym and cafeteria! Logging Onto the LMS To access the LMS, you must have a login ID and password. You should have received these via email. To log on to the LMS, follow the steps outlined here. 1. Locate your username and password. 2. Go to the Student Portal page: https://students.ashworthcollege.edu 3. Enter your username and password. Click the Login button. 4. Locate the banner menu at the top of the page, on the right-hand side. Click Portal to access the Dashboard your portal homepage. The first time you log in, your Student Enrollment Agreement should appear. Complete this agreement. Once you have done so, the Dashboard appears. The Student Portal is your main workspace in the LMS. Take some time to review the features of the Dashboard, such as the following: Dashboard Use this link to return to the portal homepage. Learning Use this link to access your courses, grades, programs of study, transcripts, learning resources, important documents such as the Student Handbook, and progress reports. Account Use this link to access information about your student account, including course shipments, payment information, your student history, and more.

Support Use this link if you need help. Here you can contact Student Services with any questions or concerns and review Frequently Asked Questions by clicking on the FAQ link. You can also find specific contact information in the Student Handbook. The JMHS Community One of the best ways to stay the course as a student is to connect with others who are pursuing their education, too. The JMHS LMS provides an easy way for you to meet other students. From the Dashboard, click Community in the banner along the upper right-hand corner. To meet other high school students, place your mouse on Groups on the main banner and then select High School from the dropdown list. You could also use the Filter by Groups option on the map located on the Community homepage. If at any time you have trouble accessing information or have questions, click Support on the main banner, where you ll find links to the Student Help Desk and Study Hall. The Student Help Desk is available to help students with all kinds of issues, from technical problems with the website to questions about finances and administration. The Study Hall features video tutorials, discussions, and blogs related to a number of different subjects. Here, you can start a discussion about a specific topic you need help with and someone in the Ashworth Community will follow up with you. You can also access Frequently Asked Questions by clicking Support on the main banner. This section allows you to

ask questions and offers answers to commonly encountered questions and concerns from students. Take some time to review the information provided here. My Workspace/Lesson Materials One of the main places you ll work in the LMS is called My Workspace. This is where you ll access your lesson materials. To access My Workspace, do the following: Go to the Student Dashboard. Click the Learning link. Click Courses. Click Go to My Workspace. My Workspace appears. This is the main portal to your course materials. Take a few minutes to look around this part of the LMS. From the left-hand Navigation panel, you can access these elements: Calendar Click here to work with calendars. You can use this tool to set up and manage a weekly or monthly calendar to guide your studies. Announcements Here you will review announcements from your course instructor or other instructional staff. News Click here to view information from a news source, blog, events listing, or other site that updates its content dynamically. Orientation Click the arrow in the middle of the screen to launch an orientation video. This four-minute film will tell you about all of the features on Ashworth s site. Take the time to watch it from start to finish! As you watch, use the Pause button to stop the video so you can take notes on the key features.

Preferences Click here to customize the setup of My Workspace, including changing email notification options, and specifying your time zone and language preferences. The settings you choose here will apply to all of your sites. You can access your courses in two ways. From My Workspace, look for the course links along the top of the page. The name of each of your active courses appears here. Click on the relevant course name to access the course in question. Your course homepage will launch. Here you can access your course syllabus, lesson materials, the student handbook, lesson assignments, and examinations and quizzes. Take some time to review that material now. You can also access your courses directly from the Dashboard. From the Dashboard, click Learning. Click Courses. From the list of In-progress courses, click the course name to select it.

The Structure of Courses Now that you know your way around the overall site, it s time to explore the structure of your classes. Each class you take with Ashworth will include certain documents or resources that are designed specifically for that course. You ll find that classes closely resemble those you have taken in the real world. You ll have you own teacher, textbook, lecture notes and, of course assignments and exams. The only real difference is that you can work at your own pace and according to your own schedule. You won t have to physically get yourself to the school or worry about being on time for class. 1. Click to watch the five-minute video, Exploring Your Online Courses. Note: You can click the CC option to turn on closed captioning, if required. 2. Make notes as you watch this video, using the Pause button as necessary. 3. After you ve watched the video, think about what you learned. Course Syllabus Each of your courses will include a document called a syllabus. Are you already familiar with this type of resource? If not, you ll find that a syllabus is an overview of a course. It provides an outline of everything that you ll learn during the course, in the order in which you ll learn it. It provides specific information about what the course requires and the type of assignments you ll complete. You ll also find professional information about your instructor. The link to the syllabus for each of your Ashworth courses can be found in the left-hand Navigation panel in each course. We strongly recommend that you print this document and keep it handy as you work through the course.

Some of what you ll find on the syllabus includes the following: Course description Program objectives Learning objectives, by section Course schedule and topics Textbook name and edition Grading policies Other course policies Instructor name and contact information School contact information Read through the syllabus carefully before you begin your course to get a good sense of what s ahead, what the workload looks like, what s expected of you as a student, and what you ll learn and achieve. Course Textbook Most courses will require a textbook. Sometimes textbooks will be available as electronic documents, or ebooks, that are accessed on the course website. If your course features an ebook, you ll find a link in the Navigation panel on the left-hand side of the screen on your course homepage. The link will be called ebook. You can click this link to read your textbook. More information about ebooks is included below. Many of our courses use standard textbooks that you ll receive in the mail. Check your syllabus for information on your textbook. We often use hard-copy textbooks so that you

have access to the latest and greatest information in your field. Review your syllabus for information on the type of textbook you ll be using and when you ll receive it. Your Course ebook Many of our courses offer students the convenience of an electronic textbook, or ebook, instead of a printed text. To access your ebook, click the ebook link in the Navigation panel on the left-hand side of the screen on your course homepage. If your ebook does not launch, contact Customer Support for assistance.

Using ebook Features Once you ve opened your ebook, you can navigate through it in many different ways. For example, you can View pages one page at a time or switch to a side-by-side view to see two pages at a time. Use Thumbnails to easily view and browse multiple pages. Click the hot links in the Table of Contents to access any section of the book. Use the Go To box to go directly to a particular page. Navigate at the page level one page at a time or by scrolling the pages continuously. Zoom in and out of pages to view features more closely. Find information anywhere in the text by using a keyword search. Add your own notes to the pages using the Note feature. Highlight important information or add it easily to another document to create study notes. Share your notes and highlights with others easily. Filter and print your notes for study material. Bookmark important pages with a single click. For more information on ebook navigation, review the video at the link below. NOTE: You can click the CC option to turn on closed captioning, if required. CourseSmart etextbook Overview

Reading Your ebook Offline Your ebooks offer a convenient Read Offline feature so that you can access your textbook on your computer even when you aren t connected to the Internet. To access your ebook offline, you must first make it available to yourself from your Internet connection. From your ebook link, you ll choose the Check Out Book option. You can then select to make individual chapters or the entire book available to yourself offline. You ll need to have enough memory available on your computer to store the amount of data you have selected. Your download time will vary, based on your connection speed and available space, so make sure you select this option in advance! The video link below provides specific instructions for making your ebook available offline, as well as how you can access the ebook once the download is complete and you are ready to use the ebook offline. Note that although notes, copy, and highlight features are available to you offline, the print and share features are not. Later, when you check your ebook back in, you can sync your notes and highlights to your online copy of the ebook. CourseSmart Read Offline Feature

Do You Know Your ebooks? Reading Your ebook on a Mobile Device Your ebook is also optimized for use on a mobile device, such as a mobile phone or tablet. For the best reading experience, you ll want to download the correct CourseSmart app for your phone or tablet. CourseSmart makes apps available for the following platforms: Apple (iphone/ipad/itouch) Android To learn how to use your ebook on your Apple device, review this video: 1. True or false? You can view, read, and mark up your ebook both online and offline. 2. What is the best option for viewing your ebook using your iphone? a. View it using the Safari browser b. Download the CourseSmart app c. Launch the Course page d. Use the Print to File option CourseSmart Apps for Apple To learn how to use your ebook on your Android device, review this video: CourseSmart Apps for Android Remember, you can always turn on the closed captioning (CC) option to view a script of the video narration when 3. What ebook feature allows you to quickly find information in the text? a. GoTo box b. Keyword Search c. Table of Contents hotlinks d. All of the above reviewing these tutorials on YouTube. Lessons and Assignments Each part of your course will include lessons and assignments. You re responsible for completing all of your lessons and assignments in full, in the order in which they re

due. Lessons and assignments may vary greatly, depending on the nature of the material being studied. Common lessons and assignments include the following: Reading sections of the textbook and answering questions about the material Reviewing lecture notes provided by the instructor and summarizing the content Accessing outside resources, such as videos, articles, or other material, and taking notes or answering questions about the subject matter Completing self-study questions or defining vocabulary words Submitting written assignments or special projects You can find course lessons on the homepage of each course. Lessons are listed in the left-hand Navigation panel. Click each lesson to access its content and your assignments. Make sure you go in the correct order. It s important to complete early lessons before later ones! Grading Rubrics As you begin working on your course assignments, you ll begin to see references to something called a grading rubric. What s a grading rubric? Simply put, a grading rubric is a scoring tool that provides a detailed roadmap as to how an assignment will be scored by the course instructor. The grading rubric shows exactly what your instructor will be looking for in each assignment. The rubric also shows how students will score from above average to below average, based on the elements included in the work. As you begin working on course assignments, use the available grading rubric to make sure that your work meets the criteria to earn a top score. For more information on grading rubrics, consult the James Madison High School Student Handbook.

Examinations As you work through your course, it will be important to make sure you really understand the concepts and material. For this reason, you ll find course examinations after each important lesson block. The examinations are not designed to trick you or trip you up. Instead, they re meant to test you on the concepts covered in the course and to ensure that you re ready to move on in the material. You ll complete and submit course examinations online. Examinations are generally open book, which means you can use your textbook and study material while you complete them. You ll get your score instantly. If you don t pass your examination on the first try, you ll be able to take it a second time. Although your orientation material shows more detail about how to take examinations, let s take a quick look at how to access your examinations. You can access examinations directly from My Workspace. Follow these instructions: 1. From My Workspace, click on the appropriate course link on the top banner to access the course homepage. 2. From the course homepage, click Exams & Quizzes in the left-hand Navigation panel. The Exams & Quizzes page launches.

3. On this page, you can see the list of exams available for completion. Generally, the exam you want will be the one corresponding directly to the lesson just completed. 4. Once you click on the relevant exam link, the Introduction page for the exam launches. 5. If you re sure you re ready to take the exam, click the Begin Assessment button to start. The exam questions will appear one at a time. For multiple-choice questions, click the radio button that corresponds with your answer. For other types of questions, follow the instructions that are provided onscreen. You ll notice that you have the option to Reset Selection, which clears your answer and allows you to change it easily. You can also Mark for Review. This latter option is useful when you re not sure about an answer. You can select an answer to Mark for Review and then come back to the question for review before you submit the entire examination for grading. Once you re sure of your answer to a question, select it and click Next. Each question will appear one at a time. You must answer every exam question to submit the exam for grading. When you reach the last question and feel comfortable with your responses, click Submit for Grading. You ll be prompted to make sure you re really ready to submit the exam. If you are, click Submit for Grading on the confirmation screen. Once you ve submitted your examination, you ll receive a confirmation number indicating that your submission was successful. If you receive an error message, follow the instructions on the screen.

After you receive your confirmation number, you can click to see your exam score. Later, you can review any exam score by clicking Exams & Quizzes in the left-hand Navigation panel on your course homepage. The exam scores will be listed at the bottom of the screen, along with any feedback your instructor has provided. Now, it s time for your first examination. Follow the instructions in this section to access and complete the first examination, Lesson 1 Examination.