WASD Online Summer School Dig Lit

I am your digital literacy teacher and lifelong learner. I teach Digital Literacy and the Physical Sciences at Virtual School House and in virtual summer school. I love exploring the great outdoors through camping and hiking, getting creative with painting, and diving into a good book. I love to learn new things, and I am always up for an adventure.

The best way to contact me is through email (shuldberg.sierra@westada.org) but you are also welcome to call me at 208-900-5545 or set up a meeting with me here.

Please read through the newsletter carefully. Summer School will go by quickly and you do not want to miss anything. Reach out if you have any questions.

Welcome aboard.

ONE SESSION ONLY (June 1st – June 26th)

• All classes need to be completed by June 26th at 12:00 pm. NO EXTENSIONS WILL BE OFFERED.

If you need to pay for summer school, vist this link https://westada.revtrak.net/summer-school/#/list

***Call IT if you are leaving the country. They need to adjust your computer settings to work outside of The United States. 208-350-5300

Monday – Friday between 9:00 am – 2:00 pm.

• Students can meet with me on Teams with a scheduled appointment.

• Follow this link to schedule a time

• OR email me to schedule a meeting

To provide additional support for our digital literacy students, evening office hours will be offered twice during the session. These optional support sessions will give students and families extra opportunities to ask questions, receive guidance, troubleshoot technology issues, and build confidence with course expectations in a flexible, supportive environment.

Week 1 - Join link

June 4 - 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Week 3 - Join link

June 18 - 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm

• YES! See the course syllabus and pacing guide. The course will assist you with assignments and the dues dates. Key to success is completion of 25% of the curriculum each week.
• Classes can be worked on anytime during the day, any day of the week. Adequate progress is expected to be made in-order to complete the class on time. Failure to do so will lead to failing the class and not earning the credit.
• I would like to encourage you to work ahead, but do not fall behind! It will be hard to catch-up.
  

Digital Literacy is a new Idaho graduation requirement designed to help students become safe, responsible, and capable users of technology in school, work, and everyday life. In this course, students will build practical technology skills while also learning about cybersecurity, digital citizenship, artificial intelligence, and the social impacts of technology.

1. Cybersecurity and You

Students will learn how to protect their digital identity, stay safe online, recognize cyber threats, and understand how personal data is collected and used. Topics include passwords, scams, privacy, digital footprints, and responsible technology use.

2. Technology and Society

Students will explore how technology influences communication, culture, behavior, and opportunity. Topics include artificial intelligence, ethical technology use, misinformation, digital citizenship, equity, and the digital divide.

3. Programming with Karel

Students will be introduced to the foundations of computer programming using Karel, a beginner-friendly coding environment. They will practice sequencing, problem-solving, algorithms, loops, and logical thinking through visual programming challenges.

4. Basic Python and Console Interaction

Students will transition into beginner Python programming, learning how to write simple programs that use input, output, variables, conditionals, and loops. This unit focuses on building confidence with coding and computational thinking.

• Safe and responsible technology use
• Digital citizenship and online communication
• Evaluating credibility of online information
• Basic computer programming and problem-solving
• Understanding artificial intelligence and cybersecurity
• Ethical decision-making in digital environments

This course is designed for students with all levels of technology experience. Assignments will include short readings, videos, coding activities, and real-world applications. Students will receive guided support throughout the course as they build both technical skills and digital confidence.

To provide additional support for younger learners, optional evening office hours will also be offered twice during the session for students and families who would like extra help or guidance.

• Students MUST have 25% of the curriculum completed within the first week. WASD Admin will run an activity report on June 8th at 8:00 am, and if the student has not completed 25% of the curriculum in each class, the student will be dropped from the course(s).
• The student will need to continue completing 25% of their course(s) each week in order to remain on track to finish by June 26th at NOON!
• If the student is not 50% done by the halfway point, June 15th, the student runs the risk of not being able to complete the course(s) on time.

All Digital Literacy course work is completed in CodeHS. You will need to watch all videos/lessons assigned in the order presented. Once you view lessons, you can go back again to review anything as needed.

The course will give you an approximate completion time to help manage your time better. All work needs to be completed in CodeHS and will not be accepted through email.

• Grades are available by logging into Power School. Students are encouraged to check with teachers on a regular basis to track their progress. Final Grades will be sent to the student's home school and applied to the transcripts.
• Grades will be updated every Monday and Friday in PowerSchool. Make sure to manage your time wisely and check PowerSchool regularly. Please give the teacher a few days for larger written work to be graded.
  
• Summer School uses a different link. To access Summer School PowerSchool, please use the link below.

Here is the link for Summer School Access to PowerSchool:

https://ps-summer.westada.org/public/

When logging into PowerSchool a student will see the following:

Actual grade - This is the grade in the class to date. Zeroes are only counted in relation to progress; the grade drops if students are behind pace.

Relative grade - This is the grade that a student would receive if they stopped working and received 0% for all unscored, counted activities. This grade will become active on June 19th.

Percent complete – Percentage of the curriculum completed. Students need to do 5% of the curriculum in each class, each day, to be on pace to complete the class by June 26th.

Unit Scores – Final percent score for each unit completed.

A student will not see every grade entered in PowerSchool. Refer to the CodeHS platform to see every assignment or email me and I can email the students’ progress from their detailed grade report.

Students may retake quizzes twice and resubmit work for a higher grade. Please email me to reset any assignment you wish to redo.

WASD hold students to the highest of academic standards. WASD has a zero tolerance for plagiarism in the classroom. There is no excuse for a student to take credit for the work of someone else's, either another classmate, or from online sites such as AI app's, Course Hero, Brainly, etc.

It does not benefit your learning and could hurt the validity of another student's work as well as yours. If a teacher notices a student who turns in anything that is like other students work, both students will be questioned about their work submitted. Please do your own work.

If there is any form of plagiarism found in your work, the teacher will reach out to you, your family, and your administrator. Upon reviewing the work in question, the teacher will follow the WASD policy on plagiarism (Student-Parent Handbook).

All communication will run through your WASD email account. Please get into a habit of looking at your school email at least once a day. I will not send information to a student's personal email account.

If you do not know your login information, please reach out to IT:

Call the IT Help Desk at (208) 350-5300 M-F 7:30 AM -4:30 PM.

Work hard!!! You can do it. The sooner you are done, the sooner summer starts.