VESTAVIA HILLS BUSINESS EDUCATION
Business Information Technology Pathway
Business Software Applications I
is a one-credit course that emphasizes the skills required to create, edit, and publish industry-appropriate documents. Areas of instruction include the integration of word processing, desktop publishing, spreadsheets, database management, and presentation software as well as the use of emerging technologies. Students will have the opportunity to gain industry-recognized credentials to document basic computer skills needed for future education or employment. This course satisfies the Career Prep A requirement and counts as a Career and Technical Education (CTE) credit. This is the foundation class for all of the Business Pathways.
Credential: Microsoft Office Specialist 2019/Office 365 (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)
Computer Game & Simulation Programming
is a one-credit course designed to equip students with the skills needed to prepare for higher education and for success in careers such as computer game simulators, designers, programmers, or software developers. The course integrates core academic subjects with elements of visual design, digital audio, and video, storyboarding, and collaboration to attain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to compete successfully in the gaming production industry. This course contains many simple programming exercises to reinforce the theory and stimulate understanding. The instructor will use the following but are not limited to Block-Based Programming and more to teach these programming concepts.
Prerequisite: Business Software Applications
AP Computer Science Principles
introduces students to the central ideas of computer science, instilling the ideas and practices of computational thinking and inviting students to understand how computing changes the world. The rigorous course promotes deep learning of computational content, develops computational thinking skills, and engages students in the creative aspects of the field. The course is unique in its focus on fostering students to be creative. Students are encouraged to apply creative processes when developing computational artifacts and to think creatively while using simulations to explore questions that interest them. Rather than teaching a particular programming language or tool, the course focuses on using technology and programming as a means to solve computational problems and create exciting and personally relevant artifacts. Students will design and implement innovative solutions using an iterative process similar to what artists, writers, computer scientists, and engineers use to bring ideas to life. The course requires students to complete two performance tasks for assessment in addition to the AP exam in May. This course satisfies either one of the four math units required for graduation or one CTE credit. This course counts as one of three courses for the National Technical Honor Society. The AP score for this course is as follows:
-
Create Performance Task-24%
-
Explore Performance Task-16%
-
AP Exam-60%
Programming with Robots (Robotics Team)
is a one-credit course designed for students on the Vestavia Hills High School Robotics Team. Students will be working with VEX robots and RobotC programming software. These students will be expected to participate in Vex Robotics Competitions. This course counts as a CTE credit.
Prerequisite: Business Software Applications; Application process.
Cybersecurity
is a one-credit course that introduces students to the tools and concepts of cybersecurity and encourages them to create solutions that allow people to share computing resources while protecting privacy. Nationally, computational resources are vulnerable and frequently attacked; in Cybersecurity, students solve problems by understanding and closing these vulnerabilities. This course raises students’ knowledge of and commitment to ethical computing behavior. It also aims to develop students’ skills as consumers, friends, citizens, and employees who can effectively contribute to communities with a dependable cyber-infrastructure that moves and processes information safely. This course can count in one of three ways a CTE elective, 3rd/4th Science, or 4th Math.
_jfif.jpg)
Career Pathway Project - IT
is a capstone one credit course designed for career and technical education students interested in the Computer Science or IT field. Students must have completed two or more Computer Science and IT courses. This course allows students to utilize their secondary coursework through an experience that showcases their learning. It provides an opportunity for a student to choose an area of interest and engage in an in-depth exploration of the area while demonstrating problem-solving, decision-making, and independent-learning skills. The CPP contributes to an educational plan of challenging courses and practical experiences that prepares students for the workplace or for pursuing further education.
During the CPP the student works with his or her coordinating teacher, academic teachers, and with a product or process mentor who has expertise in the student’s field of study. At the conclusion of the CPP, the student presents or demonstrates knowledge gained to an audience consisting of the coordinating teacher, academic teachers, the product or process mentor, peers, and community and business representatives. This course counts as one of three courses for the National Technical Honor Society.
Prerequisite: Have completed two IT courses
