Most teachers develop class assignment schedules for each of the subjects they teach. These highlight book references, graphic materials, applicable videos, etc. They are usually structured on a calendar basis and are thus at the mercy of every sort of disruption characteristic of a typical school year. This program provides for rapid entry of all class assignments and places that information on a calendar which is flexible enough to handle all possible contingencies associated with a school year.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Entry of multiple class assignment schedules on a manual basis or as text files generated on a favorite word processor
• Display of complete assignment schedule information on a weekly and monthly basis
• Printout of all displays
• Specification of current semester periods, all semester break periods, holidays, pupil free days, etc.
• Dynamic insertion and deletion of class assignments in a process which considers all previously entered holidays, semester breaks, etc.
QUICK START
1. If you have not previously created class assignments files using a word processor see the “Create New Class Schedules” section below.
2. Double click on the program icon to launch the Class Assignments Program. Select ”Get Semester” from the File menu (if you’re previously created a semester file full of class schedules) and continue at step 7. below. Otherwise, select “New Semester” in the File Menu.
3. Enter the beginning and ending semester dates. Click on the OK button.
4. Select “Semester Break“ in the File menu and enter appropriate dates in the display. Repeat as necessary for additional semester breaks (not for individual holidays — see below).
5. Select “Get Class Schedule” from the File menu and identify previously created class assignment files. Click on the OPEN button in the file display. Repeat this process for each class schedule. (This action has been deleted in the demonstration version).
Note: All of the preceding steps need only to be taken once each semester. They establish the major semester file and identify the dates which will not hold class assignments (semester breaks, holidays, weekends, etc.). Adding the class assignment schedules completes the total database.
6. Make any necessary adjustments to class assignments by:
a. selecting the “Insert Assignment” item in the Options menu. Mouse click on the line between days on the screen to insert a new assignment. The screen is redrawn with a blank rectangle at the proper position and all assignments for that class are shifted one day into the future.
b. selecting the “Delete Assignment” item in the Options menu. Mouse click on the appropriate date to delete the assignments posted for that date. The current assignments for that date disappear and all assignments for that class are shifted back in time one day.
c. selecting the “Create Holiday” item in the Option menu and then clicking on an appropriate date on the screen. Use the item entries in the Months menu to select appropriate months. You must repeatedly select the “Create Holiday“ menu item to designate additional dates.
d. mouse clicking on an appropriate date to change/modify the assignment contents. Add changes to the display and click on the date button.
7. View information generated by the program’s displays by selecting:
a. “This Week,” “Next Week,” or “Last Week” in the Options menu. All class schedules for the selected week are displayed.
b. an appropriate class in the “Classes” menu and an appropriate month in the “Months” menu. A class schedule for the selected class and month is displayed
c. the “Print Screen” item in the File menu. The Class Assignment Program will respond by printing the contents of the screen. Note: In the print sequence select the horizontal output option for best results.
8. Update saved information on disk by:
a. selecting the “Save Semester” item in the File menu. Supply an appropriate name for the file which will be created to hold assignment information for all classes. Click on the SAVE button.
b. selecting the “Save Class Schedule” item in the File menu. Supply an appropriate name for the file which will be created to hold assignment information for the class designated in the Classes menu.
DEMONSTRATION FILE
A demonstration file accompanies this program and contains assignment information on five classes. Double click on the program icon and select the “Get Semester” menu item in the File menu. The program will respond by reading the file and created the basic month display featuring the assignments for the first class. All functions in the program (with the exception of the “Get Class Schedule” menu action) are available for use and evaluation.
CREATE NEW CLASS SCHEDULES
It is possible to enter class assignments a day at a time by clicking on individual dates and supplying the appropriate information. A much easier approach is recommended. Open a favorite word processor and type in class assignment information as in the following format example:
•
American History
•
Read chapter 1, Page 115
Discuss new world exploration
Vocabulary Page 16
Questions 1-10, Page 17
•
Read pages 18-24
Discuss Spanish Colonies
Questions 1-8, Page 25
•
Vocabulary Page 26
Video “America’s Frontier”
Homework: Q Page 27-28
•
etc. with one final dot at the end of the assignment list.
The schedule begins with any class name identifying the subject (this is the name that will appear in the Classes menu). The dot characters (Option,8) are required to separate individual day’s assignments. Do not attempt to specify holidays or semester breaks in the assignment sequence.
Once all assignments have been entered, save the file in the word processor’s regular format(as a backup) but also save it as a “TEXT” file (if necessary, refer to your word processor’s documentation for this process). When using the “Get Class Schedule” item in the File menu locate this TEXT file and add it to the total semester data.
Note that it is not necessary to locate and add each class assignment file each time the program is used. Simply select ”Save Semester”in the File menu at the end of a session. Then, when processing resumes, select “Get Semester” from the File menu. All class assignments will then be transferred from the disk to the program’s environment.
MENU SELECTIONS
New Semester - This menu item is selected to create a new file which will hold the assignments for all classes in an upcoming semester. It generates a display requesting the beginning and ending dates for the semester.
Get Semester- This menu item is selected when the user has previously created a semester file at some point in the past and now wishes to retrieve the information in that file (usually at the beginning of every session of program use).
Save Semester - At the conclusion of any session when assignments have been inserted/modified/deleted this option will be selected to save these adjustments. The program asks the user under what file name the information is to be stored (usually a previously named file) and then writes this data to disk. Note that it is not necessary to select this option unless assignments have been inserted/modified/deleted.
Semester Break - There are several periods in a semester when classes are suspended for many days. Selecting this menu option allows the user to easily identify these periods to the program without having to specify each individual day. The program displays a screen asking for the beginning and ending dates for the break period (they must fall within the previously defined semester period). This action may be used to specify several semester break periods.
Get Class Schedule - After creating a new semester file (and possibly entering a “Semester Break“ action (see below), the user will want to load previously created class assignments (see above for the suggested ways to create these files). When ”Get Class Schedule” is selected from the File menu the program displays the contents of the current folder on disk and the user selects an appropriate class file. The contents of this file are then loaded and the first month of assignments are displayed on the screen. The user repeats this action to load all class assignments.
Save Class Schedule - At any time the user may wish to save an individual class assignment schedule. Normally this need only be done at the end of a semester to capture all the changes that have occurred to the schedule during the previous weeks. The information saved will be exclusive of any holiday or semester break data. The user will be asked to supply a file name under which the assignment schedule will be saved.
Print Screen - All monthly and weekly assignment displays may be printed by selecting this menu item. By pressing the Option key with a month display, the program will create a printout for all classes for the selected month. Note: It is suggested that the user select the horizontal printout option for the best presentation of the assignment material.
Quit - This is the menu action to end the program. If semester data has been inserted/modified/deleted and a “Save Semester” action has not been taken, the program will remind the user of this fact with an alert message.
Edit Menu - All of the normal edit menu options (cut, copy, paste, clear) are available to the user. The “Undo” option is not available at any time.
Insert Assignment - A new assignment for a particular class may be inserted at any time in the Monthly Class Assignment Display. The user selects the “Insert Assignment” menu item and then mouse clicks on the left border of the display date before which the new class assignment is to be inserted. The program moves all assignments ahead one date to the first empty date found (ignoring weekends, holidays and semester breaks) and clears the designated date of all assignment information.
Delete Assignment - An assignment for a specific class may be deleted at any time in the Monthly Class Assignment Display. The user selects the “Delete Assignment“ menu item and then mouse clicks on the appropriate date. The program moves all assignments back one day (ignoring weekends, holidays and semester breaks). Note: If the delete action is taken on a date previously designated as a holiday all classes for this date are deleted.
Create Holiday - This menu item is used to designate an individual school holiday. The user selects the “Create Holiday” menu item and then mouse clicks on the appropriate day in the month display. The program responds by moving all class assignments(if they exist on this date) ahead one day (ignoring weekends, other holidays and semester breaks). It then places a special holiday symbol on that date for each of the classes.
This Week, Next Week/Last Week - These special displays may be generated at any time by selecting the appropriate item in the Options menu. The program lists all assignments for each class for the specified week.
Help - This menu option offers a special display with operational instructions for the Class Assignments Program.
Months - This menu lists the months of the year. Selection of one of the months will initiate the display of all the assignments entered this month for the class (subject) selected in the Classes menu.
Classes - Entries in the menu correspond to the assignments for each class (subject) which were entered into the program’s environment immediately following the “New Semester” action. Selecting a particular entry will initiate display of these class assignments for the month selected in the Month menu.
Changing Assignments - The user may change assignments as well as inserting and deleting them. No menu action is necessary. When the mouse is used to click on a particular date the program responds by creating a new display featuring the assignment for the specified date. The user may change any or all of this data. Clicking on the date button at the top of this display informs the program that changes are complete and the month display is redrawn with the new information.
SHAREWARE NOTICE
The Class Assignment Program is shareware. The demonstration version provides a good indication of the program’s capabilities. All functions (with the exception of ”Add Class Schedule”) are operable. To obtain the release version send $10 to:
Dale Blackwell
12621 Neon Way
Granada Hills, California 91344
We’ll return your release version by e-mail if you prefer - or by snail mail if your Internet connection does not provide for file transfer.
We welcome your questions comments about our program. You may send them to the above address or to:
