Career & Technical Education Course Descriptions

Intro to Construction (Full year/5 credits)

Prerequisites: None

**Elective for students in grades 10-12**

This is an introductory-level course is presented in two phases and provides students with the opportunity to develop basic knowledge and skills in the area of residential construction technology. The initial phase is accomplished through a woodworking technology medium with time devoted to the proficiency and the proper application of basic hand tools, machines, and techniques as well as following given safety guidelines that are stressed throughout the course. The secondary phase allows students to continue developing their newly acquired abilities and introduces students to new construction processes and skills; including interpreting basic construction drawings; applying construction math; identifying building materials and structural parts of a house; exploring construction systems, as well as reviewing the planning and managing stages of the construction of a residential building. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will have developed the basic knowledge and skills that can be applied to a career pathway related to construction. Additionally, they will be able to work safely and effectively on basic tasks in a home shop situation.

 

 

Construction Technology (Full year/5 credits)

Prerequisites: Intro to Construction and Teacher Recommendation)

**Elective for students in grades 11-12**

This course surveys the major procedures involved with the on-site construction of residential buildings. It is designed for students who desire to attain greater knowledge and skills regarding various facets of construction technology. This hands-on course begins by allowing students to continue to become proficient at utilizing tools, machines, and techniques safely at a more advanced level through a woodworking medium. It than focuses on various construction processes that include: interpreting construction blueprints, applying construction math, building layout and concrete construction processes; as well as residential framing and finishing techniques. Students will gain hands-on experience by actually constructing a scaled-down model house section. This course is structured to better prepare students for a smooth transition from school to meaningful employment or post-secondary training. A segment of this course will be dedicated to career education where students will explore various careers related to the construction industry, review career decision-making techniques and job-training requirements, examine research and job searching strategies, as well as learn to prepare a resume, a cover letter, and know what to expect during an interview process. 

 


Tech Inventions and Innovations (Full year/5 credits)

Prerequisites: None

**Elective for students in grades 10-12**

This course is designed to emphasize the nature of inventing and innovating while allowing students to explore various areas of technology. Students will be given the opportunity to design, experiment, develop, and construct projects that serve as solutions for given design problems as they learn about various common technologies and apply basic engineering processes. They will follow a logical step-by-step problem-solving model as they apply basic design and engineering principles that are used in industry. The goal is to develop student knowledge and appreciation of technology in addition to building confidence in their own problem solving skills. The areas that will be explored include, but are not limited to, communication, construction, manufacturing, transportation, and energy/power technologies. Computers, tools, machines and various types of materials are used for prototyping and project development. Applying math, science and communication skills will be a necessity to find the best solutions. Careers are also explored giving students a better understanding of future career opportunities within the technology spectrum.

 


Technical Drawing CAD (Full year/5 credits)

Prerequisites:None

**Elective for students in grades 10-12**

Bergen Community College Dual Enrollment Eligible Course (3 credits)

This course provides students with an understanding of the basic concepts related to communicating technical information and design ideas. Communication through drawings and sketches generated by hand and/or computers are essential to many careers in business and industry. Through a series of hands-on experiences, students will become familiar with freehand sketching, scale drawing, print reading, visualizations, mechanical drawing, and computer-aided drafting (CAD). One, two and three-view drawings are used to explain designs graphically. Additionally, through the use of TLA’s (Technology Learning Activities), students will learn to apply problem solving design techniques that are used by drafters, design engineers, interior designers, and the building trades. Other various careers related to this area will also be explored.

 


Engineering CAD (Full year/5 credits)

Prerequisites: Technical Drawing CAD

**Elective for students in grades 10-12**

Bergen Community College Dual Enrollment Eligible Course (3 credits)

This course serves as a capstone of our Drafting/CAD program focusing on concepts and techniques used for the design, production, and promotion of various products. Students will employ some manual drafting applications, but there will be an emphasis on computer-aided drafting skills to create working drawings and computer simulations for a variety of applications. Topics will include specification interpretation, orthographic projection, sectional views, threads, fasteners, and tolerancing, assembly drawings, perspectives, and advanced isometrics. There will be projects undertaken in which students will produce all necessary drawings for the manufacture of products through the implementation of “Reverse Engineering.” This course will also provide students with an understanding of concepts related to interpreting and communicating engineering-related technical design areas in which CAD is commonly implemented. These specialized fields include, - civil drafting, HVAC/sheet metal drafting, electrical and electronics drafting, as well as structural drafting with architectural applications. The skills, knowledge, and problem-solving design techniques that students will continue to develop will be essential to many careers relevant to architecture, industrial and interior design, manufacturing and construction, commercial and graphic arts, as well as many other professions in the engineering, trade, and technical fields.

 

TV Production (Half year/2.5 credits) (Currently a Language Arts elective)

Prerequisites: None

This course introduces students to the fundamentals of television production. Students will be introduced to the basic concepts of television production through a multitude of assignments. The first half of the course will be spent teaching these concepts to students; the second half will be project-oriented, which enables students to learn about and use equipment used in the video production field. They work cooperatively in a TV studio and field setting to produce content that is shown on MSG Varsity and GTV. Participation in some after school projects is a required part of the course.

 

 

Editing/Studio(Full year/5 credits) (Currently a Language Arts elective)

Prerequisites:TV Production

This course is a continuation of Television Production. It is intended to enhance the skills previously taught, as well as introduce students to the postproduction process of video editing. Students will be responsible for editing videos that are filmed throughout the year as well as creating in-house videos through the use of a live switcher. As in Television Production, the creation of programming for GTV involves some required after school participation.

 

 

Broadcast Journalism (Full year/5 credits) (Currently a Language Arts elective)

Prerequisites: TV Production and Editing/Studio

In this course, experienced Television Production and Editing students apply the skills they have learned to produce programs that are used throughout the school and district. The purpose of this course is to fully enhance their skills in television production. They will be further introduced to the laws, regulations and ethics that personnel in television production may face. Students will also be responsible for producing a morning announcement/news show for GHS, which will both be informative and entertaining. This will require basic public speaking and interviewing skills, which students will improve upon throughout the course. Due to the advanced nature of this course, much of the work is completed independently. This course is writing and filming intensive, and requires after school participation.

 

 

Computer Applications 

(Half Year)

2.5 Credits  

Grades:  10-12

Prerequisite:  None  

        

This entry-level course introduces the student to Microsoft Office 2007. Students will complete projects with real-life examples to develop skills they will need in everyday computing. The student will be introduced to Word Documents, Excel Work Sheets and Power Point Presentations. They will have the opportunity to enhance their skills in these programs that are a necessity in college and many careers.

VEX Robotics (Half Year/2.5 credits)

Prerequisites: None

With the growing societal need to enhance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instruction in classrooms and beyond, there is a call for integrated learning programs that allow teachers to engage students meaningfully in STEM,. With that in mind, we will be working with the VEX Curriculum as a companion to the VEX platform for our students. Students will have the opportunity to build an array of projects from simple machines to fully autonomous robots that will perform specific actions. Students will also be using basic coding blocks to program these robots. 

 



 

Web Design (Half year/2.5 credits)

Prerequisites: None

This course provides students with basic knowledge of HTML, CSS and Java Script as well as basic skills for designing and creating websites. Students will use these skills and knowledge to create personal fully functional websites that display their interests.  Students will have the opportunity to discover a special interest in web design as a possible future career.  

 

Physical Computing with Raspberry Pi and Arduino (Half year/2.5 credits)

Prerequisites: None

This one-semester course provides students with the fundamental knowledge of physical computing and making. Students learn how a computer works and structured programming in C for software development for interfacing electronics and sensors using ultra-low-cost computers of Arduino and Raspberry Pi (Pi). The topics include programming constructs, data types and declaration of variables, expressions and operators, selection statements, repetition, functions for modular programming, arrays for statistical data analysis, plotting for visualizing data, processing data files, real-world application projects. The emphasis of the course is to introduce the students to software development concepts for interface with hardware using Arduino and Pi. Students learn how to program Arduino and Pi with a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI). Students also learn basics of electronics and how Arduino responds to sensors using enlightening examples. Then, students design and build more fun prototypes based on their imagination as team projects. At the end, student teams present their projects.


 

Cooperative Marketing Education(Full year/5 credits)

Prerequisites: None

Cooperative Education is a 5-credit class that provides students with an introduction to the world of work. The course is designed so that students spend one half of the school day in academic classes and the remainder of the school day at an approved work site. The course has a complimentary class in which students learn about career opportunities, job searching, interviewing, resume and correspondence writing, workers’ rights, work safety and basic first aid, and personal finance. Available to seniors only the prerequisites for this class are as follows: must be a senior in good standing, i.e. academic credits to support senior status, completed application for acceptance into the program, and teacher recommendation.