Greetings!

My name is Ted Swendra. I teach Digital Photography, Financial Mathematics, and facilitate our online courses in Schools PLP and Rosetta Stone.

I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics I received from Northern Arizona University in May of 2008. I tutored all levels of mathematics taught at Mohave Community College starting in 2010 including Transitional Mathematics, Beginning Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, College Algebra, Trigonometry, and Calculus. I taught Transitional Mathematics at MCC as Associate Faculty for several years before accepting a job as Academy Mathematics Faculty here at Telesis in October of 2015. At Telesis I have served as Math Interventionist, and taught Algebra I, Algebra II, Algebra III, Geometry, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, and Financial Mathematics. 

Rosetta Stone allows us to offer a wide variety of language courses suited to students’ needs and interests. Most select Spanish, but we have had students take French, Italian, German, Russian, Japanese, Russian, and Gaelic just to name a few of the more exotic programs. 

Schools PLP allows us to offer self paced credit recovery courses, and a variety of electives students would otherwise not be able to take at a smaller school like Telesis. Just to give you an idea of the scope of topics available in Schools PLP, our Academy students have pursued such courses as Astronomy, Veterinary Science, Forensic Science, Culinary Arts, Cosmetology, and Nursing. There are many more PLP courses than I have listed here, and new courses are added to the available PLP library all the time. If you have a particular interest you would like to explore and earn academic credit, please speak to Mrs. Oliveros. 

We incorporate two excellent programs for Financial Math. The Stock Market Game which is part of the Capitol Hill Challenge places students into teams with $100,000 to invest in individual stocks, mutual funds, and bonds. The money isn’t real, but the market data is real. Students have to research companies and make decisions to purchase or sell investments. The other half of Financial Math is conducted through The Budget Challenge. Students participate in a life simulation where they must carefully manage their finances and pay bills while attempting to achieve specific financial goals such as saving for retirement, paying off student loans. 

Digital Photography explores rules of composition, and technical skills operating a DSLR camera. Students learn to control exposure through ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. Students also learn how to set up a photography studio and how to pose and light a subject for portrait photos. We also explore photo editing software and how to digitally manipulate images.