Digital Photography

I am taking digital photography(the class) and all we do is read the whole period, I want to know the main things to know to pass the class instead of all the other crap!

The others all make valid points, but miss the most basic point of all – the thing to remember about Digital Photography is that it is Photography, just with a particular type of equipment.
Learn about Photography, it really is not that difficult.Stuff like:
Aperture – another name for an opening.
The odd numbering system is no more than how big the opening is compared to the focal length of the lens (you don’t have to know what that means yet – it’s marked on the lens). For example, if you have a 100mm lens, and the size of the opening is 50mm, then that size of opening/aperture is f2 (100 divided by 50 = 2) and so on. It also means that the smaller the number, the bigger the opening and the more light will enter the camera, and vice versa.
Shutter speed:
The device built into the camera that uncovers the light-sensitive area for a controllable amount of time. The numbers are usually fractions of a
second, eg 60 =1/60 sec, 1000 = 1/1000 sec and so on, until you get to long exposures (which just means how long the light sensor is ‘exposed’ to the light going through the lens). With longer times the numbers refer to whole seconds. The way the numbers increase/decrease is an approximate doubling of the preceding number or, going the opposite way, a halving of the preceding number.
A Stop:
each ‘difference’ in shutter speed or aperture is called a ’stop’. The camera controls can be altered in parts of a stop, often thirds – look at the way the numbers change as you alter the settings.
I’ll stop there, because you need to do some of your own work.
The point is not to be scared of the terminology and the equipment. The camera is no more than a tool, a means by which you communicate how you see the world.
If you need some more help, see my profile and get in touch; I’ll help if I can.