Course Syllabus
Fluency With Information Technology
CS 1000
All Sections
Summer 2008
----------------------
Course Coordinator and Facilitator: Mr. Ron Miller, Computer Science Instructor
Office: Kohrman Hall 2230
Office Phone: 387-5659
Course Lecturer:
Office: Office Phone:
Office Hours: Day Time
Phone:
WMU WebMail:
Web Site:
Course Web Page: http://homepages.wmich.edu/~rmiller
Go! Technology In Action:
http://wps.pearsoncustom.com/pcp_evans_tai_3_2006932250
Go!
With Microsoft Office 2007:
http://www.prenhallcom/go
Lab
Instructor: Office:
Office
Hours WMU
WebMail:
Lab Section Number: Lab Room:
Texts and
Materials:
Required for Lab and Lecture:
Miller, Ron; Fluency with Information Technology Course Manual, My Course Pack, 2008.
Required for Lecture:
Evans, Alan; Martin, Kendall; Poatsy, Mary Anne; Go! Technology In Action: Third Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, Pearson Education, Inc., 2007.
OR
Evans, Alan; Martin, Kendall; Poatsy, Mary Anne; Go! Technology In Action: Fourth Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, Pearson Education, Inc., 2008.
iClicker Remote Transmitter, Classroom Response System, Prentice Hall, Pearson Education, Inc. 2008.
Required for Lab:
Gaskin, Shelly; Ferrett, Robert L.; Vargus, Alicia; Marks, Suzanne; GO! With Microsoft Office 2007 (Introductory), Prentice Hall-Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 2008.
4-5 CD RW Disks and 1 Flash Drive.
Optional
for Project and Course:
Chiras, Daniel D.; Essential Study Skills for Science Students, Brooks/Cole, A Division of Thomson Learning, Inc., 2000.
CS 1000 Course Objectives/Learning Outcomes
Students taking CS 1000 are expected to achieve the following learning objectives:
Lecture and
Lab Registration:
NOTE: You should be registered for both a lecture section and a lab section for this course. All lab sections meet two times a week for 1-hour and 40-minute sessions in your assigned Kohrman Hall computer lab.
Lecture Times/Place: Day Time Building Room
Summer I& Summer II MW 10-11:40 a.m. Wood Hall Room 1301
Course Requirements - ALL Sections Points Percent
Lecture Quizzes (10*)................ 100........................ 9.4
Lab Proficiency Tests (6)......... 275...................... 25.8
Lab Assignments (11).................. 340...................... 31.9
Lecture Participation.. 100........................ 9.4
Midterm Examination... 100........................ 9.4
Final Examination......................... 150...................... 14.1
Total Possible....................... 1065.................... 100.0
*..... A total of 11 lecture quizzes will be given during your lab sessions; your lowest quiz score will be dropped.
Bonus
Lab Attendance (Possible Bonus Points)......... 0-25
Grading Scale - ALL Sections
Points
|
Grade
|
Percent
|
|
958-1000 |
A |
90.0-100 |
|
905-957 |
BA |
85.0-89.9 |
|
852-904 |
B |
80.0-84.9 |
|
798-851 |
CB |
75.0-79.9 |
|
745-797 |
C |
70.0-74.9 |
|
692-744 |
DC |
65.0-69.9 |
|
639-691 |
D |
60.0-64.9 |
|
638 and below |
E |
Below 60.0 |
General
Information and Course Policies
1. As your instructor and course facilitator I will try to assist you in meeting your learning goals for this course. You will, therefore, be expected to have read the scheduled material and be prepared to raise questions about concepts for which you would like more understanding. Additional material (about 30 %) beyond what is included in the textbooks will be incorporated into lecture class discussions. In this class you will be expected to participate in active learning, critical thinking, problem solving, and project design to enhance your knowledge of important computer terms and information technology concepts. In other words, you will learn Fluency with Information Technology through active participation and interactions with your instructors, fellow students and the computers.
2. The Lecture Quizzes will include questions from the extra lecture discussion material (30%) and associated lecture textbook readings (70%). Your lab instructor will also determine the schedule for Lecture Quizzes, which will be given electronically in either lab session of the week following coverage of the material in the lecture session. It is YOUR responsibility to take the quizzes in class on the day they are given as scheduled by your lab instructor. ONLY students with valid documented excuses can make-up quizzes without any deductions. Any attempt to do quizzes outside of class unless monitored by your lab instructor will be detected and result in a zero for the quiz.
3. The Proficiency Tests involve actual performance of skills using the computer, and they are designed so most students can complete them within one lab period. Students who study and practice the computer techniques taught in lab class by doing the homework assignments generally do very well on the Proficiency Tests. You MUST take Proficiency Tests during the scheduled lab class because ONLY students with valid documented excuses (as described above) will be permitted to make-up Proficiency Tests without any deductions.
4. Your lab instructor will announce the specific due dates of the Lab Assignments. Lab instructors will collect your student CDs along with printed copies of assignments for grading because many of the computer techniques can only be seen on a monitor. Each lab instructor will notify you of the policy regarding point deductions for unexcused late assignments. However, grades of unexcused late Lab Assignments and make-up Lecture Quizzes or Proficiency Tests will be reduced according to the following schedule: 1 Week Late – 20 % reduction; 2 weeks Late – 50% reduction; 3 Weeks Late – 100% reduction.
5. About 30% of the questions in the Midterm Exam will come from the lecture discussions, 50% from associated reading, and about 20% of the questions will be from your lab work. Approximately 30% of the questions in the Final Exam will come from material covered after the Midterm Exam in the lecture discussions, 50% from the reading assignments and about 20% of the questions will be on the lab concepts. Make-Up Midterm Exams will be given full credit ONLY under extreme, extenuating circumstances with appropriate documentation. Illnesses will be excused ONLY with written documentation from a doctor. Funeral attendance also must be documented. Requests for make-up of a Midterm Exam must be made within a reasonable time of the scheduled date. The score of anyone taking an unexcused make-up Midterm or Final Exam may be reduced by a maximum of 25% of the total points on the exam.
Funeral attendance also must be documented. Requests for make-up of a Midterm Exam must be made within a reasonable time of the scheduled date. The score of anyone taking an unexcused make-up Midterm or Final Exam may be reduced by a maximum of 25% of the total points on the exam.
6. Good lab attendance is the only anticipated possibility for bonus points in this course. If you do miss lecture or lab sessions, YOU are responsible for obtaining any changes in schedules and lecture notes on the additional covered material. Instructors will NOT repeat the complete lecture or lab discussions for you, although they will help you to understand the material you missed. Be especially aware of additional content provided in lectures (non-textbook material), special lab assignment instructions, due dates, exam schedules and other announcements given during class sessions.
7. Open Tutoring Lab hours have been scheduled in the Kohrman Hall Computer Lab 2213 on the following Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. for students needing extra help. At least one of the lab teaching assistants will be available in Computer Lab Room 2213 during these scheduled hours.
Open Tutoring Lab Schedule
June 7, 14, 21 August 2, 9
8. The last day to withdraw from classes is: Summer I -- June 2, 2008
9. Students who simply fall behind and do not complete the course work without valid documented excuses should NOT expect to receive an "Incomplete" grade. “I” grades are reserved only for special documented cases where extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the student prevent the student from completing the course during the semester schedule.
10. Helpful hints for doing well in this course:
· Attend and actively participate in all lecture and lab discussions.
· Do assigned reading BEFORE lectures and labs.
· Complete assignments on time.
· Always ask questions when you don't understand a computer concept, skill or technique.
· Take advantage of your instructors' office hours, especially those held in CS 1000 computer labs.
· If any unforeseen problems arise (personal or academic) that adversely affect your progress in CS 1000, do NOT wait until you get too far behind to do something about it. Talk to your lab instructor immediately and/or contact the coordinating instructor, for possible assistance.
· SAVE copies of ALL assignments (especially graded copies) and your CD files until you receive your final grade in the course. It's also a good idea to keep backup files and printed copies of every assignment you hand in until you receive the graded copy and CD back from your lab instructor.
11. If necessary, during labs you are encouraged to QUIETLY help other students keep up and understand computer techniques being presented by your lab instructor. You might also form a study team to practice computer techniques, however, your assignments must be your own individual work. Students who duplicate or permit duplication of assignments will be guilty of academic dishonesty (See Policy 13 below.). You can be expelled from class for copying assignments or cheating on quizzes, tests and exams, in addition to being reported to Office of Student Judicial Affairs for violating the Academic Honesty Policy as defined in the Western Michigan University Undergraduate and/or Graduate Catalogs.
12. ACADEMIC HONESTY: The WMU Student Code Book (pages 4-5) states:
"Dishonesty - including but not limited to:
a. Cheating, fabrication, forgery, multiple submission, plagiarism, complicity, or other forms of academic dishonesty. (These violations are defined by the academic community, recommended by the Faculty Senate, adopted by the Board of Trustees and are described in the Undergraduate and Graduate catalogs. The procedures for adjudicating this type of violation are also contained in the catalogs.)"
According to the WMU 2003-2005 Undergraduate Catalog (pages 274-276):
"CHEATING is intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, notes, study aids or other devices or materials in any academic exercise". Examples: Using notes during a closed book exam and using the services commercial term paper companies.
"FABRICATION is the intentional invention and unauthorized alteration of any information or citation in an academic exercise. Falsification is a matter of altering information while fabrication is a matter of inventing or counterfeiting information for use in any academic exercise or University record. Forgery is defined as the act to imitate or counterfeit documents, signatures and the like." Examples: Citing a quote as coming from a book when it actually was taken from a book review and inventing addition data on the basis of one experiment sample.
"MULTIPLE SUBMISSION is the submission of substantial portions of the same work (including oral reports) for credit more than once without authorization from instructors of all classes for which the student submits the work." Example: Submitting a modified paper originally done for one course as new work for another class without authorization by both instructors.
"PLAGIARISM is intentionally, knowingly, or carelessly presenting work of another as your own (i.e. without proper acknowledgement of the source). The sole exception to the requirement of acknowledging sources is when ideas, information, etc., are common knowledge." Examples: Submitting someone else's direct quotations, paraphrases, borrowed facts, computer application files, programs or printouts as your own.
"COMPLICITY is intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another to commit an act of academic dishonesty." Examples: Knowingly allowing another to copy exam or test answers and taking a test for another person.
“COMPUTER MISUSE is the use of software to perform work which the instructor has told students to do without the assistance of software.” Examples: Using the Internet to simply print duplicate search results of others and unauthorized use of email during lab sessions.
Be assured that no instructor of this course will tolerate academic dishonesty in any form. Academic dishonesty of any kind will, at the minimum, result in a grade of zero on the particular assignment or exam. Flagrant Academic Dishonesty also will be reported to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs on an Academic Dishonesty Charge Form for review and judgment. Other possible consequences may result in failing grade in the course and/or dismissal from the University. In the case of plagiarism, the person who ALLOWS his/her work to be copied will be judged equally as guilty (of complicity) as the person who copied the work.
Special Remarks
CS 1000 is an introductory computer/communications course. It assumes students have some prior knowledge and experience with computers and telecommunications. The intent of this course is NOT to make you a computer expert, but to help you acquire a basic Fluency With Information Technology concepts, terms, hardware, and software. In many cases, students who think they know almost everything about the computer concepts and applications taught in this course often do not do as well as those students who apply themselves to learning as much as possible about computers and their use, regardless of their previous knowledge and experience. What YOU learn in this course directly depends on the effort and study YOU put into it.