CS 100 - Spring 2008
Computer Basics

Online Syllabus: www.cs.bgsu.edu/rconway

 

Classroom

111 Hayes Hall  (025 Hayes Hall on Fridays)

Class time

MWF

Materials

You need two disk (floppy, zip or flash)

Required Textbooks

1. Shelly, Cashman, and Vermaat  "Discovering Computers 2006 - A Gateway to Information,"  Thomson, 2006.  [DC]

 

2. Shelly, Cashman, and Vermaat  "Office XP2003 Introductory Concepts and Techniques,"  Thomson, 2006.     [XP]

 

Instructor

Ron Conway

Office

224 Hayes Hall (Phone: 372-8777)

Office Hours

Regular hours: MWF (1:30p– 2:30p) ,  MWF (4:30p– 5:00p) ,

or by appointment only: MWF (9:00a – 9:30a), (5:00p – 5:30p),

T (12-1pm)

Websites

http://www.cs.bgsu.edu/rconway         

Email

rconway@bgnet.bgsu.edu

Dept Office

221 Hayes Hall (Phone: 372-2337)

 

 

Catalog Description:

CS 100. Computer Basics (3)

Computer technology and related social issues. Hardware, software, applications in diverse areas. Problems concerning computerized services, data banks, governmental controls. Problem solving using software packages (such as hypertext, spreadsheets, word processing, database, presentation graphics, etc.). Credit not allowed for both CS 100 and MIS 200. Credit not applicable toward major or minor in computer science. Prerequisite: one year of high school algebra or MATH 095.

 

Lab Days:

            There will be scheduled in-class lab every Friday excluding exam dates.  On these days you will go directly to the hayes hall lab in 025.

 

Consulting:

            A schedule of graduate student consultants is available at:

            http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/compsci/consulting.html

 

 

Course Objectives:

·         To gain familiarity with an integrated desktop application

·         To understand the problems for which the applications (word processing, spreadsheets, databases) are to be used. 

·         To gain familiarity with the Internet and Internet applications

·         Understanding the types and impact of today’s decisions about the information superhighway on tomorrow’s society, taxpayers...

·         Understand the binary number system and why computers use binary as opposed to decimal

·         Understand what are the issues that drive hardware?  What are the historical solutions?  What are the solutions of the future likely to be like?

·         Understand what are the issues that drive software?  What are the historical solutions?  What are the solutions of the future likely to be like?

·         Understand some characteristics of telecommunications that are likely to impact their computing experiences

·         Understand how to buy a computer for themselves

·         Understand that issues in computing exist in a wider social context.  Understand how technology effect our culture

·         Understand the role of various computer professionals

·        Understand the ethical issues related to technology (software piracy, unauthorized access, etc.).  Understand the relationship between security and privacy as related to computing

 

Course Outline:

 

                 See web syllabus for full details: http://www.cs.bgsu.edu/rconway

 

Grading Policy:

The final grades are assigned based on student performance on assignments and exams, and are not negotiable. Specifically, you will be evaluated on the following:

 

Exams

200

Quizzes

75

Lab Assignments

145

Binary Numbers

20

Ethics Discussion

10

Final

100

Total:

550 points

 

  • Exams: There will be two exams worth 100 points each. All exams are in-class and closed-book.
  • Quizzes: There will be 4 quizzes worth 25 points each. Quizzes will emphasize recent material covered since the previous quiz or exam.  The lowest quiz will be dropped.
  • Lab Assignments

      12 laboratory assignments (each 2 to 15 points) will be given during the semester.  The amount of points and assignments are subject to change.

 

• One assignment involving getting to know the cs100 resources.

• One assignment involving electronic mail and web surfing.

• Three Word Processing (MS Word) assignments.

• Three Spreadsheet (MS Excel) assignments.

                        • Three Database (MS Access) assignment.

                        • One Presentation (MS PowerPoint) assignment.

      Each assignment will be submitted at the end of the lab for full credit. Late assignments will be accepted with a 40% deduction. 

        These assignments should represent your own work; you may not consult with other individuals in developing solutions to assigned problems in the lab.  Conferring with another person on these problems will be viewed as a violation of the academic honesty code.  Any questions regarding a problem should be directed to the instructor or graduate assistant.

·        Binary Number – You will complete a worksheet on converting, adding, subtracting and multiplying binary numbers.

·         Ethics Discussion – You will participate in an online small group discussion on various topics involving ethical computer use. Topics will range from illegally downloading media, controversial non conformist internet groups, social websites, violent video games, RFID monitoring, etc

·        Final Exam (up to 20 % comprehensive)

 

Final Grades:

The final grade for the course will be determined by the total number of points earned.

Grade

Points

Percent

A

506

92%

B

541

82%

C

396

72%

D

341

62%

F

< 341

< 62%

Checking Grades:

Your grades will be made available upon your request (optionally) on my website.  The grade will be posted anonymously by a randomly created 4 digit number. 

The address of the webpage is www.cs.bgsu.edu/rconway/grades

 

Important Dates

Quizzes

 (1/23, 2/29 (in the lab), 3/24, 4/21)

Holiday  (No class)

1/21 , 3/3 thru 3/7

Exams

2/15, 4/4

 

Attendance

·      Attendance in class is integral to the learning process.  In addition, any quizzes that are missed cannot be made up, so attendance is essential.  Students are expected to arrive for class and be in their seats by the scheduled beginning of class.

 

·      Students with an excellent attendance record will receive 12 bonus points. The third excused/unexcused day will result in a reduction of 5 bonus points.  The forth excused/unexcused day will result in the remaining deduction of the bonus points.  Subsequent unexcused absences will result in a 10 point deduction from your total points for each day missed. If you miss less than 6 unexcused days and are not habitually late, some or all of these points (excluding bonus points) will be added back to your grade.

 

Makeup Exams

·      There will not be make-up exams except for the most serious of reasons such as confinement in the hospital or other emergencies.  Contact the instructor or the department office immediately if you will miss an exam.  As an example, if your car breaks down without you reporting it to the instructor or the main office before the scheduled exam time, it will not merit a makeup exam. Makeup exam will be given in a different format (short answers, compare/contrast and explanation questions), on a later date and may cover new material.

·      For scheduled official events (such as competition or conference), discuss this with the instructor in advance.

Codes of Conduct and Academic Honesty

·         The instructor and students in this course will adhere to the University’s general Codes of Conduct defined in the BGSU Student Handbook.  Specifically, the Code of Academic Conduct (Academic Honesty Policy) requires that students do not cheat, fabricate, plagiarize or facilitate academic dishonesty. For details, refer to:

                                                                                                                     

Ø       BGSU Student Handbook (http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/sa/book/Student_Handbook.pdf)

Ø       The Academic Charter, B.II.H (http://www.bgsu.edu/downloads/file921.pdf)

Ø       Student Discipline Programs (http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/sa/judicial/academic/index.html)

Ø       CS Dept Policy (http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/compsci/policies/honesty.html)

·         Assignments are meant to be individual assignments.  While a certain amount of collaboration is expected and encouraged, there is a fine line between collaboration and cheating.  Collaboration should be use to explain assignments in a general way.  This does NOT include demonstrating techniques and sharing detailed material. Providing another student with part or all of a solution is clearly cheating. 

·         Cheating will result in failing the course, along with possible expulsion from the University.  Any student suspected of cheating on an exam/quiz will be asked to turn in the exam/quiz immediately and/or will be reported to the University.

Disability Policy

·      In accordance with the University policy, if the student has a documented disability and requires accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, he or she should contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester and make this need known.  Students with disabilities must verify their eligibility through the Office of Disability Services for Students, 413 South Hall, 419-372-8495. (http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/sa/disability/index.html) 

 

Religious Holidays

·         It is the policy of the University to make every reasonable effort allowing students to observe their religious holidays without academic penalty. In such cases, it is the obligation of the student to provide the instructor with reasonable notice of the dates of religious holidays on which he or she will be absent. Absence from classes or examinations for religious reasons does not relieve the student of responsibility for completing required work missed. Following the necessary notification, the student should consult with the instructor to determine what appropriate alternative opportunity will be provided, allowing the student to fully complete his or her academic responsibilities. (As stated in The Academic Charter, B-II.G-4.b at: http://www.bgsu.edu/downloads/file919.pdf)

 

Tape Recording Policy

·         Students are not authorized to make recordings during class without permission from the instructor.   

 

Cell Phones, Pagers, and Personal Digital Assistants

·         The use of cell phones, pagers, and personal digital assistants (PDAs) is not allowed in class.  Cell phones, pagers and PDAs must be turned off and put out of sight during class.

 

BGNet E-mail

·         It is important that you check your bgnet email regularly since important information concerning this course will be sent to that email address.  (Go to ITS TSC (Hayes 100) to forward your bgnet emails to another account.)

Course Schedule:

 

Discovering:         Introducing Computers                                                                                       CH. 1                     

Topic:                     The Internet and World Wide Web                                                                  CH. 2     

                                Application Software                                                                                          CH. 3     

                                The Components of the System Unit                                                               CH. 4     

                                Input                                                                                                                      CH. 5     

                                Output                                                                                                                   CH. 6     

                                Storage                                                                                                                  CH. 7

                                Operating Systems and Utility                                                                           CH. 8

                                Communication and Networks                                                                           CH. 9

                                Computer Security, Ethics and Privacy                                                            CH. 11   

 

                                                               

Office                     Intro to Windows XP                                                                                          In Class Demo/Handout                    

Topics                    MS Word (Purple tab)                         Word processing                                 PROJECT 1,2,3     

                MS Access (Orange tab)                    Database                                               PROJECT 1,2,3     

                                MS Excel  (Green tab)                          Spreadsheet                                          PROJECT 1,2,3   

                                PowerPoint  (Teal tab)                         Presentation                                          In Class Demo/Handout                    

 

Other                     Binary Numbers                                                                                                   In Class Demo/Handout

Topics

 

Caveat:   The above schedule and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.