Computer Fluency CS 111 Syllabus

Spring 2006

 

CS111 Section 50 ALL Online

Instructor: Michael Cassens

Office: TBA

Office Hours: By Appt

University Phone: TBA

Cell: 370-1684

Office: 549-0616

e-mail: michael@silverleaf-consulting.com

URL: http://courseware.umt.edu

 

Overview:

 

This class is designed to give you a good general understanding of computer functions as well as the software that you will undoubtedly interact with.  We will study how to interact with any type of computer whether it be a PC or Mac or some other type of machine.  This course will give you a good understanding of how to interact with your computer.  Additionally, we will cover the basics of Microsoft Word XP and Microsoft Excel XP.  The goal is that you will feel comfortable using these applications so that when you leave this course and take other courses such as CS 171 and CS 172 these concepts will not be completely foreign.  Since the main focus of the course is to learn about computer interaction, we will only cover spreadsheet usage in a general sense, and the lab will provide additional specific practice with Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.

 

Attendance:

 

Since this is an online class, I try to be as flexible as possible.  For sake of consistency however, I will post all lectures for the week on Mondays and Wednesdays, and Friday will be reserved for you to work on your labs.  I will post labs every two weeks and will give a due date.  I typically put announcements out for new labs, homework, and exams.  Additionally, since we have no real class time, I will require that you participate in the discussion board to express your opinions, share and learn with your other classmates.

 

Grading:

 

Homework and Labs 50%

Weekly Discussion Board 10%

2 Exams 10% for each test

Final Exam 20% Scheduled Date: Usually I post it for the first three days of finals week

 

All Assignments will be sent to michael@silverleaf-consulting.com

Your subject must be CS 111 Assignment # (e.g CS 111 Assignment 1)

 

Grading Scale

 

100-90 A, A-            79-70 C+, C, C-       59-and beyond F

89-80 B+, B, B-        69-60 D+, D, D-

 

P/NP – pass/no pass, 70 or greater is passing determined by Computer Science Department policy, which is a C or better.

 

Late Assignments:

  • Late assignments will not be accepted. Sorry for the inconvenience.

 

Requirements

  • Required Texts:
    • Fluency with Information Technology
  • There are no pre-requisites for this course
  • It is highly suggested that you use Microsoft Word 2000/XP/2003 or Microsoft Excel 2000/XP/2003 because it is not guaranteed that we will be able to grade your labs if you use Microsoft Works
    • All labs have Microsoft Office 2000, XP or 2003 installed

 

  • You must enter 2 comments onto the discussion board each week to receive full credit.

 

Suggestions:

  • Even though this is an online course, it would be beneficial to read and ask as many questions as you can.
  • Feel free to set up an appointment if you need help. I am here to help you understand and do well.

 

Collaboration:

  • I encourage you all to work together through problems, but copying and plagiarism will not be tolerated. If you are caught cheating, I will give you an F for the course.

-         Please refer to the Student Conduct Code in how this will be dealt with: http://www.umt.edu/studentaffairs/sccAcademicConduct.htm

     

Incompletes:

 

“Incomplete for the course is not an option to be exercised at the discretion of students. In all cases it is given at the discretion of the instructor….” Some guidelines for receiving an incomplete are listed in the catalog which include having a passing grade up to three weeks before the end of the semester and being in attendance. “Negligence and indifference are not acceptable reasons.” Also note that there may be financial aid implications.

More information located here:

http://www.umt.edu/catalog/acpolpro.htm#28

 

Late Drops:

 

The University’s policy on drops after 30 days of instruction is outlined in the following link: http://www.umt.edu/catalog/acpolpro.htm#5.  The Computer Science Department follows this policy rigorously.  There are five circumstances under which a late drop might be approved:  registration errors, accident or illness, family emergency, change in work schedule, no assessment of performance in class after this deadline.  Except in very unusual circumstances, I will only approve late drops if there is documented justification for one of these circumstances.

 

Disabilities:

           

Students with disabilities should notify the instructor at the beginning of the course. Disabilities should be “certified” by DSS.

 

Class Etiquette:

  • Be respectful of your fellow classmates.
  • Call me anytime if you have a question.
  • Profanity and Obscenity will not be tolerated in class or assignments.

 

Special Dates:

 

  • Washington/Lincoln Holiday Feb 20
  • Spring Vacation March 27-31
  • Fall Registration April 17-28

 

 

Tentative Schedule:

 

Syllabus Review and Assessment Quiz Jan 23

Chapter 1 Terms of Endearment Jan 25-30

Chapter 2 What the Digerati Know Feb 1-6

Chapter 3 Make the Connection Feb 8-13

Exam 1 Review Feb 15

Exam 1 Feb 22-24

 

Chapter 4 Marking up with HTML Feb 27-March 1

Chapter 5 Search for Truth March 6-8

Chapter 6 Search for Guinea Pig March 13-15

Exam 2 Review March 20

Exam 2 March 22-24

 

Spring Break March 27-March 31

 

Chapter 9 Following the Instructions April 3-5

Chapter 12 Computers in Polite Society April 10-12

Chapter 17 Shhh, It’s a Secret April 17-19

Web Quest April 24-26

Review for Final May 1-3

Final Exam May 8-10