Through a combination of lectures, lab activities, and project assignments, this course will cover a set of basic application software on the personal computer. The application set will include the following Windows-based packages.
- Windows Operating System
- Internet and Web browser
- FTP
- Word Processor
- Presentation Graphics
- Spreadsheet
- Database Management System
MS Office XP will be used for the last four applications. An overview of the Windows operating system will precede the introduction to all these packages.
The course is intended to help students to:
- To use the personal computer in productive ways
- To learn the basic components of the computer system
- To acquire basic understanding of computer networks
- Become familiar with the World Wide Web as a source of information
- Be able to use electronic mail on regular basis for communication and file transfer
- Be able to use FTP for file transfer
- Use a word processor system for creating, editing, and printing letters, reports, and other forms of documents
- Use an electronic spreadsheet to produce simple accounting and other computational style tables and create graphs based on such data
- Use a presentation graphics package to create electronic slides as aids for formal presentations
- Use a database management system to create, edit, move, sort, merge, and select data records and produce formatted reports
Exploring Office XP Volume 1 - Enhanced Edition, by Robert Grauer and Maryann Barber. Prentice Hall, ©2003. ISBN: 0-13-182405-8-
CIS 103 is a "hands-on" course. Most of your learning will come through lab exercises and projects. Lectures and demonstrations are designed to help you in completing your work. You are responsible for the readings that accompany each exercise. In a typical class you will do hands-on-exercises, either under the instructor's lead or by yourself. After each class, you should submit a document to show that you have completed an exercise.
You are expected to spend several hours per week outside the class to complete projects and other assignments.
The manner of submitting your exercises and projects will be explained in the class.
The following elements will be considered in calculating the semester grade. Refer the the section on Grading for more details.
- Lab Exercises
- Projects
- Tests
- Class Participation (especially attendance)
- Final Exam
The time in the classroom will be used for lectures, demonstrations, tests, and exercises. Most often in the class you will follow Hands-On Exercises as described in the textbook and described by the instructor. The schedule of topics to be covered is listed in the Class Schedule. After you practice these exercises, you should be able to complete the project assignments (PA) which are due on the dates indicated in the Class Schedule. You are expected to spend time outside the class to complete your exercises.The following conditions are required for each exercise and project.
They must be handed in on the dates indicated on the Class Schedule. Web page as Lab x (where x is a number).
- On each page at the top-right corner, indicate
- Your full name
- Class number
- Date due
- Chapter & Hands-On Exercise number--e.g. WD Ch. 2, HOE 2, as it appears on the Schedule page
- Save your document file as follows:
- yourLastnameCategoryNumber.doc
- For example, suppose your name is Tommy Chang. HOE No. 5 should be saved as
changHOE05.doc.
Project No. 3 should be saved as:
changProj03.doc.
More than in other classes, you learn by doing in this class. Throughout the semester, there will be several Project Assignments (PA), which involve less specific instructions and more reading and looking up on your part than the lab exercises conducted in the class. The PA's will be graded on the quality of work and evidence of care that goes into their completion, in addition to their completeness and timeliness. You will find the descriptions for PA's in the documents linked from the class Schedule page.
Any exercise or project turned in after the due date is considered one day late and counts the same as if it were turned in the next day. Assignments which are late (up to one week) will incur a 30% penalty. Those which are more than one week late will receive not more than 50% of the regular credit.The last PA, which will be due near the end of the semester, is a special project which requires an oral presentation accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation graphics. The last two class sessions will be devoted to these presentations of class members. Refer to a separate page which describes the PA.
There are a number of tests scheduled for the term, in addition to the final exam. Some of these test will be of on-line format. The format and contents of such tests will be described in the class. Their dates are indicated in the Class Schedule. (The format for the final exam will be announced later in the term.) In general, there will be no make-up tests. Special cases will be considered when there are valid reasons, but arrangements must be made before the scheduled test dates.
Please get in the habit of making sure that your cell phone or beeper is turned off before you enter the classroom. Be mindful of the fact that an unexpected noise is disturbing to fellow students, as well as to the instructor.Return to Top
The University Student Handbook defines plagiariasm as follows: "Plagiarism is the offering of another as one's own. Plagiarism is a serious offense and may include, but is not limited to, the following:
- Comple or partial copying directly from a published or unpublished source without proper acknowledgement to the author. Minor changes in wording or ayntax are not sufficient to avoid charges of plagiarism. Proper acknowledgment of the source of a text is always madatory.
- Paraphrasing the work of another without proper author acknowledgment.
- Submitting as one's own original work (however freely given or purchased) the original exam, research paper, manuscript, report, computer file, or other assignment that has been prepared by another individual."
Each student is expected to complete his or her own assignments. Although modern work environments require extensive teamwork, one of the main goals in this class is that each student learn the basic skills in computer usage through individual practicing. You are encouraged to consult each other in your class work. But you must distinguish between consulting your friends and discussing problems with them from copying other people's work.
Whatever you submit for grading must be your own work. The penalty for copying in tests, project assignments, or lab exercises is, for the first offense, a grade of F for all parties involved; for the second offense, an F for the course.
Each exercise, both PA and Lab assignments, should have the following information clearly provided at the right top corner of the page.
- Your name
- PA or Hands-On Exercise Number
- Page Number in the text book
- Date Assigned (for HOE)/Date Due (for PA)
All PA and HOE hardcopies should be stapled or fastened with a paper clip. (Penalty points will deducted for if the pages are not fastened.)
Regular class attendance is important for several reasons. First, you are responsible for all materials discussed in the class. Second, you should use the assigned lab time as effectively as you can, while a direct help from the instructor is available. Third, coming to class regularly is a good motivation for practicing with software packages, even if you are learning them mostly by yourself. Attendance will be taken at all class sessions. (See the section on Grading for attendance scores.) Generally speaking, there will be no make-up tests or quizzes. Exceptions will be considered, with prior arrangements, only for excused absences because of serious reasons. Be sure to inform the instructor when you foresee that you must miss a test. A missed test or quiz due to an unexcused absence receives a grade of 0.
The semester grade will be based on the following elements of your course responsibilities: (Points in various categories and total points are subject to change.)
| Tests | 50 x 3 | = | 150 |
| Projects | 10 x 7 + 50 x 1 | = | 120 |
| Labs (HOE) | 5 x 30 | = | 150 |
| Attendance | 50 | = | 50 |
| Finals | 100 x 1 | = | 100 |
| ---------------------------------------- | |||
| Total | 570 | ||
The following guidelines will be used in determining the final grades.
A: >= 90; B: >= 80; C: >= 70; D: >= 60; F: < 60
For "quick" questions the email is the simplest way to contact me. Feel free to drop in at my office during office hours or to set up an appointments outside those hours. (I am around my office usually in the afternoon.) When you need help in debugging programs, bring a copy of the code that is causing the problem.
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