Course Expectations and Tentative Syllabus

CSC:152 Introduction to Computing – Science Applications Spring 2009

Section 01:           Room: 129 Olney Hall              Time: MWF 9:00-9:50am 

Professor:    Dr Redmond                                                              Office Hours: MWF 10:00-10:50am

                       330 Olney Hall   (215) 951-1096                                                              Thur 10:00am-12:15pm

redmond@lasalle.edu                                                                                  And at other times by appointment

http://www.lasalle.edu/~redmond/teach/152                                        

Texts:

· Exploring Series, Microsoft Office Word 2007 Volume 1 by Grauer and Hulett, Pearson/ Prentice Hall,

ISBN 978-0-13-157273-7

· Exploring Series, Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Volume 1 by Grauer and Krebs, Pearson/ Prentice Hall,

ISBN 978-0-13-157268-3

· Exploring Series, Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Volume 1 by Grauer, Mulbery, Scheeren, Pearson/ Prentice Hall,

ISBN 978-0-13-233077-0

Materials:

You will find it convenient to have a USB storage device (“flash drive”, “jump drive”,  …) .  Most assignments will require you to submit your work to Blackboard Course Management System; however, you may want storage you can carry around with you.  

You should keep copies of all of your assignments at least until you receive your grade for the assignment (and don’t have any questions about it)..

In addition, you should get into the habit of saving often, and saving backup copies of important files. (You should know its name and location. If you save a file in a space that is not allocated to you (such as the C: drive of a lab computer), you risk losing it.). Missing or destroyed files are not acceptable excuses for incomplete assignments.

 You will also find it convenient to have Microsoft Office 2007. It is available for use in public labs on campus if you do not.

Course Description:

Survey of computers and computer systems; problem solving and computer applications for science and mathematics including data analysis and regression; word processing; design and use of electronic spreadsheets; presentation software; Information literacy, including informed use of library search and the World Wide Web. Creation of WWW pages.

                This course is about using the computer as a tool (“computer fluency”). It is also about basic knowledge of computers (“computer literacy”). It is also concerned with making use of information (“information literacy”). It is really about surviving in the 21^st Century!

                All class periods will be in the lab. There will, however be times when class time will involve lecture or discussion. Do NOT use the computers as a distraction from class when we are not using them (i.e. no game playing, instant messaging, private e-mail). There will be some in-class time for working on most assignments. In your own time, it is expected that you will do reading, further hands-on learning, and complete assignments when not finished in lab.

Sometimes we will shuffle material around so the attached tentative course plan is tentative.

Prerequisite: None

Grading: Final Grades:

   Assignments                      20%                                                                                        B+     88-89           C+     78-79           D+     68-69

   Concepts Project              10%                                                        A     92-100           B       82-87           C       72-77           D       60-67

   Research Project               20%                                                        A-    90-91             B-      80-81           C-      70-71

   2 Midterm Exams            30%                                                                                                                                                        F        < 60

   Final  Exam                       20%                                                                                                                                                       

Late Assignments  -20% per class – nothing accepted more than 2 classes late

      UNLESS SPECIFIED OTHERWISE ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS

      --10% if “same day late” -  handed in after start of class

   Makeup exams only by advance arrangements or for documented real emergencies, such as medical problems. Makeup may involve substituting your final exam score for the missing midterm.

   The Final Exam is not cumulative.

    The Computer Concepts Project will be an exercise in which you investigate a number of computer-related concepts.  More details will follow later. I will post each person’s answers, and there will be some questions on the final exam on these concepts.

    The Research Project will involve researching a topic related to computers’ impact on science or science’s impact on computing (some suggestions will be offered).  Research should make use of your “information literacy” skills. The end result will be a paper AND a PowerPoint presentation file, AND a WWW page that you create. More details will follow later. A preliminary hand in (Due 3/27)  is worth 5%, and the final hand in is worth 20%.

Cheating:

Claiming another's work as your own is cheating. A student caught cheating will receive a score of zero for the assignment. Asking another for help on a step or two in a many-step homework or lab assignment is acceptable; handing in duplicate or nearly duplicate work is not. Finally, openly allowing your work to be copied is also cheating. Plagairism, be it from a book, a web site or a fellow student, will be considered cheating.

Open Lab Location:                 Wister Building basement lab is available. Last semester the hours were:

Mon-Thu: 8am-11pm

                                                                                Fri: 8am-7pm

                                                                                Sat: 9am-7pm

                                                                                Sun: 12pm-11pm

                                                There are other labs on campus with varying availability.

Objectives

1. Understand and appreciate the power and use of computers and information in our society.

2. Develop competency in file management, internet use, research database search, and with word processing, spreadsheet and presentation graphics packages, with a focus on mathematics and science applications.

3. Develop problem-solving techniques, e.g. design of a spreadsheet, create and interpret an x-y graph, perform statistical analysis, locate needed information electronically.

4. Develop ability to evaluate credibility and usefulness of information resources (“information literacy”).

5. Understand how a computer works and computer-related terminology.

6. Understand and adhere to the University computing policy.

7. Understand some of the ethical issues involved in processing and using information.

Tentative Course Plan:

Date	Material	Reading/Labs
1/21,	Intro to Class
1/23, 1/26	Word Pretest	Assign 1?
1/28, 1/30, 2/2	PowerPoint	PP 1-3; Assign 2?
2/4, 2/6, 2/9, 2/11	Word	Word 1-3; Assign 3?
2/13	Word Equations	Supplemental  materials
2/18	TEST 1 – PP and Word
2/16, 2/20	Information Literacy & Library Search	Assign 4?
2/23, 2/25, 2/27, 3/16	Developing WWW Pages	Assign 5?
3/2, 3/4, 3/6	Project time
3/9, 3/11, 3/13	NO CLASS – SPRING BREAK
3/18	TEST 2 – Info Literacy / Library / Web
3/20, 3/23, 3/25, 3/27	Excel	Excel 1 Assign 6? Concepts project due?
3/30, 4/1, 4/6, 4/8	Excel	Excel 2, Assign 7? Research Proj Prelim Due?
4/10, 4/13	NO CLASS - EASTER
4/15, 4/17, 4/20, 4/22	Excel	Excel 3, Assign 8?
4/24,4 /27, 4/29, 5/1	Excel advanced	Supplemental  materials;

Final Exam: TBD (May 4-8)