Introduction to Computers – CSC110

Syllabus – Fall 2009

 

Syllabus – Table of Contents

David Greimann, Your Professor

Textbooks and Supplemental Materials

Computer and Software Requirements

General Course Information

       Course Description

       Course Objectives

       Online Grade Book

       Extra Credit

       Unofficial Transcript

       Due Dates and Course Work

Course Policies and Procedures

     Online Attendance and Participation

      Assignments and Projects

         Written Assignments (Summaries and Reports)

     Quizzes and Exams

     Threaded Discussions

     Courtesy Code

     Safeguards and Deadlines

     Plagiarism and Cheating

     Special Needs

     Tutoring Services

     Student Services

     DMACC Student Handbook

     Academic Calendar

     Library Services

     Student Schedules

     Inclement Weather Closings

Assumptions and Expectations

Due Dates

Technical Support

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Rubrics (Assignment Grading Criteria)

·         Page Numbers are approximate, and may vary

 

David Greimann, Your Professor

 

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Hello!  I am happy to have you in class this semester!  I will introduce myself more officially in the "Student Introduction" threaded discussion.  I'll see you there!

I am teaching from my home office this semester. I would appreciate if you would contact me via e-mail as a first resort. Generally speaking, you can expect a response within 24-48 hours on weekdays when school is in session.

If you need to call me, please call between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm central time on Monday through Thursdays. 

You may also use e-mail to initiate an appointed time that we can have a phone conference. In the unlikely event that you need a face-to-face meeting with me, we will arrange to meet on a DMACC campus.

David Greimann                      

E-mail:dlgreimann@dmacc.edu

Phone: (515) 289-4553 or (964) 791-1744 (M to Th) 9 am to 4 pm CT.

Office Hours: By Appointment / See Above.

DMACC Toll Free: 800-362-2127 x 1744.

 

Required Textbook and Supplemental Materials

The required textbook package is from Course Technology - Cengage Learning and includes the following items:

 

·         MS Office 2007:  Introductory C & T, Premium video edition

·         Discovering Computers Fundamentals 2010

·         SAM 2007 Assessment and Projects version 4.0 - printed access code

Bundle ISBN:  1439000689 / 978-1439-00068-7

It is YOUR responsibility to have the required textbooks and supplemental materials in YOUR hands in time to complete the UNIT 1 coursework. I will not accept late work.

You must have all components of the course bundle. 

The required textbooks and supplemental materials for the online sections of CSC110 are sold NEW in a bundle at the Ankeny Campus Bookstore. This is a substantial cost savings over purchasing the components individually. If you prefer to purchase used copies of the textbooks or obtain the materials from alternative sources, you are entitled to do so. HOWEVER, you must obtain ALL the components of the course bundle. 

Please obtain the required textbook bundle prior to the beginning of class by one of the following means:

Ankeny Campus Bookstore in Building 5 - Options

Visit DMACC's book store at the Ankeny Campus and purchase the required textbooks. 

Visit DMACC's book store online and order your textbooks at  www.dmacc.edu/student_services/bookstore.asp  

Call DMACC's Ankeny bookstore at 1-800-362-2127 ext. 6682 or (515) 967-6682 to order your textbooks. 

I can only guarantee that the Ankeny campus bookstore has the correct textbooks for MY online sections of CSC110. If you purchase it from other DMACC campus bookstores, I can not guarantee you will get the correct textbook bundle, as I do not requisition textbooks at those stores. 

You must specifically get the bundle for the WWW sections of CSC110. The required textbooks are sold as a package, not individually when you buy them NEW.

Order Directly From Publisher

You may contact my textbook publisher representative (Sandy Gradoville) directly for pricing information and ordering options. Sandy is very familiar with what is required for this course and will make sure you get what you need. Simply send her an e-mail requesting information for DMACC's CSC110 Online course taught by Professor David Greimann. Her email address is sandy.gradoville@cengage.com 

Ankeny Textbook Outlet

Visit Textbook Outlet across the street from DMACC at 2005 South Ankeny Boulevard in Ankeny, IA. (515) 965-4238.

 

Computer and Software Requirements

A PC with the correct Operating System and Application Software are required for this course. You should not use only a Macintosh computer and participate in this class (please see the Frequently Asked Questions). An e-mail account, Internet access, and a basic comfort level using e-mail and accessing the Internet are pre-requisites and requirements for this course. If you aren't comfortable opening PC applications, saving work and then finding the work later on your PC PLEASE take this class in a traditional classroom. You will be much happier.

The online sections of CSC110 are designed for people who use the computer a bit already or have taken MS Office applications classes in high school. There is a continuum of students in the CSC110 classes all the way from adults who don't know how to turn a computer on or use a mouse to those who are self-proclaimed experts. The online sections are designed for those students in the middle to upper end of the continuum. If you aren't comfortable using a computer already, learning to use one without someone there face-to-face is not usually successful.

The Windows XP Operating System is required for this course. Students must have access to this Operating System by the 2nd week of class.

The Office 2007 Professional application software suite is required for this course too. Students must have access to this software suite (including Word 2007, Excel 2007, Power Point 2007, and Access 2007) by the 2nd week of class. You may not use Microsoft Works. You may NOT use Office 2003 (please see the Frequently Asked Questions).

If you do not currently have access to the required software, you may purchase the Office 2007 Professional software suite for ONLY $10 at the campus bookstore. You will need to show an ID and your current semester schedule. Please note: You will need to uninstall prior versions of Office BEFORE you install Office 2007.

Two other options are to use a computer lab on any of the DMACC campuses, or to use the Virtual Lab, which is explained to you in "DMACC VIRTUAL LAB".

A FREE 60-day trial version of Office 2007 is available to download at TryMicrosoftOffice.com. The trial is for ONLY 60 days and it does NOT include MS Access, so you will definitely need to get a copy of Office 2007 Professional.

Please note... you need both the correct Operating System and the correct application software. If you have Windows VISTA you might be able to participate with only a few problems, but the instruction you receive in this course will look different than what you see on your computer.

If you have an older version of Office (prior to 2007) on the computer you plan to use for this course, you will need to decide which of the previous alternatives you will use in order to meet the requirements for this course. I will NOT accept work completed in Office 2003, as you will have a very difficult time navigating our 2007 textbook using 2003 software.

Please be aware that if you purchase Windows XP (the Operating System) from the bookstore it is a full version, and not an upgrade. If you are not comfortable installing Operating Systems, you might want to seek help from the DMACC Helpdesk or from Microsoft support.

If you try to install a new Operating System on top of an old Operating System, you could cause serious problems on your computer. Always back up your computer data before installing an Operating System.

If you go to a retail store and purchase a new laptop or desktop PC, the only option for Operating Systems you are likely to find is Windows Vista. This was a later release of Windows from Microsoft. We are NOT teaching or using Windows Vista this semester at DMACC. There are still some compatibility issues and stability issues that Microsoft needs to work out before DMACC is willing to make the transition to Vista from Windows XP. Our textbook covers Windows XP. I believe if you purchase a computer directly from suppliers like Gateway or Dell, you may still be able to purchase them with the Windows XP Operating System on them. However, you would probably not be able to walk into any retail store and purchase a computer with Windows XP Operating System on it.

MY RECOMMENDATION

My recommendation to you is that if you are ready to upgrade to Office 2007 on your computer, take advantage of the extremely low educational pricing of the Office 2007 Suite, and install it on your computer.

General Course Information - Introduction to Computers

DMACC has general information about our college's online courses at http://go.dmacc.edu/registration/pages/methods.aspx. I encourage you to read that in addition to this Syllabus.

Course Description

The purpose of this course is to provide you with a firm foundation in computer technology, computer terminology, and the use of computers as productivity tools. The course will present the basic concepts of computers and the effect that computers are having, and will continue to have in the future.

At the end of the course, students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of computer technologies and how they affect every day life. Students will be proficient in using software applications to help them be more productive in their own lives. Software used includes Windows, MS Word, Excel, Power Point, Access, and MS Internet Explorer.

Course Objectives

View the entire set of course competencies Here.

Important Note: The competencies of this course include not only computer applications but also computer and technology concepts. We will talk about and research technology concepts as much as we will use actual computer programs. Please don't feel that this is "busy work". It is an important component of the competency based instruction.

Grading

Your final grade will be calculated by dividing the total number of points you earn in the class by the total number of points possible during the semester. The result is a percentage, which will be assigned a grade as follows:

A

90% and above

B

80% to 89.99%

C

70% to 79.99%

D

60% to 69.99%

F

00% to 59.99%

There will be no "Incomplete" grades given in this course.

There will be no + or - grades given in this class (example B+).

The evaluation of your performance in this class and the associated final grade will be based on the units of work required in this course. Please see the Due Dates and Course Work section below.

Important Note: I use a wide variety of assessment methods in this course including assignments, projects, quizzes, discussions, Web research, and written papers. The competencies of this course include not only computer applications but also computer and technology concepts.

Papers in this computer course are appropriate because they demonstrate your ability to utilize a word processor and demonstrate your understanding of computer concepts. They also demonstrate your ability to utilize the Internet to compile information. As a college student, they also demonstrate your ability to articulate and summarize content that you learn and apply.

Please be prepared to research, compile, and summarize information for the concepts portion of this course.  For every written assignment in this class, you will be expected to use proper grammar, composition, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. Two popular document styles being were developed by the American Psychological Association (APA), and Modern Language Association (MLA). Reports submitted by students in this class must follow either the APA or MLA style. Writing guides for these 2 popular styles can be found in the DMACC Library Website Citation Styles (APA, MLA, etc.). Points will be deducted from your work for careless or non-professional writing. While reviewing your papers, I may not identify or mark every error, but I will try to note errors in grammar, text formatting, and absences of paragraphs, capitalization errors, and failure to follow APA or MLA guidelines.

As an online course, this section will be taught much differently than if you were to take it in a classroom environment. You would not be accurate to compare what your friends might be required to do in a face-to-face course to what you will be required to do in this course. I want to make it clear that online courses are MORE work and are not structured or taught the same way as face-to-face courses.

Online Grade Book

There will be a delay between when you submit an assignment and when your grade is posted in the online Grade book. Normally I will wait until AFTER the unit due date to start posting grades. I also make it a practice to e-mail the class once I have completed grading an entire unit to alert you to the fact that I'm done entering grades for that unit. That gives you the opportunity to view the Grade book and see if you think I've missed something. In most cases, you can expect your unit work to be graded and posted by the due date of the subsequent unit.

Extra Credit

I am not an advocate of extra credit. I generally offer 5-10 points of extra credit at the end of the semester for completing surveys, but I will not accept requests from nor make special extra credit assignments for individual students.

Unofficial Transcript

You can access your unofficial transcript and view all final course grades by logging into the DMACC web site at:

https://web4.dmacc.edu/PROD/twbkwbis.P_WWWLogin

Login using your DMACC ID and PIN, then select Student Services and Financial Aid, Student Records and Academic Transcript.

Due Dates & Course Work

I've supplied an easy reference of the work requirements and Due Dates under the "Due Dates" link in the Syllabus. Please be sure to review that prior to the Syllabus quiz, as that is also part of the Syllabus.

You may begin a unit from the course content home page at any time after the Professor allows you access into the unit, but you should complete the units in order. It is acceptable to work ahead in the course, as long as you complete things in the correct order. Every unit has a specific deadline date by which all work for that unit must be completed. Once a unit's deadline date has passed, you will no longer be able to submit work for that unit. I do not accept late work.

The units of work in order are:

§  The First Week

§  Unit 1 - Introduction to Computers

§  Unit 2 - Internet & Networks

§  Unit 3 - MS Word

§  Unit 4 - Software

§  Unit 5 - Hardware

§  Unit 6 - MS Power Point

§  Unit 7 - MS Excel

§  Unit 8 - Computer Security & Maintenance

§  Unit 9 - MS Access

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