Home Syllabus Schedule Useful references Review Instructor CS home PLU home

Computer Science and Computer Engineering 120 Computer Information Systems Syllabus Fall 2006 This course combines a practical study of business applications (Microsoft Office 2000, XHTML 1.0, Internet tools and Microsoft PowerPoint) with a study of some fundamental computing concepts and social issues. Throughout the semester students will have the opportunity to work through a number of projects building useful artifacts and solving problems of practical interest. Upon completion of the course, students have experience using problem-solving approaches to: Investigate computing solutions to common problems. Critically analyze and synthesize results of investigation. Implement appropriate solutions using business application software and/or Internet tools. Communicate results to others through group activities, papers and exams. Learning computer related information and skills on their own.

Class time will be divided between learning skills using Excel and XHTML, problem solving, looking at practical business applications, and discussion of computer use, social implications and safety.

The classroom is equipped with computers for each student. They will be used regularly for class activities. However, please be considerate of your fellow students by not playing computer games, reading e-mail, doing homework, or surfing the web during class time. Such activity is extremely distracting to your fellow students. Despite the high noise level in the room, people in the front of the room can hear key clicks in the back of the room.

Prerequisites

The required prerequisite for this course is Math 128, "Introduction to Linear Models & Calculus" or equivalent. As a general rule of thumb, if you are ready to take the first semester of calculus this semester or have at least 3 (preferably 4) years of high school math, then you have sufficient mathematical background to take this course. The course assumes students are fluent with Microsoft Word, XP, email and surfing on the Internet.

This course satisfies the General University Requirement (GUR) for Natural Sciences and is required for entrance into the School of Business undergraduate program.

Class Schedule

Section 01: 9:55 - 11:40, Tuesday, Thursday, Morken 203
Section 03: 1:45 - 3:30, Tuesday, Thursday, Morken 203

Course Materials

• Required Textbooks
  # Exploring Microsoft Office, Excel 2003 vol 1 (custom edition), Grauer & Barber ISBN #0-536-30602-8
  # The Web Wizard's Guide to XHTML, C. Hughes ISBN #0-321-17868-8
• Useful References (available for 2-hour checkout in the PLU library)
  Excel 2003 Formulas, J. Walkenbach, ISBN #0-7645-4073-4.
  Excel Charts, J . Walkenbach, ISBN #0-7645-1764-3
• Storage Devices You will need a portable storage device for keeping backup copies of your files and for transferring your work between your home machine and the Morken classroom computers. I strongly recommend using a USB flash drive. There are no floppy drives installed on computers in the Morken building. In some cases, you may wish to use e-mail to transfer files between the classroom computer and your own computer.

Course outline

Assessment and Evaluation

• Presentation
  During the last week of class, groups of three students will make a 20 minute PowerPoint presentation on a topic related to computers. Proposals will be due about one month in advance.
• Lab Assignments
  Lab assignments allow students to practice skills learned in the course. These lab assignments should be worked on outside of class. There will be about 13 lab assignments during the course. You will have one to two weeks to work on each lab. See the comments about late assignments below. Additional information about the lab assignments will be available on the class webpage. PowerPoint and Excel lab assignments will be graded using PowerPoint and Excel 2003. Occasionally different versions have features that do not work in 2003. It is the students responsibility to ensure that the assignments work correctly in 2003.
• In-Class Activities
  During many class sessions, you will be given an activity or problems to work on in small groups. These in-class assessment activities allow the students to wrestle with information and/or new skills learned during the class session. Many of the computer related activities will be graded before you leave class.
• Grading
  Final Course Grades will be assigned based on your overall grade percentage approximately using the following scale:

  90 - 100% A 80 - 89% B 90 - 79% C 90 - 69% D below 60% E

  In-class activities 5% Activities that help demonstrate learning during class. No makeups but lowest score will be dropped. Lab assignments 20% Weekly assignments. See comments about late assignments below. Presentation 15% Presentations on approved topics during the last week of class by groups of 3 students. Topics must be approved by the instructor. Quizzes 15% Weekly to semi weekly quizzes to help check your progress. No makeups but lowest score will be dropped. Mid-term exam 20% Oct. 19th. Makeups only in very exceptional situations. Final exam 25% Comprehensive. Makeups only in extremely exceptional situations.

• Submission of assignments Each assignment will indicate if the assignment is to be submitted electronically, on paper, or on a floppy disk or CD. In order to reduce grading time (resulting in faster return of the assignment back to the student) and the chance that assignments are lost, the following standards must be followed. The instructor cannot be responsible for any assignment not meeting the criteria.
  • Electronic submission: Some of your homework will be submitted electronically to the CSCE's submit system using the URL http://www.cs.plu.edu/submit/login.php. Select your class section, and give your username and password. (These usernames and passwords are not the same as your ePass and will be provided by your instructor.) Your name and section number must be included in each assignment.
  • Paper submission: The top of paper must contain your name, section and the assignment name.
  • Floppy disk and CD submission: Should this ever be needed, the disks must be labeled with your name, section and the assignment name. CDs must be inside some kind of protective cover (folded paper is OK). Both the cover and disk itself must be labeled with your name, section and the assignment name.

Getting help

If you are having difficulties, you should get help as soon as possible. You may get help from your instructor, Academic Assistance tutors, or your class mates. However please read the Academic Expectations section below and remember to give credit for any assistance you receive.

Academic Expectations

• Collaborative Learning and Academic Honesty
  Your classmates are a huge resource available to you. Because everyone understands material in different ways, I encourage you to discuss the concepts from the course with other students, but any work that you turn in must be your own. Unacknowledged copying or using parts of someone else's work, even if it has been modified by you, is plagiarism and is not acceptable.
  
  

  When you work with others on homework and labs, please acknowledge places where you received help in your homework and lab submissions. An acceptable method to collaborate is to discuss problems and potential solutions with other students and then writing or implementing the solution on your own. When giving help to other classmates, please do not give them the answer. Instead, ask questions to learn their understanding and give conceptual explanations - this practice will help you master the material as well. Remember, you must turn in work that is your own, you must acknowledge the people who helped you and you are encouraged to seek help when you are confused.

  Make sure that you protect your own work. Do not store your files on a public machine or on a machine in the Morken classroom. Never give printed copies of your own work to other students. Do not throw printed copies of your assignments in public recycling bins. Instead, recycle them where other students in the class do not have access to them.

• Assignments
  Exploration and lab assignments should be worked on regularly. You should be willing to spend at least 2 hours outside of class for each hour of class time or about 4 hours per class day. This means you will need about 12 hours a week for this class including time in and out of class. If you do not have or are unwilling to commit this much time your chances for success are diminished.
  
  Goals in this course include problem solving and communication. I expect your work to demonstrate these emphases. When a problem is simply a matter of performing an application task, you must format the solution so that it could be clearly understood by novice users. If a problem asks a question, your answer should be expressed in complete sentences and supported by examples, facts, and clear reasoning. For example, if a problem asks a question that could be answered "yes" or "no", you must explain and justify why you believe the answer is "yes" or why you believe the answer is "no". In other words, your writing must be clear, logical, and complete so that a colleague could easily follow your argument or solution to a problem.
  
  
• Class Attendance
  Attendance and participation during class sessions and labs is expected. Lack of attendance can adversely affect your grade. You are individually responsible for knowing about information discussed in class. If you are absent, you are responsible for getting notes from another student and handouts from the class webpage. You will receive a 0 for any in-class assessment or quiz you miss. Because there are sometimes legitimate reasons for missing class, your low in-class assignment and quiz will be dropped as explained above.
  
  
• Class Conduct
  Students are encouraged to refrain from conduct that is either distracting or disrespectful to other students or the professor. Classroom misconduct includes:
  • Coming to class late
  • Failure to turn off electronic devices including cell phones and pagers.
  • Private conversations during lectures, presentations, class activities etc.
  • Aggressive or threatening behavior towards the professor or other students in the class.
  • Using computer in the classroom for games, surfing the web, reading e-mail, assignments or other activities inappropriate with what is happening in class. This type of activity distracts fellow students and your instructor.
  Classroom misconduct may result in the loss of a half letter grade from the final course grade per episode of misconduct.
  
  
• Late Assignments
  Lab assignments are due at midnight on the due date. Late assignments will be accepted only with the written permission of the instructor and the value will be reduce 20% per week day late. However, there is a 24 hour grace period when there will be no penalty and permission is not needed. You should create backups of all your work. Hardware problems, disk failures, deletions, email problems, or other mishaps will not excuse late assignments.

Contact Information

Disabilities Statement

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with your instructor, or if you need other special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with your instructor as soon as possible. If you have any questions about services for students with disabilities at PLU, please contact Ruth Tweeten in Counseling and Testing, located in Ramstad 106 or call x7206.

Students are also reminded that they are responsible for notifying instructors of any conditions that may impair their academic performance. Without advanced warning, such difficulties cannot be used later as a basis for requesting make-up exams or reconsiderations of grades.

Weather

Should class have to be cancelled because of adverse weather conditions, it will be announced on the class web site (if internet connections are available).

Thanks to past instructors of this course (particularly Michele Folsom) for allowing major portions of their syllabus to be adapted into this document. Thanks to Tammy VanDeGrift who inspired some of the wording in the Collaborative Learning and Academic Honesty section.

Revised: Sept. 8, 2006