Syllabus - ITEC 100 Fall 2009 Sections 01/03/04

intro | text | goals | homework | quizzes | exams | responsibilities | assessment | attendance | courtesy | honor code | disabilities | changes | schedule

Instructor: Don Braffitt
Office: 015 Davis Hall
E-mail: dbraffitt@radford.edu
Phone: 540.831.5072 Fax: 540.831.6706
Office hours: Mon/Fri 9-10am, Tue 9-11am, Wed 3-4pm, and by appointment
Instructor home page: http://www.radford.edu/dbraffitt/
Syllabus: http://www.radford.edu/dbraffitt/itec100/2009/fall/
WebCT: http://webct6.radford.edu/webct/logon/210972184001

ITEC 100 introduces students to the fundamental concepts in information technology and mathematical reasoning that provide the technical underpinning for state-of-the-art applications. Widely used computer applications, including office applications, databases, computer communications and networking, serve as examples. ITEC 100 qualifies as a general education requirement (3 credit hours) in the mathematical sciences for students admitted to RU under the 2008-2009 or earlier catalogs.

Course Sections

• ITEC 100-01 043 Davis 8-8:50am Mon/Wed/Fri, Final Exam: Wed 16-Dec 12:30-2:30pm
• ITEC 100-03 043 Davis 11-11:50am Mon/Wed/Fri, Final Exam: Wed 16-Dec 10:15am-12:15pm
• ITEC 100-04 295 Walker 2-2:50pm Mon/Wed/Fri, Final Exam: Mon 14-Dec 10:15am-12:15pm

Text, Online and Optional Materials, Technology Center, LARC  top

• Custom Courseware, 2nd Edition (ISBN: 1424085411/9781424085415 - new only) based on
  • Succeeding with Technology, 3rd Edition
    • Chapter outlines / class notes (PowerPoint)
  • New Perspectives Microsoft Office 2007, First Course
    • Tutorial outlines (PowerPoint)
    • Data Files ( .zip)
  • Table of Contents
  • Active Readings Tutorial
• WebCT/Blackboard course name: _Fall 2009-ST - ITEC100-Braffitt (All Sections) - Intr to Information Technology
• Office 2007/2008 (optional for use on student computer systems)
• Walker Technology Center Lab Hours
• Learning Assistance and Resource Center (LARC)
• Links to RU calendar, final exam schedule, course syllabus, and flu preparedness guidelines.

Goals and Objectives  top

Having successfully completed the course, the student will be able to:

• Identify how a computer system works and how hardware and software components work to execute instructions, run applications, and manage information as components of information systems.
• Demonstrate skills in word processing, spreadsheet creation, and presentation development.
• Distinguish between analog and digital devices and systems.
• Identify networks and communications infrastructures and protocols.
• Explain how computers impact the way individuals interact with their world.
• Identify ethical issues such as privacy, appropriate use of technology, copyright issues, virus protection, and computer etiquette.
• Interpret symbolic representation of numerical information through formulas and graphs.
• Demonstrate how numbers, characters, graphics, and sounds can be represented digitally and manipulated through basic arithmetical and logical operations.

Homework and Quizzes  top

Homework will be completed using Office 2007/2008, and the completion will be recorded in WebCT. Quizzes will be delivered via WebCT. Students are expected to submit their own work for all homework and quizzes by the due date.

Homework and quizzes are due Fridays at 4pm. Partial credit (up to 80%) will be granted for any homework submitted by Fri 02-Oct 4pm (Word 1 and PowerPoint 1), Fri 06-Nov 4pm (Excel 1, 2, and 3), or Fri 11-Dec 4pm (Excel 4, Integration 1, and Web 1). All quizzes are open-book and open-notes. Partial credit (up to 80%) may be earned for one of every four quizzes.

There will be a total of 8 homework assignments due Fridays at 4pm as detailed in the schedule below based on the Office 2007/2008 material. The 8 homework assignment grades each count 2% of the final grade. There will be a total of 12 quizzes, one a week on non-exam weeks, based on the computer concepts material. Each quiz grade counts 2% of the final grade. Thus the homework and quizzes given throughout the course will be worth 40% of the final grade. Homework and quizzes will also help prepare students for exams. Extra credit (up to 3% of your total course grade over the course of the semester) will be available as part of each homework assignment and weekly class participation work.

Exams  top

Exams will be delivered via WebCT or hardcopy. Students are expected to submit their own work for all exams. There will be two 50 minute in-class exams during the semester in addition to an in-class final exam during final exam week. Each exam will be worth 15% of the final grade.

Exams are closed-book and closed-notes except for one 8.5x11 inch piece of paper on which each student may include typed, handwritten, or photocopied notes (front and back).

Student Responsibilities  top

Students are responsible for the information that is included in the assigned readings, lectures, discussions, homework, quizzes, and any additional information discussed in class or posted in WebCT. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the instructor's office hours and the online supplementary materials provided by the textbook publisher and the textbook authors. The best preparation for exams is to complete readings, homework, and quizzes, and to participate in class and via WebCT by asking questions and participating in discussions.

Excused absences are granted in cases of emergency, illness, religious holiday, or RU-sponsored travel that may cause a student to miss a class provided that the student notifies the instructor via email prior to the absence. Students must notify the instructor prior to missing an exam to make alternate arrangements for a makeup exam.

Assessment  top

The assessment will be weighted as follows:

• 24% Quizzes (2% each for 12 weekly quizzes)
• 16% Homework (2% each for 8 homework submissions)
• 15% Participation (1% for each week of classes plus 1% for everybody who makes it to week 14)
• 15% Exam 1 (Fri 02-Oct - concepts chapters 1-4; skills chapters 13-17 - Word and PowerPoint)
• 15% Exam 2 (Fri 06-Nov - concepts chapters 5-8; skills chapters 18-20 - Excel part 1)
• 15% Exam 3 / Final Exam (concepts chapters 9-12; skills chapters 21-23 - Excel part 2, Integration, and Web)

All three exams will also include some material drawn from the information technology and computer history material discussed in class.

The final average based on this weighting will be rounded to the next higher integer.

The assessment will be according to the following scale:

• A = 90% to 100%
• B = 80% to 89%
• C = 70% to 79%
• D = 60% to 69%
• F = 59% and below

Overall, approximately 80% of the course assessment is based on computer concepts. The remaining 20% of the course assessment is based on computer skills (primarily Office 2007/2008).

During the semester, grades will be provided to students via WebCT. The class work is structured so that the Midterm grade will be based on approximately 1/3 of the course work.

Attendance, and Participation  top

Class attendance is expected and strongly recommended. Absences (excused or otherwise) do not relieve students from the responsibility for subject matter missed or homework, quizzes, or online discussions to be completed. If the university cancels class for any reason such as inclement weather, the assigned work for the week is still due as specified in the syllabus and WebCT.

The 15% participation portion of the student grade is based on effort and is weighted 1% each week based on

• Class attendance for weekly class sessions
• Completion of weekly online discussions
• Completion of weekly concepts practice tests (chapters 1-12)
• Completion of weekly skills practice tests (chapters 13-23)

Class attendance for class sessions and other weekly class participation work will be recorded via WebCT assessments which each student completes each week. Attendance for any class session is defined as student presence for at least 45 minutes of a 50 minute class.

Online class discussion postings must be completed via WebCT discussions each Friday by 4pm for the current concepts chapter on non-exam weeks.

Weekly concepts and skills practice tests must be completed via WebCT active readings each Friday by 4pm.

All class participation work each week must be recorded in the current WebCT class participation assessment each Friday by 4pm. More than 50% of class participation each week is class attendance.

Everybody who makes it to week 14 gets 1% for week 13 (fall break week).

Class Courtesy Policy  top

Please set cell phones, pagers, and notebook computers to silent during class. Students are encouraged to bring computers to all ITEC 100 classes. Computers should primarily be used for work relevant to ITEC 100 during ITEC 100 classes. Please refrain from any activities while in class that would be disruptive to the class.

Honor Code  top

By accepting admission to Radford University, each student makes a commitment to understand, support, and abide by the University Honor Code without compromise or exception. Violations of this academic integrity will not be tolerated. Refer to your Student Handbook for details. Each of these classes will be conducted in strict observance of the Honor Code.

Students With Disabilities  top

A student seeking classroom accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act is required to register with the Disability Resource Office (DRO). The DRO is located on the first floor of Tyler Hall, phone number 540.831.6350. To receive academic accommodations for this class, a student should obtain the proper DRO forms and meet with the instructor at the beginning of the semester.

Changes to Course Syllabus or Class Schedule  top

All changes to either the course syllabus or the class schedule will be posted in WebCT and announced in class. Students are responsible for any announced changes even if absent or tardy when the announcements are made. Sometimes changes will be posted in WebCT prior to a class announcement (e.g., schedule adjustments if the university closes due to inclement weather).

Schedule  top

	Concepts	Chapters	Skills	Tutorials	Homework	Quizzes	Exams
Week 1 31-Aug	Syllabus Introduction	Chapter 1	WebCT Word	Tutorial 1 (Chapter 13)		Chapter 1
Week 2 07-Sep	Hardware	Chapter 2	Word	Tutorial 2 (Chapter 14)		Chapter 2
Week 3 14-Sep	Software	Chapter 3	Word	Tutorial 3 (Chapter 15)	Word 1	Chapter 3
Week 4 21-Sep	Internet and World Wide Web	Chapter 4	PowerPoint	Tutorial 1 (Chapter 16)	PowerPoint 1	Chapter 4
Week 5 28-Sep	Information Technology History Review		PowerPoint	Tutorial 2 (Chapter 17)	Partial credit	Partial credit	Exam 1 (Fri 02-Oct)
Week 6 05-Oct	Telecommunications and Networks	Chapter 5	Excel	Tutorial 1 (Chapter 18)	Excel 1	Chapter 5
Week 7 12-Oct	Digital Media	Chapter 6	Excel	Tutorial 2 (Chapter 19)	Excel 2	Chapter 6
Week 8 19-Oct	Database Systems	Chapter 7	Excel	Tutorial 3 (Chapter 20)		Chapter 7
Week 9 26-Oct	E-Commerce	Chapter 8	Excel	Tutorial 3 (Chapter 20)	Excel 3	Chapter 8
Week 10 02-Nov	Information Technology History Review				Partial credit	Partial credit	Exam 2 (Fri 06-Nov)
Week 11 09-Nov	Information, Decision Support, and Special-Purpose Systems	Chapter 9	Excel	Tutorial 4 (Chapter 21)	Excel 4	Chapter 9
Week 12 16-Nov	Systems Development	Chapter 10	Integration	Tutorial 1 (Chapter 22)	Integration 1	Chapter 10
Week 13 23-Nov	Fall Break week
Week 14 30-Nov	Computer Crime and Information Security	Chapter 11	Web	Tutorial 1 (Chapter 23)	Web 1	Chapter 11
Week 15 07-Dec	Digital Society, Ethics, and Globalization	Chapter 12			Partial credit	Chapter 12 Partial credit
Week 16 14-Dec	Final Exam week						Exam 3 / Final Exam

Revised: 31-Aug-2009   Don Braffitt Home   ITEC 100 Home   ITEC Home   CSAT Home   RU Home   top