RU Department of Information Technology

Syllabus - ITEC 100 Fall 2010 Sections 01/03/05/06

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

Instructor: Don Braffitt
Office: 015 Davis
E-mail: dbraffitt@radford.edu
Phone: 540.831.5072 Fax: 540.831.6706
Office: Mon/Fri 9-9:45am, Tue 9-11am, Wed 2-2:45pm, and by appointment
Lunch: Usually Mon/Wed/Fri 11-11:45am Dalton Dining Hall
Instructor home page: http://www.radford.edu/dbraffitt/
Syllabus: http://www.radford.edu/dbraffitt/itec100/2010/fall/
WebCT: https://webct6.radford.edu/webct/logon/315898750001

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

Text, Online and Optional Materials, Technology Center, LARC, ITEC tutors, other links  toptop

Textbook cover

Goals and Objectives  toptop

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

Homework and Quizzes  toptop

Homework will be completed using Office 2007/2008/2010/2011, and the completion will be recorded in WebCT. All homework must be submitted in Office 2007/2008 format, but the newer versions of Office (2010/2011) can be used as long as all work is saved in the format compatible with Office 2007/2008. Office 2003/2004 and older versions of Office cannot be used. 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 8pm. Partial credit (up to 80%) will be granted for any homework submitted late or with corrections by Fri 01-Oct 8pm (Word 1 and PowerPoint 1), Fri 05-Nov 8pm (Excel 1, 2, and 3), or Fri 10-Dec 8pm (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 8pm as detailed in the schedule below based on the Office 2007/2008 material. The 8 homework assignment grades each counts 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.

Exams  toptop

Exams will be delivered via WebCT in 221 Walker. 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 a 50 minute 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  toptop

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 or other RU-related activities (i.e. job interviews) 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 48 hours prior to missing an exam to make alternate arrangements for a makeup exam. All required class work must be submitted via WebCT by the due date whether or not a student has an excused absence for a particular class.

Assessment  toptop

The assessment will be weighted as follows:

All three exams will include some material drawn from the information technology, computer science, information systems, and computer history material discussed in class, some of which will be beyond the specific textbook material.

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

The assessment will be according to the following scale:

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).

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.

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  toptop

Class attendance is required for students to receive full class participation credit. Absences (excused or otherwise) do not relieve students from the responsibility for subject matter missed or homework, quizzes, or online class participation work 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 primarily on

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

Weekly concepts practice tests or test yourself must be completed each Friday by 8pm.

All class participation work each week must be recorded in the current WebCT class participation assessment each Friday by 8pm. More than 80% 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  toptop

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  toptop

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  toptop

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  toptop

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  toptop

Class starts Mon 30-Aug. Class will be held Mon 06-Sep (Labor Day).
Fri 22-Oct (end of 8th week of classes) is the last date to withdraw from an individual class with a grade of W.

Concepts Chapters Skills Tutorials
 Homework
 Quizzes Labs/Exams
(221 Walker)
Week 1
30-Aug		 Syllabus
Introduction		 Chapter 1 WebCT Chapter 1 Lab 1
(Fri 03-Sep)
Week 2
06-Sep		 Hardware Chapter 2 Word Tutorials 1-2
(Chapters 13-14)		 Chapter 2 Lab 2
(Fri 10-Sep)
Week 3
13-Sep		 Software Chapter 3 Word Tutorial 3
(Chapter 15)		 Word 1 Chapter 3 Lab 3
(Fri 17-Sep)
Week 4
20-Sep		 Internet and World Wide Web Chapter 4 PowerPoint Tutorials 1-2
(Chapters 16-17)		 PowerPoint 1 Chapter 4
Week 5
27-Sep		 Information Technology History
Review		 Partial credit Partial credit Exam 1
(Wed 29-Sep)
Week 6
04-Oct		 Telecommunications, Wireless
Technologies, and Networks		 Chapter 5 Excel Tutorial 1
(Chapter 18)		 Excel 1 Chapter 5
Week 7
11-Oct		 Digital Media Chapter 6 Excel Tutorial 2
(Chapter 19)		 Excel 2 Chapter 6
Week 8
18-Oct		 Database Systems Chapter 7 Excel Tutorial 3
(Chapter 20)		 Chapter 7
Week 9
25-Oct		 E-Commerce Chapter 8 Excel Tutorial 3
(Chapter 20)		 Excel 3 Chapter 8
Week 10
01-Nov		 Information Technology History
Review		 Partial credit Partial credit Exam 2
(Wed 03-Nov)
Week 11
08-Nov		 Information, Decision Support,
and Special-Purpose Systems		 Chapter 9 Excel Tutorial 4
(Chapter 21)		 Excel 4 Chapter 9
Week 12
15-Nov		 Systems Development Chapter 10 Integration Tutorial 1
(Chapter 22)		 Integration 1 Chapter 10
Week 13
22-Nov		 Fall Break week
Week 14
29-Nov		 Computer Crime and
Information Security		 Chapter 11 Web Tutorial 1
(Chapter 23)		 Web 1 Chapter 11
Week 15
06-Dec		 Digital Society, Ethics,
and Globalization		 Chapter 12 Partial credit Chapter 12
Partial credit
Week 16
13-Dec		 Final Exam week Exam 3 /
Final Exam

Revised: 30-Aug-2010   Don Braffitt Home   ITEC 100 Home   ITEC Home   CSAT Home   RU Home   toptop