CIS 5.2 - Introduction to Computer Applications
TTH 2:15PM-3:30PM
106 Field Building
Spring 2010

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

CALENDAR

COURSE INFORMATION
Course Abbreviation: CIS 5.2
Credits: 3.0 (3 hours)
Code: 1469
Section: TR2
Schedule: T,TH 02:15-03:30PM
Room: 106 Field Building
Semester: Spring 2010

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Instructor: Matthew Meyer
Office: 534 NE
Office Hours:
- Tuesday, 12:15-2:00 PM
- Wednesday, 12:15-2:00 PM
E-mail: meyer(at)sci(dot)brooklyn(dot)cuny(dot)edu
Web Page: http://www.sci.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~meyer

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course provides an overview of microcomputer applications including a brief introduction to computer concepts, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office Access, Microsoft Office PowerPoint, creating Web pages, and integration of the applications.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK

Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory Concepts and Techniques, Windows Vista Edition Shelly Cashman Vermaat (ISBN: 1-4239-1228-4)
Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory Concepts and Techniques, Windows Vista Edition
Shelly Cashman Vermaat (ISBN: 1-4239-1228-4)

TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS

Students may use their own computers at home or use the college computers (Library, Computer Café, Web Building).
Students will be expected to use:
- Vista operating system.
- Microsoft Office 2007
- Email & the World Wide Web

GRADING

COURSE POLICIES

Student Conduct

Any acts of disruption that go beyond the normal rights of students to question and discuss with instructors the educational process relative to subject content will not be tolerated, in accordance with the Academic Code of Conduct described in the Student Handbook.

Electronic Devices in Class Policy

Cellular telephones, pagers, CD players, radios, and similar devices are prohibited in the classroom and laboratory facilities. Calculators and computers are prohibited during examinations, unless specified.

Examination Policy

A midterm and final examination will be given in class. Please schedule your other activities in advance. No make-up exams will be allowed without prior arrangements being made.

To prepare for examinations, do the assignments and read the chapters. 100 % of the questions are taken directly from the reading material. Review the Quick Reference Summary at the back of the book for the application on which you are being tested.

The examinations consist of multiple choice and true/false questions. Sample questions with answers are available online. See the address give at the end of each chapter in the textbook. You are urged to study by taking these sample examinations prior to sitting for the midterm and final. Practice exams and quick reference summaries for each section are available throught the following links:

Incomplete Policy

Students will not be given an incomplete grade in the course without sound reason and documented evidence. In any case, for a student to receive an incomplete, he or she must be passing and must have completed a significant portion of the course.

Academic Integrity Policy

Students are expected to uphold the school’s standard of conduct relating to academic honesty. Students assume full responsibility for the content and integrity of the academic work they submit. The guiding principle of academic integrity shall be that a student's submitted work, examinations, reports, and projects must be that of the student's own work. Students shall be guilty of violating the college’s policy if they:

Any student violating the colleges academic integrity policy is subject to receive a failing grade for the course and will be reported to the Office of Student Affairs. If a student is unclear about whether a particular situation may constitute violation, the student should meet with the instructor to discuss the situation.

For this class, it is permissible to assist classmates in general discussions of computing techniques. General advice and interaction are encouraged. Each person, however, must develop his or her own solutions to the assigned projects, assignments, and tasks. In other words, students may not "work together" on graded assignments. Such collaboration constitutes cheating. A student may not use or copy (by any means) another's work (or portions of it) and represent it as his/her own. If you need help on an assignment, contact your instructor, not other classmates.

Disabilities Policy

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), all qualified students enrolled in this course are entitled to “reasonable accommodations.” Please notify the instructor during the first week of class of any accommodations needed for the course.

GETTING HELP

Tutor Assistance

Tutors are available in the open lab in the laboratory facility.

Consultant Assistance

Consultants in the open lab are on duty to assist you with hardware and software problems. If your computer malfunctions or your printer is out of paper, go to the main desk and ask a consultant for help. The consultants are not laboratory assistants and, therefore, are not responsible for answering specific laboratory homework questions.

Blackboard

Announcements, class handouts, homework assignments and all other course materials will be made available through Blackboard. Blackboard is a CUNY wide digital media sharing application. PLEASE BE SURE YOU CAN ACCESS BLACKBOARD AND ARE ENROLLED IN THE CLASS. You will need a CUNY portal username and login in order to access Blackboard. If you don't already have one, you can create one. You can access Blackboard by:

  1. Going to the Brooklyn Portal website, logging in and then selecting the "Blackboard (Students)" option from the "Academics" tab.
  2. Going directly to the CUNY Portal website, logging in and selecting Blackboard from the menu.

General Advice

  1. COME TO CLASS
  2. Take good notes.
  3. Ask questions.
  4. Do the assignments on time.
  5. Contact me if you are confused or fall behind, for whatever reason. Come to my office hours or email me.
  6. I get MANY email messages every day, so please keep your message short and to the point. If your story goes on longer than a page (80 columns by 24 rows of text), then be aware that I probably won't read much past the first page.
  7. Note that email messages where the sender's name seems fake (e.g., "Mickey Mouse") or the subject is blank or undecipherable, may be automatically filtered out in attempt to eliminate spam and other offensive messages.
  8. Please don't email me programming code.
  9. Don't ever email me an application (executable code)!
  10. If I haven't replied to you, please be patient. Sending me multiple copies of the same message (or multiple messages that say the same thing) only clogs my inbox, which takes me longer to get to your message.
  11. PLEASE SIGN YOUR EMAIL with your full name AND the class you are in.

LECTURE, LABORATORY, PROJECT AND EXAMINATION INFORMATION

General Information

Students should prepare to spend at least 3 hours weekly on this material. If you do not have enough time, do not take the course. Do not kid yourself!

Each of the areas of study are covered by one or more "Projects" in the textbook. Each project is designed to be read while sitting in front of the computer. By following along the project, you will learn many features of the application. After reading the chapter, you are to do the project assigned (see schedule). You are expected to read each assigned project before attempting the assignment.

Each assignment must be emailed to me on the day that it is due. Plan to spend approximately six to eight hours on each laboratory assignment. Make sure your name, student ID, and homework number appear in the upper-left corner of all homework assignments. Disorganized assignments (pages out of order, mislabeled, unreadable, etc.) will receive zero points. If your assignment is multiple sheets, sequence it according to the order of the exercise.

Project Files

Some of the projects you are assigned require the use of pregenerated files. Those files can be found online by following the instructions at the back of your book. They can also be found by following THIS LINK.

Project Submission Instructions:

You need to create an archive of the files you are submitting, and then email the archive to me. If you are using a PC, please use WinZip (not WinRar) to create the archive. WinZip is a Shareware program which you can download if it is not already installed on your Windows machine.

If you are using a MAC, you can use the File - Create Archive utility in the Finder. Simply highlight all the files you want to include in the archive by clicking once on each file's icon while holding down the Apple key. Then from the Finder, click on File - Create Archive and an archive file will be created called Archive.zip.

Late Assignments:

Each assignment must be handed in or emailed to me on the day that it is due. Any assignment received after midnight of its due date will be penalized 10%, for each calendar day after the due date (after 10 days I don't accept it).

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