CMSC 102 - Introduction to Information Technology : Spring 2002

Instructors: Evan Golub (0101, 0201) Office: 1115 AVW (301)405-0180
John Arras (0301) Office: 1109 AVW (301)405-8411
Teaching Assistants: TBA Office: 1151 AVW

Office Hours: TBA and posted on office doors

Course Description: An introduction to computer terminology and concepts of computing. Hands on experience with tools available on the Internet to find information, as well as microcomputer applications such as a word processor and a spreadsheet package.

Student Goal: To be able to use the tools and information available on the Internet to gather ideas and facts, and to then organize and format gathered information (both on and off the net) in a professional manner using the software packages for the personal computer.

Required :

Nothin' But Net by Evan Golub & Jandelyn Plane Available at the University Book Store and Maryland Book Exchange
Blank Diskettes: Four 3.5 inch high density
Brown Envelopes (letter sized): Four
A WAM print account [you should already have a WAM login account]
Where Wizards Stay Up Late by Katie Hafner and Matthew Lyon. However, if you have already done a paper on this book, you need to contact the instructor for further information.

Grading :

Semester Exams - 2
1. Exam 1 (15%)
2. Exam 2 (15%)
Projects - 7
1. Editor and UNIX ( 3%)
2. Word processor and FTP ( 4%)
3. Searching for information (VICTOR) (3%)
4. Searching for information (WWW) (5%)
5. Web page creation ( 6%)
6. Spreadsheet ( 6%)
7. Internet research ( 3%)
Paper ( 8%)
Online Skills Exam ( 4%)
Final Exam (28%)

Assignments will be due at the beginning of class time of the section for which you are registered on the date specified in the project descriptions. Assignments will not be accepted at a later time without a VALID MEDICAL EXCUSE. NOTE: Since you are given an extended period of time in which to work on a given assignment, the medical excuse will need to cover an extended period of time as well. A letter from your physician with his/her phone number and the dates for which you were incapacitated WILL be required at a minimum. Even with a valid excuse, you will still be expected to hand in your assignment, but will be given appropriate time. Any assignment handed in late, after class, in a class section other than the one for which you are registered, in my office, at the undergraduate office, in my mailbox, or place other than at the start of class will receive a grade of zero. Assignments are to be done INDIVIDUALLY. Working in ANY way with other students will be considered cheating. Cheating is (of course) PROHIBITED. A student found to be cheating on a project, paper or exam will receive a zero for that project and will be reported to the honor council for an academic review.

The semester exams will be given during the normal class period. The exam will be given at the beginning of the period. The second half of the period may be a class session. University IDs must be available for inspection on exam day. You should bring a blue or black pen with you to your seat on an exam day as well as at least one number 2 pencil with an eraser.

With acceptable documentation of medical excuse a make-up exam will be given at the instructor's convenience. This documentation must be provided at the class session following the exam, or in the case of extended absence due to medical reasons, the class session immediately following the end of the excused period. A medical excuse will need to be documented by your physician or from the University Health Center's Social Services Department in the health center. If a student expects to miss an exam for a university function they are REQUIRED to attend, an explanation from a faculty member will be required IN ADVANCE. As with projects, cheating on exams is PROHIBITED. This includes looking at another student's exam, showing another student your exam, using any notes during the exam. Students caught cheating in any way will receive a zero on the exam and will be reported to the honor council for an academic review.

Topics:

Hardware/Software/Operating Systems/Networks: Introduction and Terminology
Introduction to the Internet
The UNIX Operating System
Brief introduction to the PC, Windows and MS Word
Using on-line Resources via Telnet
Exploration of On-line Library Resources
Introduction to Database Theory and Some On-line Databases
The World Wide Web: Accessing, Searching, Creating Writing HTML, Installing Java Applets and Writing Java Scripts
Introduction to Spreadsheets and Quattro Pro
Some Basic Concepts in Statistics
Issues in Credibility and Reliability of Sources on the Internet
Social and Legal Issues Relating to the Internet

Projects & Papers:

There will be six projects during the semester. Several of the projects will have multiple parts each of which may have a separate due date. On average, you can expect to have a project due every other week. Some projects (or parts) will be submitted in paper form, and others will be submitted completely electronically.

There will be a paper assigned during the semester. It will be based on one of the books listed above and will be assigned near mid-semester. It is recommended that you do not begin reading the book until the paper is assigned. The paper will be due approximately three weeks after it is assigned.

Exams:

The (probable) semester exam dates are March 12th and April 25th.

The final exam will be on Friday, May 17th at 4:00 P.M.

There will also be an on-line skills exam at the end of the term. The details of this will be given in class.