CMSC 102 - Introduction to Information Technology - Spring 2003

Instructors: John Arras (0101, 0201)	Office: 1109 AVW       (301)405-8411
             Evan Golub (0301)      	Office: 1115 AVW       (301)405-0180
             
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 (3rd Edition)
        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
          Unless you have already done a paper on this book, in which case 
          you need to contact the instructor for further information.

Grading :
    Semester Exams - 2
        Exam 1                     (15%)
        Exam 2                     (15%)
    Projects - 7
        Editor and UNIX            ( 3%)
        Word processor and FTP     ( 4%)
	Victor, News Searching     ( 3%)    
        World Wide Web Searching   ( 5%)          
        Web page creation          ( 6%)
        Spreadsheet                ( 6%)
        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.  

  There will be no make-up exams given.  A students with acceptable 
documentation of medical excuse will have their grade for the course based
on the two exams that were taken.  If more than one exam is missed with
acceptable documentation, the instructor reserves the right to give a
special exam to substitute the two missed exams.  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 11th and April 24th.

The final exam will be on Friday, May 16 at 4:00pm.

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