CMSC 102 - Introduction to Information Technology - Fall 2003 Instructors: Evan Golub (0101, 0201) Office: 1115 AVW (301)405-0180 Jandelyn Plane (0301) Office: 1113 AVW (301)405-2754 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: 3rd Edition by Evan Golub & Jandelyn Plane Available at the University Book Store and Maryland Book Exchange - Blank Diskettes: Four 3.5 inch high density - Brown (Manila) Envelopes: Four - 9"x12" size - A WAM print account [you should already have a WAM login account] - The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll 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 ( 5%) Library Searching ( 3%) News and World Wide Web Searching ( 6%) Web page creation ( 6%) Spreadsheet ( 6%) Internet research ( 3%) Paper ( 8%) Online Skills Exam ( 5%) Final Exam (25%) 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 for the hourly exams. A student with acceptable medical documentation 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 Ways to transfer files across the Internet Exploration of Telnet-Based 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 Some Basic Concepts in Statistical Functions Issues in Credibility and Reliability of Sources on the Internet Social and Legal Issues Relating to the Internet Projects & Papers There will be seven 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 the book 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 (highly probable) semester exam dates are Oct 14th and Nov 20th. The final exam will be on Monday, Dec 15th 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.