Radford University - Don Braffitt - ITEC 110 Spring 2010

Syllabus - ITEC 110 Spring 2010 Section 01 (tentative until 20-Jan)

ITEC 110 provides an introduction to information technology, to the principles that underlie information technology, problem solving, and to the fields that make up information technology.

Course Sections

ITEC 110-01 402 Young 3-3:50pm Mon/Wed/Fri, Final Exam: TBA

Text, Online and Optional Materials, Technology Center, LARC top

Connecting with Computer Science by Anderson, Ferro, and Hilton, Thomson Course Technology

Chapter outlines / class notes (PowerPoint)

Fundamentals of Information Systems by Stair and Reynolds, Thomson Course Technology

Chapter outlines / class notes (PowerPoint)

WebCT/Blackboard course name: TBA
Walker Technology Center Lab Hours
Learning Assistance and Resource Center (LARC)
Links to RU calendar, final exam schedule, course syllabus, and flu preparedness guidelines.

Goals and Objectives top

See the official course syllabus.

Homework and Quizzes top

Homework completion will be recorded in WebCT. 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 6pm. Partial credit (up to 80%) will be granted for any homework submitted by Fri 19-Feb 6pm, Fri 02-Apr 6pm, or Fri 30-Apr 6pm. 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 6pm as detailed in the schedule below. The 8 homework assignment grades each count 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. 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.

Exams top

Exams will be delivered via WebCT or hardcopy. 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 an 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 top

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 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 note a student has an excused absence for a particular class.

Assessment top

The assessment will be weighted as follows:

24% Quizzes (2% each for 12 weekly quizzes)
16% Homework (2% each for 8 homework submissions)
15% Participation (1% for each week of classes plus 1% for everybody who makes it to week 9)
15% Exam 1 (Wed 17-Feb)
15% Exam 2 (Wed 31-Mar)
15% Exam 3 / Final Exam

All three exams will also include some material drawn from the information technology and computer history material discussed in class.

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

The assessment will be according to the following scale:

A = 90% to 100%
B = 80% to 89%
C = 70% to 79%
D = 60% to 69%
F = 59% and below

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 top

Class attendance is expected and strongly recommended. Absences (excused or otherwise) do not relieve students from the responsibility for subject matter missed or homework, quizzes, or online discussions 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 on

Class attendance for weekly class sessions
Completion of weekly online discussions

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

Online class discussion postings must be completed via WebCT discussions each Friday by 6pm for the current chapter on non-exam weeks.

All class participation work each week must be recorded in the current WebCT class participation assessment each Friday by 6pm. More than 50% of class participation each week is class attendance.

Everybody who makes it to week 9 gets 1% for week 8 (Spring Break week).

Class Courtesy Policy top

Please set cell phones, pagers, and notebook computers to silent during class. Students are encouraged to bring computers to all ITEC 110 classes. Computers should primarily be used for work relevant to ITEC 110 during ITEC 110 classes. Please refrain from any activities while in class that would be disruptive to the class.

Honor Code top

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 top

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 top

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 top

Class starts Wed 20-Jan.
Fri 19-Mar (end of 8th week of classes) is the last date to withdraw from an individual class with a grade of W.

	Computer Science	Chapters	Information Systems	Homework	Quizzes	Exams (221 Walker)
Week 1 20-Jan	Introduction to Computer Science	Chapter 1			CS Chapter 1
Week 2 25-Jan	Software Architecture	Chapter 2 Chapter 3			CS Chapter 2
Week 3 01-Feb	Data representation	Chapter 4		Homework 1	CS Chapter 4
Week 4 08-Feb	Operating systems	Chapter 5		Homework 2	CS Chapter 5
Week 5 15-Feb	History Review			Partial credit	Partial credit	Exam 1 (Wed 17-Feb)
Week 6 22-Feb	Networks The Internet	Chapter 6 Chapter 7		Homework 3	CS Chapter 6
Week 7 01-Mar	Database fundamentals	Chapter 8		Homework 4	CS Chapter 8
Week 8 08-Mar	Spring Break week
Week 9 15-Mar	Programming	Chapter 11			CS Chapter 11
Week 10 22-Mar	Software engineering	Chapter 12		Homework 5	CS Chapter 12
Week 11 29-Mar	History Review			Partial credit	Partial credit	Exam 2 (Wed 31-Mar)
Week 12 05-Apr		Chapter 1	Introduction to Information Systems	Homework 6	IS Chapter 1
Week 13 12-Apr		Chapter 5 Chapter 6	E-Commerce Design Support Systems	Homework 7	IS Chapter 5
Week 14 19-Aor		Chapter 7	Knowledge Management Systems	Homework 8	IS Chapter 7
Week 15 26-Apr		Chapter 9	Personal and societal impact of computers	Partial credit	IS Chapter 9 Partial credit
Week 16 03-May	Final Exam week					Exam 3 / Final Exam