Course Basics

• 1 online syllabus quiz (100 pts)
• 5 turn-in Assignments (each 100 pts)
• 2 Exams (each 200pts)

Course Basics

• All lecture materials are online (you have access as long as you buy the required textbooks)
• First day attendance requirement satisfied by taking a survey online through BlackBoard (I see that over half the class have already succeeded with this.)

Topics

• Concepts
  • Understanding computers, the internet, web resources, ethics in information technology, application software, system software, computer hardware, networking, managing digital data and devices, security issues, protecting data and devices

Topics

• Skills
  • Microsoft Office
  • Word: word processing and document preparation
  • Excel: spreadsheets and numeric analysis
  • Powerpoint: creating presentations

Required Materials

• Required course materials are in a course pack at the FSU bookstore. The ISBN is 1-269-28805-9

Assignments

• There are five turn-in Microsoft Office assignments
• Word
• Excel
• Excel
• Excel
• Excel
• The first Word assignment is used as the FSU "Computer Competency Component" capstone assignment

Assignments continued

• Due on a Friday by midnight
• All assignments will be graded using MS Office 2010 on a PC running Windows, so make sure that your assignment works on this platform.

Assignments continued

• Files that were saved in earlier formats that do not open will receive a zero.
• You may lose points if you saved the file under an older format and it will open but some features are missing.
• You may work on and submit files in MS Office 2010 (PC) or MS Office 2011 (Mac) format. Be sure to verify that any files produced on a Mac open and work correctly in the current Windows office platform.

Assignments continued

• Assignments must be submitted through Blackboard following instructions provided in the course handout on submissions; provided on course web site
• All questions about grades on all graded work in this course must be reported to YOUR ADMINISTRATIVE TA within 7 days of the grade posting; weekends do count
• Every student will be assigned an Administrative TA who will be your contact for grading inquiries; information will be on Blackboard site

Submitting Assignments

• Make sure you have a good internet connection
• Please use latest Internet Explorer or Firefox
• I don't recommend using other browsers (e.g. Google Chrome, Safari); Blackboard does not always work correctly or consistently with all browsers
• Make sure you save your work properly.

Submitting Assignments

• Close the application before submitting any files (Word, Excel)
• Select the correct file to upload. Be sure it's the right file!
• In order to submit the assignment you must hit the Submit button.
• You are required to check your submission after you submit to make sure your work actually did submit to Blackboard correctly!
• Read and carefully follow all of the handout instructions on submitting and verifying an assignment submission under Assignments on the course Blackboard site.

Common mistakes on
submitting assignments

• Submitting them close to the deadlines.
• There are MANY students in this class and Blackboard can easily get overloaded. Submit your assignments early.
• Using a browser other than Internet Explorer or Firefox
• Using a slow or unreliable internet connection
• Not saving the file properly

Common mistakes on
submitting assignments

• Submitting the wrong file
• Putting spaces, extra characters, or special characters in the file name
• Not closing the application before submitting (file is still locked)
• Hitting Save as Draft button instead of Submit
• Not waiting for the submission to complete before closing the browser.

Computer Competency
Requirement

For this course the University requires that a single assignment or test be reported to assess skills for the Computer Competency requirement.

The Word assignment has been designated as that "capstone" assignment.

Concept Exams

• There are two concept exams
• Examination times must be pre-scheduled (more info later)
• ALL EXAMS ARE TAKEN AT THE UNIVERSITY TESTING CENTER, UNIVERSITY CENTER C, 1ST FLOOR
• Both exams cannot be scheduled at the same time
• Look for the link to reserve an exam on your Blackboard site

Concept Exams

• Exam Session 1 offered during Week 7
• Exam Session 2 offered during Week 12
• Exams are 50 minutes long
• Exam questions are all taken from the required concepts textbook

Concept Exams

• You must bring a valid FSU Identification card
• TURN OFF all cell phones and other devices during exams
• A valid documented excuse is required for missing an exam and avoiding a 40 point penalty

Grades

1000 total points available:

• 100 Syllabus Quiz
• 200 Exam 1 (concepts)
• 200 Exam 2 (concepts)
• 500 MS Office Assignments (skills; 100 each)

Use the following table to calculate your letter grade based upon the number of points you have earned.

• Grades for each assignment should be posted within 14 working days after the due date of the assignment.
• You have 7 days after the grades have been posted for any graded item to review your grade. After that, all grades are final.

Help

• Help
• Online help via email: 2100help@cs.fsu.edu
• In-Person Help at HELP DESK: MCH 302, 10am - 5:00pm weekdays
• All general purpose computer labs contain PC and MAC computers and have the appropriate MS Office software

Help

• Do not email the Course Director for assignment help. The Course Director will only remind you to send such emails to 2100help@cs.fsu.edu
• For questions about your assignment grades, you must email your Administrative TA.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Yes. Test questions will come from the concepts book. You will want the skills book to do the MS Office assignments.
• It is nearly impossible to do well on course exams if you do not read and carefully study the correct required concepts textbook.

FAQ continued

Yes, all assignments can be completed on a PC or a MAC. PCs that you can use are located in one of three General Purpose Computer labs on campus (MCH 315, Strozier, or the Student Union). Be sure to verify that any MAC files do open and work correctly on the course Windows platform.

More Frequently
Asked Questions

No.

FAQ continued

No. With so many students this is unmanageable. To ensure your assignment was submitted properly you must go back to the link where you submitted and check to see if the file is there, and check the file submission yourself. Right click on the file, download it using a name different from the original file name, and then try to open it. Be sure it opens properly in the required application. If it doesn't, you can still resubmit in Blackboard version 9, keeping in mind that course policies and due deadlines always apply.

Still More Frequently
Asked Questions

No.

1000, divided into the following categories:

• 100 points syllabus quiz
• 400 points for the two concepts exams (100 points each)
• 500 for the five MS Office skills assignments (100 points each)

No. There is plenty of time to complete all assignments. If you wait until the last moment to work on the assignment then you leave yourself no room for error. You can also do all work at the campus computing sites; you don't even need to own a computer.

Bad things do happen, so plan ahead.

A few last
questions

No. All students in this class have the same opportunities for course work to earn points.

Some tips for doing
well in this course

Attend class. Classes are designed to help you do well in this course.

Don't procrastinate.

More tips for doing
well in this course

No late assignments are accepted — turn your work in plenty early.

VERIFY your assignments to make sure they were uploaded to Blackboard correctly.

More tips for doing
well in this course

MAC users: Upload your files to a Windows PC and check them using MS Office 2010. There can be differences. Your work is graded on a PC. Do not use MS Office 2008. If you do choose to use 2013, then verify that your assignment in detail appears as it should. Your assignments will be graded using 2010.

Things to do now

• Read the Course Syllabus and be sure you understand all of its contents.
• Read the Course Calendar and start planning your work.
• Check the schedule of due dates and plan ahead.
• Be sure you buy the correct textbooks: use the provided syllabus information.

Things to do now

• Start on the required textbook reading assignments.
• Be sure to submit the 1st Day Attendance Quiz by the deadline of Thursday at 6:00pm.