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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "CS 110-3"
COURSE NAME: "Computer Office Applications"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2018
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Walter Arrighetti
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: TTH 6:00-7:15 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS:
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course helps students develop the advanced skills that are necessary in personal productivity office applications, such as word processing, data management and analysis, and presentation/slide design. The course follows best practices and reviews available internet tools for data storage.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
Operating Systems (OSs) and their filesystems: Windows, macOS, Linux.
File formats and their encodings for storing different data types: text, hypertext, images, sound, video, etc.
Traditional computing models: standalone, networked, server-client paradigms.
Introduction to office and publishing applications: Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Skype) and Google for Business (Drive, Documents, Sheets, Presentations, Forms, Hangout).
Integration between office applications available to OSs and Cloud services (e.g. Google):
 * wordprocessors: from basic typesetting up to desktop publishing
 * spreadsheets: organizing your daily stuff
 * presentations: companion to any speech
 * email/calendaring: planning business meetings
Introduction to Cloud computing models (IaaS/PaaS/SaaS)
Introduction to basic concepts in Information Security, Cryptography, and Privacy.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. Produce basic- to intermediate-level typesetting with MS Word / Google Documents;
2. Produce basic-level data manipulation with MS Excel / Google Spreadsheets;
3. Produce basic-level slides with MS PowerPoint / Google Presentations.
4. Pick up the right application to process different data types.
5. Navigate and share documents using removable drives and network volumes (with either MS Windows and Apple macOS).
6. Use of shared resources in the Cloud: identification, access and permission methodologies.
7. Capability to write professional-level emails and organize meetings using planning/calendaring/conferencing tools.
8. Demonstrate knowledge of basic concepts in data Privacy and Information Security.
TEXTBOOK:
NONE
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Attendance and participation 60
Midterm exam 20
Final exam 20

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until April 23rd 2018.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

SessionSession FocusReading AssignmentOther AssignmentMeeting Place/Exam Dates
16 Jan 2018Introduction and rationale to the course   
18 Jan 2018Computing models: standalone, client/server paradigm, networked Design a bird's a view for a distributed services for all your friends 
23 Jan 2018Operating Systems and main differences among them: Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, Android   
25 Jan 2018Storing files: filesystems, folders, disks/partitions. Mounting removable drives and network volmes (Samba/CIFS, NFS, AFP). Create and use a network volme at home for immediate file-sharing (required at least 2 PCs/Macs or 1 mobile device and 1 PC/Mac). 
30 Jan 2018File formats for storing texts (TXT, RTF, DOC, DOCX), hypertexts (HTML, PDF), sound (WAV, MID, OGG), database (SQL, ...), etc.   
01 Feb 2018Principles of raster, vector and animated/3D computer graphics (CG). File formats for storing images (PNG, JPEG, TIFF, EXR, DNG, ...), videos (AVI, MPEG, QuickTime, Mastrosa, MXF, ...) and CG (DXF) Pick up the right file format for generic data types 
06 Feb 2018Basic typesetting tips, tricks and shortcuts   
08 Feb 2018MS Word / G Docs: basic word-processing Typeset your own simple document 
13 Feb 2018MS Word / G Docs: advanced typesetting and hypertexting Beautify your own, no-longer-simple document 
15 Feb 2018MS Word: styles and templates Design your own thesis' template 
20 Feb 2018MS Word: introduction to Desktop Publishing and finishing. Camera-, Press- and Web-ready documents.   
22 Feb 2018Cloud computing and its paradigms: from Infrastructure- (IaaS), to Platform- (PaaS), to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) paradigms. Design the funcitonal toy-model of some public-domain / commercial web service based on Cloud. 
27 Feb 2018 Midterm exam  
01 Mar 2018MS PowerPoint / G Slides: basic elements of a presentation Elements of Typography and Design: choosing fonts and a color palette Drawing your first pitch 
06 Mar 2018MS PowerPoint: rules for pitching an audience and their translation to effective slides   
08 Mar 2018MS PowerPoint: advanced design. Empowering an effective pitch 
13 Mar 2018MS Excel / G Sheets: organizing data and ordinary analytics Record some tabular data about your daily activities during the next 1-2 weeks 
15 Mar 2018MS Excel / G Sheets: start to do simple calculations Correlate your weekly data in a spreadsheet 
20 Mar 2018G Forms et al.: interactive documents Create and deploy an RSVP announcement 
22 Mar 2018Sharing documents with other in the Cloud. Authentication, access lists and file Permissions. Storing your documents in the Cloud: Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, etc. Store and share documents on Cloud storage for use with office-automation apps in the Cloud. 
27 Mar 2018Principles of Information Security. The Triad of Security. Types of security controls.   
29 Mar 2018Authentication, federated identification and authentication: our alter-ego identities in the digital realm. Review filesystem access permissions in your own computer/laptop, network storage and/or cloud storage space. 
10 Apr 2018MS Outlook / Gmail; MS Skype / G Hangout; …): communication, planning and conferencing in a company setting. Send emails to and chat with your fellows like working for a company. 
12 Apr 2018Securing your content: elements of Cryptography.  Generate password-protected douments and play with public/private keys. 
17 Apr 2018Thought use of multimedia in your everyday productivity.   
19 Apr 2018Introduction on Data Management   
24 Apr 2018Last lesson: the new EU Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and its consequences on privacy, social-networking and e-Business   
04 May 2018Final exam  Friday, May 4, 3:00pm–5:30pm