Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "CS 110-4"
COURSE NAME: "Microcomputer Applications"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall Semester 2012

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Sindoni Giuseppe
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MW 8:30-9:45
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS:
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS: MW, 9:45-10:15 AM, by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Develop essential skills in and knowledge of personal productivity software (office automation, internet tools) and the use of new Web 2.0 tools as a resource for professional business practice.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

Principles of information and communication technology. Operating systems. File systems and file/folder management.

Working in different environments: local PC, intranet servers, internet services, cloud computing, social networks.

Personal productivity software: Office (Microsoft, OpenOffice, Google net suite). Simple integrated document management.

Office automation: Word processing, spreadsheets and presentation software: basic and advanced features.

Technical and business perspective of the Web: servers and browsers; Web 2.0 resources.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of the course the student will:

1 - Understand the basic concepts of file management on local and network platforms

2 - Know how to use basic and advanced features of office automation programs

3 - Know how to produce professional reports integrating different office automation tools

4 - Understand different environments for personal productivity: local, intranet, cloud

5 - Know how to use the Internet and the Web as resources for personal productivity

TEXTBOOK:

NONE

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments
The Long Tail	Chris Anderson	Random House	1844138518, 9781844138517
Enterprise 2.0: new collaborative tools for your organization's toughest challenges	Andrew McAfee	Harvard Business Press	1422125874, 9781422125878

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
First intermediate test	Production of a Word document composed of a number of different objects.	10
Midterm	Multiple choice quizzes + production of a hypermedia document.	25
Second intermediate test	Solution of a simple calculation problem using MS Excel.	10
Third intermediate test	Production of a short (6-8 slides) hypermedia PowerPoint presentation.	10
Final exam	Multiple choice quizzes + production of a complex office document.	30
Active attendance	See attendance requirements. Every absence will lead to a 0.5 point reduction of the final Grade.	15

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:

Assessment Guidelines for assigning main letter grades: A, B, C,D, and F.

A: Work of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensiveknowledge 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.

B: This 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.

C: This is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.

D: This 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.

F: This 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 is compulsory, as all lessons will be held in the computer laboratory and will be a combination of theory and practice. Students spending most lesson time using smart-phones or the like will be marked absent.

There is no compulsory textbook for this course, that will be based on class presentations (made available on the intranet), teaching, web references and recommended reserved readings.

Students that fail to attend at least 23 lessons out of 28 will get an "F" grade. Please refer to the university catalog for the attendance and absence policy.

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

	NB: this schedule is provisional, subject to changes.
day 1	Introduction, course aims and content. Grading policy. Assessment guidelines. Exams. Course schedule.
day 2	Principles of Information Technology: hardware
day 3	Principles of Information Technology: software
day 4	Operating systems, file systems, types of software (OS, middleware, application software).
day 5	Local computing, Intranet, Internet, cloud computing principles
day 6	Intranet / Extranet Web 2.0 Social networks
day 7	Software as a service Local vs Network. Installed applications on local platforms, Software as a platform, cloud computing. Examples of distributed systems: Google Docs
day 8	Personal productivity SW . Office (Microsoft, Open Office, Google net suite) Open source vs. commercial software
day 9	Simple Integration of documents Folder management. Local disk / Network Disks. Storage in the cloud. Google docs.
day 10	Using cloud computing. Personal and Google docs account. File sharing and permissions on Google Docs.
day 11	Test: multiple document management
day 12	Office automation Common features. Universal tasks. Help and learning resources
day 13	Word processing. Document formatting, summaries, sections, document organization
day 14	Word processing. Master and subdocuments. Tracking changes, merging documents. Inserting references and tables
day 15	RECAP CLASS
day 16	RECAP CLASS
day 17	MIDTERM TEST
day 18	Spreadsheet. Introduction File organization Cells and addresses
day 19	Spreadsheet. Formulas and functions
day 20	Spreadsheet Problem solving. Principles of modeling. Charts
day 21	Spreadsheet. Graphs wiht Multiple data series. Test: modeling, problem solving.
day 22	Presentation software. Introduction. Presentation creation. Layouts. Themes. Transition and animation
day 23	Presentation software. Using a template. Working with outlines.
day 24	Presentation software. Slide show design and principles. Multimedia in presentations.
day 25	Test: multi-source hypermedia document
day 26	Professional use of social networks.
day 27	RECAP CLASS
day 28	FINAL