Welcome to CSCI-172 - Introduction to Computer Modeling – Spring 2016
Section: 172_20
Course ID: o’conner20546
Instructor: Mike O’Conner
Email: michael.oconner@umontana.edu
Phone: (406) 243-2217
Office: Social Science 401 (the CS Department Office)
Online Components:
Moodle (umonline.umt.edu) and
My IT Lab (http://pearsonmylabandmastering.com/northamerica/myitlab/)
(we are using Office 2013)
My IT Lab – Registration Instructions:
Go to: http://www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com/northamerica/
Click: “Student” button at right of window (or “Get registered” link in “Student>>” box below picture)
Provide:
for E-mail: give your UM email address
Course ID: o’conner20546
Access Code: (found in an included item in your shrink-wrapped Textbook package)
Textbook:
We are using a Pearson Custom Program: CSCI 172 Introduction to Computer Modeling
ISBN: 978-1-269-97790-6 (Available in the UC Bookstore)
The shrink-wrapped package (bundled to save you money) includes :
- the textbook for our class – we use 6 chapters on Excel and 2 chapters on Access
- your Pearson Student Access Code packet so you can register for MyITLab (online)
- Office 2013 is free to students – see Moodle page
Course Layout:
Moodle is the primary source for 172. Assignments will be posted on Moodle. Be sure to check there
often for explanations, hints, and other helpful information that will appear there as needed. Some
homework assignments will be downloaded from Moodle and submitted on Moodle. The Midterm and
Final Exam will be on Moodle.
Pearson MyLabAndMastering provides and grades 1 Office Fundamentals Grader Project
[Assessment] project, 6 Excel Grader Projects [Homework] and 3 Access Grader Projects [Homework]:
all else is on Moodle. Pearson MyLabAndMastering can show you an assignment grade and the cause of
any point deductions. Pearson also provides Basic Skills Simulation Exercises to guide you through the
Hands On exercises in the textbook and provides End-of-Chapter Quizzes so you can check your
progress.
Basic Skills Simulations and Chapter Quizzes are worth zero points.
General Notes about the course:
-This course is designed to use Microsoft Office 2013. You may be able to use a Macintosh
version of Microsoft Office for some assignments, but it likely becomes increasingly more difficult
as you get further into the course. Also, Access is not available for the Macintosh version of Office.
Pearson expressly states the grader programs are graded for a specific version of Office and a
specific operating system (Office 2013 and Win-7 for us) and your grade may suffer if you use
something other than those two.
-Re-Do : You can re-do work as many times as you want, up until the due date. That means you can
correct and resubmit Grader Projects. Your grade is the highest grade you receive for an assignment. If
you re-do a Grader Project, I recommend you start from the beginning and re-do the whole thing – the
grading is better that way.
-Work Ahead : You can work through the course as fast as you like.
-Back Up : Back up your work in some way, so you have copies if something gets lost (or gets deleted
from your lab computer).
I will post my grade sheet heading so you can keep track of assignments and grades to see how you are
doing in the course (and not forget any Moodle assignments)
Include your course number and section number on all correspondence: 172_20
Grading Policy :
We will use the typical 90-80-70 grading scale.
No late work will be accepted. If you miss an assignment, you have one more week from that due
date to complete an alternative assignment that I will specify for you. So be sure to see me to let
me know right away when you need to do the alternate assignment.
It’s your responsibility to meet the deadlines.
The due date time for assignments is in Eastern time – 11:55 PM – which is 9:55 PM Mountain time, so
use that as the due time.
Have all assignments submitted by the start of Final Exam week.
If you are having problems or falling behind – talk to me about it!
Include your course number and section number on all correspondence: 172_20
CSCI-172 Prerequisites : Previous computer experience and successful completion of Math 095 (or
equivalent score on Math Placement Test) OR Consent of instructor
Copying / Cheating / Collaborating: You must do your own work. You may seek explanations and
help from other students, from teaching assistants, and from teachers. However, your work must be the
result of your individual efforts. Under no circumstances should you provide another student with your
work, or parts of your work, and you should not request or accept work from another student. The
penalties for cheating are severe, so don't get involved in it!
My view is that you need this Excel and Access knowledge for future classes and in job interviews: someone
who doesn’t know the material will be discovered almost immediately by those who do know it.
Also – and maybe more importantly – you will acquire a confidence that can be acquired no other way: a
confidence that you can figure out how to do any task asked of you in the work-a-day world.
So, don’t make your future more difficult: do the work now.
Profanity and obscenity will not be tolerated in class or on assignments.
Disabilities: Students with disabilities may request reasonable modifications by contacting me. The
University of Montana assures equal access to instruction through collaboration between students with
disabilities, instructors, and Disability Services for Students (DSS). “Reasonable” means the University
permits no fundamental alterations of academic standards or retroactive modifications.
Our By-The-Week Schedule:
1 - get accounts on Moodle and Pearson, plus look thru the Pearson Win-7 tutorial (0 points)
2 – Pearson - Office Fundamentals - 100 points extra credit
3 – Pearson - Excel 1 - Intro to Excel - 100 points
4 – Pearson - Excel 2 - Formulas and Functions - 100 points
5 - Moodle assignment - a "Fit or Fat" spreadsheet that you create yourself - 100 points
6 – Pearson - Excel 3 - Charts - 100 points
7 – Pearson - Excel 4 - Datasets and Tables - 100 points
8 – Midterm week – a Moodle "quiz" - 100 points
9 – Pearson - Excel 5 - Subtotals and Pivot Tables/Charts - 100 points
10 - Excel 6 - Variable Tables, Goal Seek, Solver, and my solver demo - 100 points
11 – Spring Break – no classes
12 - Access 1 - intro to Access - 100 points
13 - Access 2 - Tables and Queries - 100 points
14 - Moodle HVCB for Tables, Queries, simple Form, Reports - 100 points extra credit
15 – Access 3 – 100 points extra credit
16 – Final Exam week – a Moodle “quiz” – 100 points
Important Dates:
Monday 25 January – Classes Begin
Monday 15 February – Presidents’ Day [No Classes]
Sunday 13 March – Daylight Savings Time begins
Monday 4 April – Spring Break begins [No Classes until 11 April]
May 9 – 13 –- Final Exam Week [No Classes]
See also: http://www.umt.edu/provost/academiccalendar/
This Syllabus is subject to change or update at any time during the semester.