SYLLABUS HANDOUT
for
Winter, 2005–2006
Microcomputer Fundamentals
INFO 1001 (MCT 103) 4A
T/Th • 8:00 a.m.–9:15 a.m.
FOC 10 121
Alan R. Reinarz
Metropolitan Community College Page 1 of 10
Revised: Jul-02
SYLLABUS
METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
SECTION I: THE CLASS AND THE INSTRUCTOR
COURSE SECTION AND TITLE
INFO 1001 (MCT 103) 4A, Microcomputer Fundamentals
Academic Year
2005/WI
INSTRUCTOR’S NAME
Alan R. Reinarz
LOCATION OF CLASS
FOC 10 121
LOCATION OF LABS
FOC 10 119
METHODS OF CONTACTING INSTRUCTOR
areinarz@mccneb.edu
http://ctva.mccneb.edu/areinarz
METRO OFFICES
HOURS*
LOCATION
PHONE
FAX
M:
1:00p-2:00p
T/Th: 9:30a-10:30a
T:
3:30p-4:30p
FOC 10 104B
457-2274
457-2283
T:
6:00p-7:00p
SOC MAH 300
738-4089
738-4553
F:
11:00a-12:00p
EVC 125
289-1452
289-1222
*Stated office hours may need to be changed due to special circumstances or events. If the student wishes to meet
with the instructor at a time other than scheduled office hours, the student should make an appointment with the
instructor.
Home phone:
IMPORTANT DATES:
DATE CLASS BEGINS:
DATE CLASS ENDS:
LAST DATE TO DROP CLASS:
DATES CLASS DOES NOT MEET:
(402) 556-3071
December 1, 2005
February 23, 2006
February 8, 2006
December 21, 2005–January 1,
2006; January 16, 2006
SECTION II: THE COURSE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course introduces the student to computer and information literacy. Basic skills
on a microcomputer are developed by learning the operating system; organize and
manage files; word processing by creating, editing, formatting, manipulating text and
printing documents; spreadsheet by creating basic sheets with labels, values,
formulas, formatting and edit cells, using absolute and relative cell referencing;
saving, previewing and printing sheets; presentation software by creating a basic
slideshow using headings and bullet statements, saving, and how to start a
presentation; and database to understand the differences between a flat file and
relational database using Microsoft® Office. Exploring how to access information
using basic Internet and in library databases. Understanding user level security and
electronic mail skills are also covered.
Metropolitan Community College
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COURSE PREREQUISITES
The student must have a working knowledge of order of operations,
decimals/fractions, percentages and translation of story problems into a workable
formula. 20 wpm keyboarding skill recommended.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to do the following:
1. Recognize, identify, and use the basic terminology used in information systems
and literacy; understand the basic social implications of information and systems.
2. Identify essential objects and basic operations for the Windows operating system;
evaluate, plan, organize and execute a file management plan.
3. Evaluate, analyze, and organize researched information using the resources in the
library and on the Internet.
4. Communicate messages and discuss the social and ethical implications of using
communication systems as well as the inherent vulnerabilities of using
information and communications systems.
5. Assemble, edit and enhance messages, letters, memos, and publications using
Microsoft® Word.
6. Create spreadsheets, populate the sheet with labels and values, and create
formulas to calculate sums and percentages using Microsoft® Excel.
7. Determine when to use relative and absolute cell references and test solutions
when using Microsoft® Excel.
8. Discuss the differences between a flat file and relational databases.
9. Create a slide presentation using slide and bullet transitions, and graphics with
Microsoft® PowerPoint.
10. Identify the use of policy in business and discuss the best practices to secure
information and systems. Determine strategies to defend against information and
systems attacks.
11. Use online databases and the Internet to evaluate researched information to
validate researched information for accuracy.
REQUIRED/SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS:
1.
Textbooks
Title:
Publisher:
Illustrated MS Office 2003 2nd Ed
(Introductory) + Sam 2003 Student
Tutorial V3 CD + 64MB thumb
drive
ISBN:
Course Technology
1-418-82144-6
2. INFO 1001 Support Site: http://www.mccinfo.net/info1001.
3. The student will need to purchase removable storage media (3.5”
floppies, zip disks, or thumb drives) for this course.
Metropolitan Community College
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SECTION III: STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
METHODS OF LEARNING
The student will have specific assignments to read and master. These assignments are
indicated in the course schedule and/or outlined by the instructor. The student
should read the material before each class meeting. This helps prepare the student to
participate in class discussion and better understand materials being presented.
Students will be required to request a student e-mail account for this class.
ATTENDANCE STATEMENT
The course will be covered partially by assigned portions of the text and may be
presented in a sequence different from the text. Material will also be covered that is
not in the text. Attendance is necessary to understand the course material. Each
student is expected to recognize the importance of class attendance and promptness.
CHRONIC TARDINESS AND ABSENCES MAY RESULT IN A REDUCTION IN THE
FINAL GRADE BY 10%.
Excessive absences or unsatisfactory progress will subject the student to
administrative withdrawal from the course. If a student should miss a class for any
reason, he/she is expected to cover the material he/she missed on his/her own. All
work must be made up to the satisfaction of the instructor. Class assignments and
labs can be printed from the instructor’s Internet page at
http://ctva.mccneb.edu/areinarz.
STUDENT CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR
Students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that is appropriate and
professional. Surfing the Web, checking E-mail, sleeping and talking are inappropriate
behaviors and are disruptive to other students in the class. If you feel sleepy, you
should stand in the back of the room. The instructor may ask you in front of your
classmates to not participate in this type of behaviors or assess points from your class
participation/attendance grade. Continuous display of such behaviors is justification
for the instructor to ask you to leave the room.
STUDENT WITHDRAWAL
If you cannot attend and complete this course, you should officially withdraw by
calling Central Registration, 457-5231. Failure to officially withdraw will result in
either an instructor withdrawal (IW) or failing (F) grade. The last date to withdraw is
indicated on page 2 of this syllabus.
ACADEMIC HONESTY STATEMENT
The College imposes specific disciplinary actions in response to incidents of academic
misconduct [cheating, plagiarism, etc.]. These actions may include: admonition,
failing grade, failure of course, disciplinary probation, suspension and dismissal. A
copy of the current disciplinary procedure is available in each campus Student
Services center and from your Dean’s office.
USE OF STUDENT WORK
The ownership of student works submitted in fulfillment of classroom requirements
shall remain with the student(s): By enrolling in classes offered by Metropolitan
Metropolitan Community College
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Community College, the student gives the College license to mark on, modify, and
retain the work as may be required by the process of instruction, as described in the
course syllabus. The institution shall not have the right to use the work in any other
manner without the written consent of the student(s).
Nothing in this section shall be construed as overriding the provisions of the section
on the ACADEMIC HONESTY STATEMENT.
ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
If you have a disability that may substantially limit your ability to participate in this
class, please contact a Vocational Special Needs Counselor, located in the Student
Services Office on each campus. Metropolitan Community College will provide
reasonable accommodations for persons with documented qualifying disabilities.
However, it is the student’s responsibility to request accommodations. For further
information, please contact the Student Services Office at your campus.
ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING PROGRAM
Metropolitan Community College is committed to continuous improvement of teaching
and learning. You may be asked to help us to accomplish this objective. For example,
you may be asked to respond to surveys or questionnaires. In other cases, tests or
assignments you are required to do for this course may be shared with faculty and
used for assessment purposes.
TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES
As you pursue your educational objectives, you may be required to use computer information technology resources at Metropolitan Community College. Use of these
resources is a privilege and carries with it a responsibility to respect the rights and
privacy of others, the integrity of facilities, and to follow Student Conduct Guidelines
and College Policies. Uses of technological resources, either on campus, connected
through the Internet or by a dial-up connection are required to comply with the
college requirements for use. Computer systems, including all related equipment,
networks and network devices (specifically including Internet access), are provided
only for authorized Staff, Faculty and Students and may be monitored for lawful purposes, including ensuring authorized use, for management of the system, to facilitate
protection against unauthorized access, and to verify security procedures, survivability and operational security. During monitoring, information may be examined,
recorded, copied and used for authorized purposes. All information, including
personal information, placed on or sent over this system may be monitored. Use of
Metropolitan Community College technology systems, authorized or unauthorized,
constitutes consent to monitoring. Evidence of unauthorized use collected during
monitoring may be used for administrative, criminal or other adverse action.
EDUCATIONAL SERVICES PROGRAM AREA IDENTIFICATION
Program Area
Computer Technology and Visual Arts
Academic Dean
Tom Pensabene
Academic Dean’s office phone
457-2660
Metropolitan Community College
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The Office of the Academic Dean should be contacted with any questions or problems
that your instructor is not able to resolve to your satisfaction.
SECTION IV: INSTRUCTOR RESPONSIBILITIES
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
In each lecture during this course, the instructor covers material the student needs to
learn and accomplish. In addition, written handouts will be provided from time to
time. These are used to supplement the text material and expand the course. It is
essential the student practices principals covered in class and complete the labs.
Instruction consists mainly of lecture material presented by the instructor. In some
classes, group discussion and demonstration will be used. In all meetings, discussion
opportunities will be provided and the student is encouraged to ask questions and
clarify information as the instructor is lecturing and/or presenting material.
METHODS OF ASSESSING STUDENT PROGRESS
Grades will be determined by labs, tests, class attendance and participation and class
assignments. The student has the possibility to accumulate a possible 530 points for
the course. For example, a 100% on one test is equal to 100 points. You must
accumulate at least 372 points to pass this course.
TESTS = 200 points
LABS = 180 points
Information Literacy Project = 50 points
ATTENDANCE = 100 points
POINTS TO PASS WITH A “D”= 372
TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE = 530
CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING FINAL COURSE GRADE:
A = 491 - 530
B = 452 - 490
C = 412 - 451
D = 372 - 411
F = 0 - 371
MAKE-UP TEST PROCEDURES: There will be no make-up test for this course.
LATE ASSIGNMENTS:
Assignments turned in late may lose 10% per class day for up to a week and may
then receive a grade of 0. No assignments will be accepted after the test has been
given. All assignments must be turned-in during class or dropped in the instructor’s
mail box in the computer lab or office. I prefer not to accept homework in the hallway.
MAINTENANCE OF STUDENT RECORDS
Assignments will be returned to the students in class a week after the assignment is
handed in. Tests will be graded and returned to the students in the next class period
after the test. A test critique will be conducted to cover high miss areas.
Metropolitan Community College
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SECTION IV: SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS:
Week:
Date:
1
12/1/
2005
12/6
2
12/8
12/13
3
12/15
12/20
Topics:
Syllabus Review/Orientation
- Identify the basic hardware
components of a microcomputer system:
monitor, keyboard, media capacities,
micro-processor, RAM, ROM,
motherboard, printer and mouse.
- Differentiate between input, output,
and processing devices.
- Differentiate between system and
application software.
- Understand the importance of licensing
and copyright and the differences
between them.
- Identify the differences between
application and operating systems
software.
- Identify the concepts of information
literacy.
- Define the term "operating system".
- Define and use Windows terminology
such as mouse pointer, scroll bars,
maximize, minimize, restore, border,
Taskbar, status bar and toolbar.
- Manage files using My Computer
including creating folders, copy and
moving files and creating shortcuts.
- Manage folders and files using Windows
Explorer including creating folders, copy
and moving files and creating shortcuts.
- Change the view of files and folders.
- Capture and paste desktop graphics for
use in documents.
- Format media using the My Computer
interface.
- Identify storage media types and use
local and networked drives.
Metropolitan Community College
Chapters:
Understanding
Essential Computer
Concepts - pp 1 – 25
Information Literacy
Handout
Getting Started with
Windows XP - pp 29 –
47
Security Handout
Assignments:
Read Text and
Handouts in
the Chapters
Column
Assignment 1
Read Text and
Handouts in
the Chapters
Column
Assignment 2
Working with
Programs, Files, and
Folders - pp 53 – 71
and
Read Text and
Handouts in
the Chapters
Column
Formatting a Floppy
Disk – pp 77 – 79
Assignment 3
File Extensions
Handout
Page 7
4
1/3/
2006
1/5
5
1/10
6
1/12
1/17
1/19
- Have a basic understanding of what the
Internet is, how it was started and how it
has evolved to today.
- Have a basic understanding of the tools
used on the Internet like E-Mail, and
World Wide Web.
- Be able to enter Uniform Resource
Locators (URL) to access sites and
identify the home page.
- Be able to conduct a basic search on
the Internet and World Wide Web for
information.
- Be able to send and receive text e-mail
messages using the Student E-Mail
system with the Web-based e-mail
software.
- Compare and contrast the strengths
and weaknesses of search engines (e.g.
Google) to subscription database
services.
- Describe the similarities and
differences of library catalogs and other
databases.
Mid-Term
Getting Started with
Internet Explorer - pp
81 - 99
Read Text and
Handouts in
the Chapters
Column
Information Literacy
Handout
Assignment 4
- Start and exit the program.
- Display a working knowledge of the
word processing screen terminology.
- Demonstrate how to retrieve, name,
and save documents from local and
networked drives.
- Demonstrate how to copy and move
text.
- Revise text by moving the insertion
point, typing over and inserting text,
deleting, un-deleting, and moving single
characters, words and blocks of text.
- Check and correct spelling and
grammatical errors.
- Insert and edit Headers and Footers in
a document.
- Print the documents.
- Change the page default settings by
selecting new fonts, align text with tabs,
indent paragraphs, new paragraph
spacing, creating bulleted, numbered
lists and applying borders and shading.
- Use find and replace techniques.
All Units for Word - pp
120 – 207
Metropolitan Community College
Getting Connected
Handout
Read Text and
Handouts in
the Chapters
Column
Assignment 5
Page 8
7
1/24
1/26
8
1/31
2/2
9
2/7
2/9
- Start and exit the program.
- Display a working knowledge of the
spreadsheet screen terminology.
- Retrieve, name and save spreadsheet
files to local and networked drives.
- Define basic spreadsheet terms: cell,
column, row, range, value and label.
- Enter and edit information into the
spreadsheet with formatting options for
both values and labels.
- Identify the differences between a list in
a spreadsheet and a database table..
- Copy and move cells
- Use and manipulate relative and
absolute cell references.
- Create formulas such as addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division.
- Use the function =SUM.
- Use commands affecting worksheet
appearance including using various
fonts, adjusting column width, inserting
and deleting rows and columns, using
colors, patterns, borders.
- Define basic database terms including
file, record, field and database.
- Understand the logic of the use of
presentation software.
- Start and Exit the software.
- Display a working knowledge of the
presentation software.
- Retrieve and save presentations on
local and networked drives.
- Plan slide outlines.
- Explain terminology: slide, transitions
and bullets.
- Copy, cut and paste slides, bullets and
text.
- Save presentations, open presentations
and print in different views.
- Build slides from the outline view.
- Apply templates
- Understand and use appropriate
transitions.
Metropolitan Community College
Getting Started with
Excel and Building and
Editing Worksheets pp 225 – 271
Read Text and
Handouts in
the Chapters
Column
Assignment 6
Information
Literacy Project
(Due last week)
Formatting a
Worksheet - pp 279 –
309 and
Working with Charts pp 345 – 347 only
Read Text and
Handouts in
the Chapters
Column
Assignment 7
Database Terminology
348 - 349
Getting Started with
Power Point - pp 465 –
529
Read Text and
Handouts in
the Chapters
Column
Assignment 8
Page 9
10
2/14
2/16
11
2/21
2/23
- Understand the need for security,
control and confidentiality.
- Demonstrate how to select strong
passwords.
- Identify the use of antivirus software
and the logic for keeping it updated.
- Identify how to recognize user level
attacks and processes for countering
them.
- Identify the need for a use policy.
- Demonstrate protecting information
systems by locking the computer or
logging off.
- Conduct basic searches for information
and synthesize the findings in a
presentation.
Final
Information Literacy Project (Due)
Metropolitan Community College
Security Handout
Information Literacy
Handout
Read Text and
Handouts in
the Chapters
Column
Assignment 9
Page 10