CSCI-130: Computing: Science and Its Applications Fall 2009
(Introduction to Computing for Non-majors)
Link to Lab and
Lecture Schedule
[Link to
TA Schedule]
INSTRUCTORS:
|
J. Andrew Holey
Office: 203 Peter Engel Science Center (SJU) Email: jholey@csbsju.edu Phone: 3085 Homepage: www.users.csbsju.edu/~jholey Office Hours: see
web page for many posted hours |
John Miller
Office: 213 Peter Engel Science Center (SJU) Email: jmiller@csbsju.edu Phone: 3155 Homepage: www.users.csbsju.edu/~jmiller Office Hours:
9:15 - 10:15 on day2 and day4 or by appointment |
TEXT
BOOK(required; a $13 fee will be charged to your student
account):
Herzfeld, Miller, Trutwin, and
Ziegler. Computer Concepts and
Applications for Non- Majors
COURSE OVERVIEW & OBJECTIVES:
This course is an introduction to computing, both in theory and in practice. We will examine questions of how computers work, what they are good at doing, what they don't do well, why they sometimes don't work as expected, and how they can best be used. We will consider both the “how” and the “why” of problem solving using a computer. Students will gain insights into the structure and use of computers that will serve them however they may decide to use computers in the future. Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
· describe the basic components and workings of a computer system,
· demonstrate awareness of the capabilities and limitations of computers,
· design, read, write and understand Visual Basic programs, and
· design and implement solutions to simple spreadsheet and database problems
LAB COMPONENT:
This is a core natural science course, and like all such courses, it has a required laboratory component. Students will complete lab problems in the time specified and demonstrate their completion to the instructor before leaving the lab. Those in attendance who do not complete the problems during the allotted lab time may still earn credit for the lab by showing their solutions to their lab instructor any time before or at the beginning of the next scheduled lab. Attendance at all labs is required; any student who must miss a lab for reasons beyond his or her control must arrange for a makeup time in advance. No credit will be received for unexcused absences. After the first missed lab, each lab missed will lower a student’s final grade by 2 percentage points, in addition to the loss of points incurred for the unexcused absence. A Total of 3 unexcused lab absences will automatically result in a failing grade for the course.
Assignments,
PROJECTS, EXAMS, & Quizzes:
There will be several assignments during the course, which include
assigned readings (see schedule below), in-class exercises, and homework. There
will be two major projects for which each student will design his or her own
application and write up complete documentation for that application. One
project will be in Visual Basic and a second will be in either Excel or Access,
(your choice). There will be three in-class exams all of which are closed book,
three in-lab open-book exams completed during lab periods, and eight in-class
closed-book quizzes. You will be allowed to drop the lowest two in-class quiz
grades. Under no circumstances will make-up quizzes be given. The syllabus
lists all quiz and exam times; you are responsible for keeping those times
clear in your schedule. There is no final exam. Students will be allowed to
make up a missed exam only in the case of a documented emergency and at the
discretion of the instructor. No late work will be accepted (assignments, labs,
homework, and projects.)
COURSE EVALUATION:
|
The final grade for the course will be based on the following
percentages: ·
In-class
Exams
40% ·
Lab
Exams 20% ·
Projects
15% ·
Quizzes 10% ·
Labs 10% ·
Assignments
5% |
In general, the letter
grades are assigned using the following guidelines except in certain
situations where the instructor sees a need for adjustments. A
90% Highly competent
performance B
80% Fairly competent
performance C
70% Fair comprehension of the
material D
60% Partial comprehension of
the material F
< 60% Unsatisfactory performance Grades of AB, BC, and CD may
be given at the instructor's discretion for borderline cases. |
SPECIAL
ACCOMMODATIONS: Students needing special accommodations or who
have special needs are invited to share this information with the instructor as
early as possible.
ACADEMIC HONESTY: Work must be completed in a
manner consistent with the College of Saint
Benedict’s & Saint John’s University's codes for academic honesty.
All outside work and/or ideas used in any part of this course must be properly
attributed; all forms of plagiarism including – but
not limited to – copying the ideas and the written and/or spoken words of
others and copying or annexing computer files from other people are strictly
prohibited. All acts of plagiarism, cheating,
or other academic misconduct are considered forms of academic dishonesty and
are strictly prohibited. Such instances of academic dishonesty will be reported
to the appropriate personnel and officials. Please refer to the most recent
version of the College of Saint Benedict’s & Saint John’s
University's Academic Catalog for further relevant
information and guidelines on this matter.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE FOR CLASS AND LAB MEETINGS
|
DATE |
DAY |
Topic |
HW |
READING |
|
|
1 |
Thu
8/27 |
2 |
Introduction, Overview, & begin with algorithms |
1.1 - 1.5 |
|
|
2 |
Thu
8/27 |
2 (or 3) |
Lab: no lab |
|
|
|
3 |
Mon
8/31 |
4 |
Algorithms, program design, Intro to Visual Basic |
|
6.1 - 7.4 |
|
4 |
Mon
8/31 |
4 (or 5) |
Lab1: Intro to PC use and file management |
|
|
|
5 |
Wed
9/02 |
6 |
calculations, variables, input & output, formatting |
|
7.1 - 7.6 |
|
6 |
Fri
9/04 |
2 |
Visual Basic - Decisions |
|
7.7 |
|
7 |
Fri
9/04 |
2 (or 3) |
Lab7: Intro to VB |
|
|
|
8 |
Wed
9/09 |
4 |
Visual Basic - loops … |
7.8 |
|
|
9 |
Wed
9/09 |
4 (or 5) |
Lab8: VB decisions |
|
|
|
10 |
Fri
9/11 |
6 |
Visual Basic - arrays & file I/O |
|
7.9 |
|
11 |
Tue
9/15 |
2 |
Visual Basic - Searching arrays |
7.10 |
|
|
12 |
Tue
9/15 |
2 (or 3) |
Lab9: VB loops (& files) |
|
|
|
13 |
Thu
9/17 |
4 |
Visual Basic - Sorting arrays |
|
7.10 |
|
14 |
Thu
9/17 |
4 (or 5) |
Lab10: Arrays & searching in VB |
|
|
|
15 |
Mon
9/21 |
6 |
VB - multiple forms, other I/O methods … |
7.11 |
|
|
16 |
Wed
9/23 |
2 |
Dynamic Picture Loading |
|
|
|
17 |
Wed
9/23 |
2 (or 3) |
Lab11: sorting in VB |
|
|
|
18 |
Fri
9/25 |
4 |
Modules, Public variables, VB review & start Data Rep |
|
2.1 - 2.3 |
|
19 |
Fri
9/25 |
4 (or
5) |
Lab Exam 1 |
|
|
|
20 |
Tue
9/29 |
6 |
Exam 1 |
|
|
|
21 |
Thu
10/01 |
2 |
Data Rep: representation of integers |
2.4 - 2.5 |
|
|
22 |
Thu
10/01 |
2 (or 3) |
No Lab |
|
|
|
23 |
Mon
10/05 |
4 |
Representation of real numbers |
|
2.6 |
|
24 |
Mon
10/05 |
4 (or 5) |
Lab2: Numeric data representation |
|
|
|
25 |
Wed
10/07 |
6 |
Representation of non-numeric data |
|
2.7 - 2.10 |
|
26 |
Tue
10/13 |
2 |
Boolean logic, electronic gates, circuits … |
|
3.1 - 3.5 |
|
27 |
Tue
10/13 |
2 (or 3) |
Lab3: Non-numeric data representation |
|
|
|
28 |
Thu
10/15 |
4 |
Designing and simplifying circuits |
|
3.1 - 3.5 |
|
29 |
Thu
10/15 |
4 (or 5) |
Lab4: Circuit design |
|
|
|
30 |
Mon
10/19 |
6 |
VB Projects Due - Demo in
class |
|
|
|
31 |
Wed
10/21 |
2 |
Excel - Introduction to spreadsheets, basic Excel functions,
conditional functions, using graphics & multiple sheets … |
|
8.1 - 8.5 |
|
32 |
Wed
10/21 |
2 (or 3) |
Lab12: basic Excel |
|
|
|
33 |
Fri
10/23 |
4 |
Excel -- Applications, simulation and forecasting |
|
8.1 -8.5 |
|
34 |
Fri
10/23 |
4 (or 5) |
Lab13: forecasting with spreadsheets |
|
|
|
35 |
Tue
10/27 |
6 |
Excel - recording and programming macros … |
|
8.6 - 8.8 |
|
36 |
THU
10/29 |
2 |
Excel - more macros |
|
8.6 - 8.8 |
|
37 |
Thu
10/29 |
2 (or 3) |
Lab14: Excel macros |
|
|
|
38 |
Mon
11/02 |
4 |
Excel - more macros … |
|
8.6 - 8.8 |
|
39 |
Mon
11/02 |
4 (or 5) |
Lab15: Excel macros |
|
|
|
40 |
Wed
11/04 |
6 |
review Data Rep and Excel,
intro to databases |
|
9.1 - 9.3 |
|
41 |
Fri
11/06 |
2 |
Exam 2 Data Rep, Circuits, Excel |
|
|
|
42 |
Fri
11/06 |
2 (or
3) |
Lab Exam 2 Data Rep,
Circuits, Excel |
|
|
|
43 |
Tue
11/10 |
4 |
Intro to databases and Access - queries, reports |
9.4 - 9.6 |
|
|
44 |
Tue
11/10 |
4 (or 5) |
Lab16: Introduction to Access |
|
|
|
45 |
Thu
11/12 |
6 |
Access - advanced queries
and reports |
|
9.5 - 9.6 |
|
46 |
Mon
11/16 |
2 |
Access-relational databases |
9.7 |
|
|
47 |
Mon
11/16 |
2 (or 3) |
Lab17: queries and
reports |
|
|
|
48 |
Wed
11/18 |
4 |
Access - forms and macros … |
|
9.8 -9.9 |
|
49 |
Wed
11/18 |
4 (or 5) |
Lab18: advanced queries |
|
|
|
50 |
Fri
11/20 |
6 |
Access - more macros!!! |
|
9.8 -9.9 |
|
51 |
Tue
11/24 |
2 |
Processor design and machine language |
|
4.1 - 4.4 |
|
52 |
Tue
11/24 |
2 (or 3) |
Lab19: Access macros |
|
|
|
53 |
Tue
12/01 |
4 |
Machine and assembly languages |
|
4.4 - 4.6 |
|
54 |
Tue
12/01 |
4 (or 5) |
Lab5: Machine code programs |
|
|
|
55 |
Thu
12/03 |
6 |
Operating systems and data storage … |
|
5.1 - 5.4 |
|
56 |
Mon
12/07 |
2 |
Review Session |
|
|
|
57 |
Mon
12/07 |
2 (or 3) |
Lab6: Assembly Language programs |
|
|
|
58 |
Wed
12/09 |
4 |
Excel/Access Projects Due - Demo |
|
|
|
59 |
Wed 12/09 |
4 (or
5) |
Lab Exam 3 (Access and Assembly Language) |
|
|
|
60 |
Fri
12/11 |
6 |
Exam 3 ( Access and Assembly Language) |
|
|