Indiana University - Bloomington
Computer Science Department

CSCI A111
A Survey of Computers and Computing

Fall 2000 -- First eight weeks

This information is subject to change.
Changes will appear on the web version and any major changes will be announced in class.

General information

Class web

www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/a111

Class newsgroup

ac.csci.a111

Catalog description

Prerequisite: one year of high school algebra or M014, and some prior computing experience.  Survey of computing concepts, with emphasis on problem solving techniques. Experience in a variety of popular applications software for tasks such as word processing, web browsing, spreadsheet calculations, and databases. Lecture and laboratory.  Half semester.

Prerequisite computing experience

The most common computer applications are file manipulation, web browsing, email, and word processing. If you do not already have a little experience with at least three of these four applications, you probably have insufficient experience for this course. If you have very little or no experience with computers, take A110 instead of A111. 

Relation to other courses

This course is a half-semester version of A110. A110, A111, or equivalent experience is prerequisite to other half-semester computer science courses numbered A112 through A116. If you have already taken  A106 or another one-semester "computer literacy" course (such as BUS K201), you should not be in this course.  If you have had a year or more of high-school computer training, or have had a wide variety of computer experiences at home or elsewhere,  you probably do not need this course either. Ask the instructor if you are in doubt about whether you belong in this course. 

This course is not the same as Informatics I110 or Computer Science A112. A112, which is the same as I110, is offered in the second 8 week session this semester, by the same instructor, with lab and lectures at the same time of day and same locations. If you registered for I110 or A112, come back on October 24th.

Text

The text is The Better Way, by Rich Fulcher and Bill Deuber, custom published, 1997.

Lab materials

• Several double-sided, high-density (DS HD) 3.5" disks. Bring them to laboratory sessions.
• A network ID and password. If you do not have a Network ID, bring your Student ID Number and your Registration PIN to your first lab so you can create a Network ID in lab. See IU Account Services to create a network account or to add a new account (such as your NT Domain account).

Vincent URL

https://www.cs.indiana.edu/cgi-pub/a111/vincent3/student.cgi

• At this time Vincent can be used only with Netscape, not Internet Explorer.
• It is advisable to access Vincent by clicking on the above link. If you forget the s in https, you will get a forbidden access message.
• Always check that you have selected the right assignment for your submission, or it won't count.
• Always use the "View files submitted to date." option to check that your file(s) were actually submitted properly. The size should be correct and if you have any doubt click on the file name link to download and inspect what you actually submittted.
• Always save your work either on floppy disk or in your student locker (or preferably both), so if there is any problem with submission, you can always retrieve a copy.
• You may submit the same file any number of times for the same assignment (or test). Only the last submission of the file counts. So particularly if you are pushing the deadline, be sure to submit something with time to spare. For a in-lab test this means you should submit something at least ten minutes before the class ends. Be careful not to submit after the due deadline, for on-time submissions of the same file will not count.
• You may try to use Vincent from home machines, but it is only guaranteed to work from STC machines. Always leave time to submit from an STC machine if an at-home submission doesn't work.
• Until you are thoroughly comfortable with Vincent, be sure you have time to consult a member of the teaching team if you run into trouble with submissions. If you have any trouble, write down exactly what error message or behavior you are getting with the date and time of the problem.
• Grades will be posted using the Post'em system, not Vincent. It will be announced here and in class when grades are posted.

Team and Schedule

Emailing us: Our email addresses are supplied so you can contact us on administrative matters. Please do not ask us to solve technical problems via email. That is often impossible due to limited information: labs and office hours are provided for technical help, and appointments can be made (often via email) if office hours are not at suitable for you.

Switching labs: If you need to make up a lab, or you need extra laboratory time, you may attend a laboratory session other than the one you registered for. However, students who have registered for a laboratory get priority if there are not enough computers for everyone.

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Projects

• Project 1, due midnight, September 22nd.
• Project 2, due midnight, September 29th.
• Project 3, due midnight, October 11th.
• Project 4, due midnight, October 20th.

Lecture

The following is highly approximate at this time.

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Laboratory

You are strongly encouraged to seek help from your neighbors in the lab, except during lab tests. After completing the drill you may also wish to practice on your own both in lab and on your own time.

Three or four projects will be assigned that you are to work on in your own time. You can also use laboratory time to work on your projects.

As indicated below, you will take two practical tests on the lab material covered in the labs. The first lab test will cover Word and Excel, but not HTML. During these tests you may use any written material you bring, and of course whenever you are using a computer you can use the on-line help.

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Grading

The following are approximate percentage contributions to the final grade.

• 35%: projects
• 35%: in-lab test on 10/19 or 10/20 (depending on your lab section)
• 30%: in class exam on 10/19: covering all lecture material and the "BW" and "Evil" points in the text, and covering HTML.

Grades will be posted using the Post'em system, not Vincent. It will be announced here and in class when grades are posted.

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Policies

Incompletes: An incomplete (I) final grade will be given only in exceptional circumstances conforming to departmental policy in which the bulk of course work has been completed in passing fashion. Generally an incomplete is applicable only in the event of unforeseen hardship occurring after the deadline for withdrawal with a Dean's permission.

Drop deadlines: Through W October 25th you can withdraw from the course without grade penalty or authorization. After this date you will be stuck with whatever grade you earn (see grading section below), unless you can convince a Dean of exceptional hardship, and even that must be done by November 29th. Since the knowledge and skills learned in this course are highly cumulative, if you are not doing well at midterm you may well do worse in the remainder of the course even if you try harder. So if you are not very confident that you will catch up, seriously consider dropping while you can. If in any doubt about whether to drop, please speak to your instructor.

Help from the course instructors: The course teaching team is eager to help you learn the course material. No appointment is needed to see us during our office hours. If these hours are not compatible with your schedule, contact one of us to make an appointment at a time that does work for you. We can only help you effectively when you have made an attempt to study the material or do the assignment on your own and come with questions. Our goal is to help you discover how you might have solved your problem on your own. That will help you master the material in this course and improve your problem solving skills, which will serve you for a lifetime.

Makeups: Allowed only for approved absences, and approval requires adequate documentation.

Late assignment submission: Assignments will not be accepted past the due date and time. The slip time policy initially announced is discontinued since the system does not handle it well. You can make multiple submissions using the same file name, in which case only the most recent submission counts. So if you are working close to the deadline, be sure to submit something for partial credit well before the deadline.

Attendance: Attendance will not be taken in lecture or laboratory sections.  Lecture material may be necessary complete lab exercises and the exam will test your knowledge of the conceptual lecture material.

Auditing: Auditors should be registered as such. As long as everyone who has registered for the course has a seat, there is no objection to anyone else being seated in the classroom. However, if you are not registered for the course you are not allowed to participate actively in any way. This includes attending labs, participating in group assignment work, turning in assignments, taking quizzes or exams, going to office hours with course-related questions, or asking questions in class.

Academic integrity: Providing or receiving help during exams or quizzes, or submitting the unacknowledged work of another as your own, both constitute academic dishonesty. There are no "small" offenses. If you do an assignment in a group, hand in one assignment with all of your names on it. Group work is allowed only if specified as part of the assignment. The Computer Science Department Statement on Academic Integrity provides further information. If you are not sure about the rules, ask first.

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Extra Help

The Student Academic Center (SAC) offers mini-courses and concealing to help students set priorities, manage their time, take effective notes, and master other skills that can make the difference between struggling and thriving. The SAC can make your life easier in many ways, and they can tailor services to help address your specific needs. Please feel free to call them at 855-7313, or visit their web site at http://www.indiana.edu/~sac/.

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Course Evaluation

Please complete a course evaluation for Chris and your lab AI(s) by following their links below.

Chris: http://iueval.cs.indiana.edu:5281/iueval/cgi-bin/course-form/semester=fall00/course=A111-chay
Fransisco: http://iueval.cs.indiana.edu:5281/iueval/cgi-bin/course-form/semester=fall00/course=A111-flar
Howard: http://iueval.cs.indiana.edu:5281/iueval/cgi-bin/course-form/semester=fall00/course=A111-emci
Yogesh: http://iueval.cs.indiana.edu:5281/iueval/cgi-bin/course-form/semester=fall00/course=A111-ysim

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