A290/A590
General Course Information.

General Course Goals.

I hope to accomplish several things in this course. Since this is the first time I've done it, while I think I have a pretty good idea of what needs to be covered and how, things could change as we progress.

In general, there are two areas I want cover: the conceptual/technical and the practical. In many cases, these are related, but not always. The conceptual amounts to the "why" and the technical amounts to the "how" aspect of any class. We want to learn why things work and how to use them. However, the "how" may be a bit different than you are used to, since there is not necessary a single "how."

The practical is the "hands on" component. This is what you will do primarily in the labs, where we will show you how to do use the software tools to create your apps.

"Technical" Course Goals.

The conceptual goal of this course is somewhat challenging to explain. We want to be sure when we are done there is a clear understanding of how the entire .NET environment functions. This includes the under-lying Windows features, what it takes on the server side, what it takes on the client side, etc.

When you complete this course, you should have a basic understanding of the .NET framework and how to at least begin to use C# to build .NET-based applications.

Grading.

Attendance: Attendance is mandatory if you want to pass. If you skip lectures on a regular basis, thinking you can get by on the guides posted for class, you will almost certainly fail. I know, it's happened many times in my other courses where I make similar resources available. Attendance will be taken in all meetings in the form of cards dropped off in class or CAT exercises completed during class. Attendance will be counted separately from your Participation score. It will be worth 5% of your Final Grade.

Participation: Because I expect this to be a course where we all contribute, your Participation is crucial. To make sure this is clear, your participation will be worth 20% of your final grade. It will be based on how actively you participate in our discussions and how well-prepared you are for those discussions.

CATs: We will be using a variety of Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) during this course. Many of them will rely on every student being truly prepared when each meeting begins. Because this will be such a crucial part of the meeting experience, this will be combined with JIT/MINI average to represent 15% of the course grade.

Homework: JITS/Written MINI Assignments There will be several regular written assignments that I call MINIs. In general, you will be asked to do additional research on a topic discussed on class. You will be encouraged to use all available resources, as long as you give proper credit for what you use. These will usually be due within 2-3 days after they are posted. These will be submitted electronically to your OnCourse Dropbox. There will be regular JIT exerices, usually related to a MINI, that you will submit to me via email. The MINI + JIT exercises + CATs (see above) will be worth 15% of the final grade.

Homework: Programming Assignments There will be regular programming assignments based on the work we do in lab. The assignments will be designed to show you are comfortable with what is happening in class. They will not be designed to extend your knowledge. These will be submitted via the OnCourse Dropbox system. The Programming Assignments will be worth 25% of the final grade.

Final Project:There will be one major project in the course. It will be submitted via the OnCourse Dropbox system and have several intermediate Phases with their own deadlines. The Project will be worth 35% of the final grade.

Overall Grade: So, your overall grade will be based on the following:

Regular Attendance: 5%

Participation: 20%

Regular Written MINI + JIT Assignments + CAT Exercises: 15%

Regular Programming Assignments: 25%

Final Project: 35%

Grading Scale:We will begin with the standard 90-80-70-60 grading scale. +/- grades fall in the upper and lower 2.5% of each range, respectively. This scale could drop by the end of the term, but it will never rise. This mean if you earn a 90.00% average, you are guaranteed an A-.

Important Course Policies.

Be absolutely sure you understand the following course policies. It will be assumed that you have read and accept these policies before the end of the first week of class.

If you have never been in a CS/Informatics course before, these policies may seem inflexible and severe. However, they are not unlike the sort of guidelines or contract stipulations you would find in the "real world" and that's the way I run this course. Consult the Important Course Guidelines for a more complete list. It is also worth noting these are almost exactly the guidelines Prof. Bardzell uses when he teaches A290/A590.

1. You are solely responsible for your performance in this course. We are here to help you whenever possible, but all of your choices have logical consequences. Make sure you take interest in your scores and Final Grade before you earn them.
2. No work will be accepted late, period. If I do not have any assignment in my possession before I leave the lecture hall the day it is due, it will be scored a 0 (zero). Similarly, if you miss the deadline on any material submitted electronically, even by .01 second, you should expect a score of 0 (zero) there as well. Should this occur with something like the Projects, the result would be at least a full letter grade on your Final Grade.
3. I do not accept work electronically, UNLESS specifically requested. While there some things, like Flash assignments, MUST be submitted electronically, no other work will be accepted eletronically. If it is due on a certain day/date, I expect it in legible hard-copy form before the end of the lecture period at that time. Anything else will probably result in a score of 0. [See #2 above]. The same is true for anything submitted on CD.
4. This is an Informatics course, and we expect you to use the technology. What this means, specifically, is we expect you to have an IU Email account and we expect you to use it. We expect you to check email at least twice daily, under normal circumstances. If an announcement is made in class regarding a schedule change, etc., we would expect you to check email at every opportunity. Additionally, we expect you to monitor the OnCourse A290/A590 environment. This may become an important resource and you should learn how to use it if you don't already know how. Just be sure you understand that "I didn't check email" or "I didn't check the website or OnCourse" will not be acceptable reasons for not getting work done on time or failing to meet other course requirments.
5. Any requests for an alternative exam time must include documentation supporting the need for an alternative and be submitted at least one week in advance. There are certainly legitimate reasons to request an alternative, such as job interviews, conferences, etc. However, these are also events you know about well in advance. Any such request must be made directly to me, at least a week in advance of the exam, preferably two weeks.
6. Emergencies: I realize emergencies will arise, but it is still your responsbility to notify me as quickly as possible should such an emergency occur. NOTE: I consider an emergency to be something like a death in the immediate family in the last 24 hours or severe personal injury requiring hospitalization. In all other circumstances, I think you should be able to contact me before an exam or other major course event. My email and voicemail numbers are clearly indicated on the course HomePage and I am in my office by 7:30am every day. I try not to be totally unreasonable in this regard, but if you come to me a week after missing an exam and claim you missed the exam because of car trouble, I will not be very sympathetic. [If you missed a project deadline at work and didn't contact your Supervisor for week, would you expect her/him to be very sympathetic? If you had a major presentation to a client and failed to notify your Manager in advance that you could not attend, what would you expect the consequences to be?] Again, I am in my office on all class days by 7:30am and can be reached via email and my voicemail, both of which are posted on the HomePage.

Finally ...

Don't let any of the above scare you away. I just wanted to be sure anyone enrolled in the course this summer has a decent amount of information to make an informed decision.