Lecture A: Thursday 12:30-1:45 CODE: 90329 Dewey Hall Room 314
AGRI 85 LAB SCHEDULE: All students are REQUIRED to attend one 2-hour lab per week during the semester. The two labs are listed below.
Lab | Section | Day | Time | Place | Instructor |
A01 | 90331 | Tuesday | 2:00-4:00 |
005 Morrill | Jonathan Leonard |
A02 | 90334 | Friday | 9:05 - 11:00 | 005 Morrill | Jonathan Leonard |
Instructor:
Dr.
Jonathan Leonard
|
208H Morrill Hall |
656-2979 |
Home: 434-3787 (Call before 9pm) |
jleonard@uvm.edu |
Office: 8:15-10:15 Tuesdays |
GENERAL COURSE GOAL: To prepare students with a solid foundation of information technology skills and knowledge to enable them to use current and future software and hardware.
SPECIFIC COURSE
OBJECTIVES: Upon
satisfactory completion of AGRI 85, students will:
1. Become familiar with information technology hardware including
types of computers and telecommunication hardware.
2. Understand the role of Operating Systems and demonstrate
knowledge of UNIX, and Windows XP.
3. Understand, detect and eliminate Computer Viruses & Spyware.
4. Demonstrate proficiency with electronic communication: e-mail,
signature files, and listservs.
5. Demonstrate proficiency in presentation graphics applications
by giving a presentation in front of a class.
6. Demonstrate proficiency in word processing applications.
7. Demonstrate proficiency in spreadsheet and graphics
applications.
8. Understand and demonstrate how to present and interpret data in
graphic form.
9. Find useful data on the Internet, be critical of those data,
and interpret those data.
10. Demonstrate knowledge of data classification (Nominal, Ordinal,
Interval, etc.).
11. Understand and interpret XY scatterplots, box plots, histograms,
population pyramids, and choropleth maps.
12. Create World Wide Web Pages using HTML code.
13. Understand the history and legacy of computing.
14. Appreciate the utility, benefit and limitations of computers and
information technology.
15. Improve writing skills.
Required Text:
Graphing Statistics
& Data: Creating Better Charts by Anders Wallgren, Britt
Wallgren, Rolf Persson, Ulf Jorner, & Jan-Aage Haaland. 1996.
SAGE Publications. ISBN 0-7619-0599-5
One copy of the text is available for 2-hour loan from the Reserve Desk at the Bailey-Howe Library.
GRADE POLICIES: The
following categories contribute to your course grade as weighted below:
Three Exams (2 in class, 1 Final) | 35% |
Computer Lab Assignments | 60% |
Attendance, Participation & Attitude | 5% |
TOTAL= | 100% |
Exams will cover material from the reading assignments as well as discussion in lecture, and material from lab. The format of the exams will be multiple choice. You must be on time for exams. If you are late for exams, you will lose points. See Lecture Syllabus below for schedule.
Exam Reschedule or Make Up Policy: Any requests to take the exam at other than the scheduled time must be discussed with Jonathan Leonard at least one week prior to the exam. Only in the case of medical emergency, death in the family, or other extreme circumstance are missed exams excused and re-taken. In such extreme circumstances you are to notify Jonathan Leonard within 24 hours of the event. Keep your old graded exams for one year after the course.
Computer Lab Assignments vary in point value; the Final Lab Project is worth 150 points, the other assignments vary from 10 to 50 points each. Exceptionally creative work may earn a grade above the point value of the assignment. Lab assignments should be stapled together and handed in at the beginning of scheduled lab time. YOUR NAME AND LAB SECTION MUST APPEAR ON ALL ASSIGNMENTS. You may re-submit assignments for re-grading WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF THE DUE DATE (not accepted later); please include your old, already graded assignment, along with the re-done work. The sooner you re-submit, the more generous your lab instructor will be in re-grading. Save your graded homework assignments until August 2005.
LATE PENALTY: 10% off the value of the assignment per week, up to two weeks from the due date. If the assignment is any later, NO CREDIT.
Attendance, Participation and Attitude: Five percent of your grade is determined by attendance, class participation (how you contributed to the class), and your attitude. In order to earn full credit you must attend all the lectures and labs and contribute to the class in a positive way by helping other students and participating in class discussions. Unexcused absences will result in a deduction of 1% of your course grade per unexcused absence. Absences are excused only in cases of sickness (Physician's note), death in the family, or other extreme circumstances. In such circumstances, notify your lecture and lab instructor within 24 hours of missing class.
PLAGIARISM:
It is expected that you will help your fellow students with techniques
of computer use, but always hand in original work. For example,
if the assignment for the week was to create a population pyramid, you
are expected to help students who are not as familiar as you with the
use of the spreadsheet graphing software. This does not mean that
you can copy work or take it off the Internet without crediting it to
the original source. ALL STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO HAND IN THEIR
OWN ORIGINAL WORK. Students have been severely penalized in the
past for not following these instructions. You must cite any
information that is not common knowledge in any homework
assignment. See examples of what is plagiarism and what is not
here.
LAB USE POLICY:
Students may use the labs whenever there are no scheduled classes or
workshops. Schedules are posted on lab doors.
LAB ROOM HOURS (Unless posted otherwise):
http://www.uvm.edu/~jleonard/labsched.html
http://cit.uvm.edu/cgi-bin/lab.pl
LAB HELP POLICY: There will be some lab assistant help available in the lab during most hours. Lab assistants may not be able to help you with all your problems with the course. When not in a formal lab, you will be expected to rely on classmates, software manuals, class notes, online help, and lab assistants when available. If you need extra help, make an appointment with your lab instructor. Formal tutoring may be available.
WORK LOAD TO EXPECT: In order to complete the work in this class you can expect to spend (on average) 6-10 hours per week OUTSIDE OF CLASS AND FORMAL LAB TIME studying and working in lab on AGRI 85 assignments.
HINTS ON DOING WELL IN
AGRI 85:
You don't have to be a "rocket scientist" or "computer wiz" to do well
in this class. This is a course where you
will do well if you go to class, follow instructions, do all your lab
assignments on time and spend time reading and studying.
There will almost always be a rush on the computers the last few days before a major assignment is due. This would be true unless we had a computer for every person in the course. Plan ahead. Use the lab in the off times, arrive early to be assured of a machine when the lab opens. Don't wait to the last minute for completing an assignment. If you have a job or other commitments outside of regular school work or a heavy course load be sure your work hours allow enough time to complete your assignments.
The instructions on how to complete lab assignments will be given in the formal labs. It is your responsibility to take notes during formal lab time and make sure you understand how to complete the assignments. Part of the learning experience in this class is using the software manuals and fellow students as references. Although some of the Lab Assistants will be able to help, they will not be able to help you at all times; they will not do the assignments for you.
This course is designed
not only
to give you experience on the PC, but also to teach you computing
concepts so you will be able to work through any software on any
personal computer and many servers and host computers.
Week / TOPIC | READING: |
1. Intro to the
course, OS Video 1 |
Google
article from Newsweek , How Search
Engines work from Sci Am. Use your zoo login and password to
read online with Adobe Acrobat. |
2.
Timeline 1 Anatomy of a Personal Computer Types of Computers OS Video 2 |
How
Internet e-mail works . Text Sections 1-2 (pages 0-16) |
3. Anatomy of the
PC , Time Line 2, Units of Memory & Storage Everything is going digital, |
Digital
cameras from How Things Work , How
digital cameras work from Sci Am . Text Section 3 (pages
17-23) |
4. EXAM
#1, 30 September |
EXAM #1,
30 September |
5.
Memory & Storage Binary Numbers |
Laser
Printers , Scanners
, Optical
character readers . Text Sections 4-5 (pages 24-35) |
6.
Programming Languages Privacy Video |
CD Players
,
Sound coded as bits . Text Section 6 (pages 36-45) |
7. What
is a byte? ASCII, Security. Software Licenses |
Digital
thermometers and scales , Analog to
digital converters , Digital to
analog converters Text Section 7-8 (pages 46-53) |
The Web, Protocols,
Error checking, Physical Media: Cables and Wires,. |
Optical
fibers , Competing
technologies for broad band home access . Text Sections 9-10
(pages 54-63) |
9. Exam #2, November 4 | Exam #2, November 4 |
10.
Satellite Imaging, Error checking, Image Compression |
Voyager II article, Sci. Am. Nov. 1986 , Antenna intro , Smart Antennas . Text Section 11 (pages 64-73) |
11. Buying a computer: pointing devices, monitors | Keyboards
, How
roller mice work , How roller
and optical mice work ,
How touch pads work , How
active-matrix screens work . Text Sections 11-13 (pages 74-87) |
12. Buying a
computer: System Unit Network computers |
How Hackers
Break In Sci. Am. October 1998 . Text Sections 14-15
(pages 88-91) |
13. Security and
Risks Giant Brains video Putting computing in perspective: History |
Study your notes
and previous readings for the Final! |
FINAL EXAM: Friday Dec 10, 8:00 AM | Final Exam, Friday December 10th, 8:00 AM, 314 Dewey |
WEEK BEGINNING (LABS BEGIN THE SECOND WEEK OF CLASSES) |
ASSIGNMENT |
September 6 |
Using the Operating System learn elementary WindowsXP commands including how to FORMAT diskettes, Create Folders and COPY files from the Hard disk to the diskette, and BACKUP your diskette on zoo server using SSH-FTP . Learn to use the text editor notepad/wordpad. Due next Week: 1. Printout of your diskette directory, 2. Printout of the text file you created explaining your previous computer experience and what you want to get out of AGRI 85, 3. Printout of your SSH-FTP window showing your PCBackup directory with your backed up files. (20 points) |
September
13 |
[DUE:
PRINT OUT OF YOUR WORKING DISKETTE DIRECTORY & TEXT FILE, (20
points) ] Learn how to connect to ZOO via telnet software and send electronic mail (E-mail) with pine and Webmail. Learn to copy a text file from your instructor’s zoo account; edit it, and insert it in an e-mail message. Use SSH-FTP to upload files from your PC to your zoo account. Due next week: Send an e-mail message including 1. The file copied from your lab instructor’s account where you have filled in the blank spaces, 2. Your signature file, and 3. Attached .jpg image from ftp showing PCBackup directory on zoo. (30 Points) |
September 20
|
[DUE:
E-MAIL TO YOUR LAB INSTRUCTOR, (30 points) ] Learn Antivirus software. Learn MS-Word for windows. Create your resume in the format given in the Lab Notebook. Upload your resume and e-mail it to your lab instructor as an attachment in Word format. Due next Week: Hard copy of your resume e-mailed as an attachment (30 points). |
September 27
|
[DUE:
RESUME hard copy (20 points) & e-mail Resume (10 points] Learn to create an Excel spreadsheet with approximately 300 cells (30 rows X 10 Columns, or 10 rows X 30 Columns). Due next Week: Spreadsheet and an appropriate graph of some of the data from the spreadsheet. |
October 4
Friday Lab will meet! |
[DUE:
SPREADSHEETS & Graph (30 points) ] Note: Friday Lab will
meet. Learn to import the spreadsheet table and chart into Word. Learn how to create a title page using MS-PowerPoint. Due next Week: PowerPoint title page, a Printout from the word processor that contains: spreadsheet Table, Graph, and a discussion about the graph. Also you need to include had in a photocopy of the original data. |
October 11
|
[DUE: PowerPoint
Title Page. Spreadsheet, graph & discussion integrated
and printed from a Word Processor (30 points) ] On the Web, find the documents that explain how to create your own HTML documents (Web Pages). Learn to set up your own home page. Due next Week:A print out of the web page and the HTML Source code. Be sure to include the URL so your lab instructor can visit your page. |
October 18
|
[DUE: Print out
of your home page (Include the zoo URL (http:// address) and HTML
source code). (30 points)] Create a new web page. Learn to set up hyperlinks to other URLs and include pictures in your new web page. Due next week: E-mail your new Web page URL (http:// address) to your instructor. |
October 25
|
[DUE: Print out
of your second home page (Include the zoo URL (http:// address)
and HTML source code). (30 points)] Learn to prepare a 3-5 minute PowerPoint Slide Presentation of topic you would like to do your Final Lab Project on. |
November
1 |
[DUE: Present
you power point presentation in front of the class (30 points) ] Introduction to the FINAL LAB PROJECT : View the web page of instructions given to you by your lab instructor. Read the instructions carefully. You may wish to print them. FINAL LAB PROJECT DUE, (4 pm) |
November 8 |
[DUE: Present
you power point presentation in front of the class (30 points) ] Graph details, pitfalls of project. Work on Project. |
November 15 |
Work on Project |
Nov 22-26 | Thanksgiving Break, no lectures, no labs |
Tuesday November 23 | Early hand in deadline for +10% extra credit on Final Lab Project. |
November 29 | Work on Project |
Friday Dec. 3, 4pm |
FINAL LAB PROJECT DUE. 5 % OFF EACH DAY including Weekend days, LATE PENALTY. |
10 December, Friday, 4pm ABSOLUTE DEADLINE! | All late projects due (with -35% late penalty ). No Projects will be accepted after 4pm. |
Week Starting -------------> | 13 Sept | 20 Sept | 27 Sept | 4 Oct | 11 Oct | 18 Oct | 25 Oct | 1 November | 8 November | 15 November |
Lab 1/dir | Due | -10% | -20%/redo | |||||||
Lab 2/email | Due | -10% | -20%/redo | |||||||
Lab 3/Resume | Due | -10% | -20%/redo | |||||||
Lab 4/Spreadsheet | Due | -10% | -20%/redo | |||||||
Lab 5/PPoint/Word/Excel | Due | -10% | -20%/redo | |||||||
Lab 6/Web 1 | Due | -10% | -20%/redo | |||||||
Lab 7/Web 2 | Due | -10% | -20%/redo | |||||||
Lab 8/Power Point Presentation | Due | -10% | -20% |
Tuesday November 23 (4 pm): EARLY HAND IN FOR FINAL LAB PROJECT, 10% EXTRA BONUS POINTS. If later than 4pm, no bonus.
Friday December 3 (4pm): : FINAL LAB PROJECT DUE, OPTIONAL TERM PAPER DUE, If late: 5% OFF PER DAY Including Saturday and Sunday!
Friday December 10 (4pm): ABSOLUTE DEADLINE for all late projects (35% off). Projects will not be accepted after 4pm.
Other courses you may wish to take after AGRI 85:
World Food Population and Sustainable Development, CDAE 002