LBSC 690 - Information Technology
Fall 2003 - Section 0101
Course Description

Official Catalog Description

Goals

• Understand how computers and computer networks work.
• Learn to use common information management tools.
• Evaluate the role of information technology in libraries, archives, schools, information centers and society.
• Apply information technology to solve a practical problem.
• Develop a personal plan for further study of information technology.

Approach

Instructional Staff

Schedule

We will meet once a week in the Plant Sciences Teaching Theater (PLS 1129). A syllabus that summarizes what we will cover each week and gives a preview of the homework assignments and a reading list showing the reading for each week can be found on the class web page. All lectures will be videotaped and placed on reserve in the Paul Wasserman Library. These videotapes can be viewed there, but because there is only a single copy they cannot be checked out. RealVideo recordings of each class will also be made available through the syllabus Web page. Sections 0101 and 301 are being taught using a similar syllabus and students in section 0101 might want to make advance arragments to attend section 0301 if unable to make it to a session on our regular night. If you choose to do this, you remain responsible for the material as presented in section 0101, of course. The syllabus for section 0201 (Tuesday evening) is not sufficiently similar to make this practical that evening.

Teaching Assistants (TAs) will conduct lab sessions on the schedule shown. Lab sessions provide an opportunity for students to seek clarification of information contained in the reading assignments or presented in class, to seek help with hands-on computer use (including the homework assignments), to review material in preparation for exams, to seek help with their projects and the associated materials, and to discuss homework grades (which are assigned by the TA using grading criteria established by the instructor). Students may attend as many or as few of these sessions as they like, but experience suggests that students who choose not to attend any sessions have far more difficulty with the assignments and the project than do students who typically attend one session each week. The networked computers in HBK 2108 (which is near the Paul Wasserman library) are reserved exclusively for LBSC 690 students during these times for the first half of the semester (the other computers in that room are not reserved). After the midterm, other CLIS students will be allowed to use any open computers in that room, but LBSC 690 students will have priority for them so that they can work with the TAs on their projects. Lab sessions are unstructured, and students are free to come and go as they please. You may attend lab sessions run by either TA, but you will only be able to discuss homework grades with the TA for your section. The TA will often drop by our classroom at some point during each weekly session, so you could also chat during a break if you have a question that only they can answer but you don't find their lab hours convenient.

The first lab session will be on Saturday September 7 and the last lab session will be on Sunday December 14, the day before the final exam. There will be two weekend lab sessions until the midterm exam, after which there will be just one. The weekday lab session will continue throughout the semester. There will be no class on Monday September 7 or Tuesday September 8 and there will be no lab sessions over the Thanksgiving Holiday (Thursday, Saturday or Sunday).

I am always happy to meet with students before or after classs, during breaks, and at any other mutually convenient time by appointment. Students wishing to discuss accommodations for unusual circumstances should also come see me, and should do so at the earliest possible time. Email is the best way to reach me to set up an appointment, and it is also a good way to get a quick answer to a simple question. The phone is not nearly as good because I move between several offices and labs in a typical day and phone tag is not very efficient, but we can easily schedule a phone call by email if you like.

Homework grades should always be discussed with the TA first, but I will be happy to discuss them with you after you have done that if your concern is not resolved. Questions about exam grading should be discussed with me directly.

Course Materials

Students are expected to demonstrate mastery of the following prerequisite knowledge throught the course. The peer training program provides training sessions for a nominal fee that cover these concepts.

• Create a document using a word processing program such as Word.
• Connect to the campus network from off campus.
• Send and receive electronic mail using your university account.
• Find Web pages using search engines and directories.
• Create a simple spreadsheet that includes calculated results.
• Transfer files between computers using a floppy disk.
• Print files, Web pages, and spreadsheets.

The required text is the 2004 edition of ,, which should cost around $64. Readings will be assigned from that text. Additional required readings will also be assigned. Most of these readings will be Web-accessible; in other cases a copy will be placed on reserve in the Paul Wasserman Library. Material from assigned portions of the text and all of the assigned readings is testable, regardless of whether the specific information is discussed in class.

There is no particular additional recommended text, but students seeking a step-by-step guide to the main software packages that we will be using will find any of the standard references covering Microsoft Office 4.3 for Windows 3.1 to be useful. Both the Campus Bookstore and Maryland Book Exchange should carry these, and you may even find some useful references in the bargain bin in local bookstores because the campus will be switching to a newer version of Windows (Windows NT) next semester.

You will want either a USB memory stick or several 3.5 inch floppy disks on which to store assignments between computer sessions because the computers you will be using are not configured to provide permanent file storage for individuals. A box of 10 disks should be more than enough. You will also need to obtain a WAM account and a Personal Print Account" (which requires an initial deposit) if you have not done so already. Computers are available for student use in HBK 2101 (inside the Paul Wasserman Library) and HBK 2108 whenever the Paul Wasserman Library is open. Computers are also available 24 hours a day in several of the WAM Labs.

It is strongly recommended that students arrange access to a computer with a modem (or an internet connection), either at home or at work, unless they will be on campus daily. There is a tremendous amount of detail to be mastered in this course, and experience suggests that there is no way to learn it all if you only have access to computing facilities only one or two days a week. For this reason, you should plan to use a computer in an intellectually meaningful way at least five days a week. Furthermore, since much of the information in the course will be distributed only electronically (on the web page or by email), access to a computer throughout the week will be important to ensure that you have timely access to this information. Any type of computer and any speed modem will do. New computers that will do everything you need are available for under $500, and minimally capable used computers can often be found for between $50 and $200. If you have a broadband Internet connection at home (cable modem or a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connection) then you should be able to reach the University's computers through that connection. Otherwise, free (but much slower) dialup access to WAM unix systems is available through phone numbers in College Park and Baltimore, and through the Maryland Sailor network (by following this link when you are on Sailor). Help getting connected is available from the aITs Consulting Help Desk at (301)405-1500.

Grading

There will be one in-class quiz and two in-class exams. Quiz grading is described below; the principal purpose of the quiz is to support self-assessment and demistify the first exam. More credit will be given for the better of the two exams.

Homework is due to the TA by email before the start of class. Solutions will be posted electronically by 5 P.M. on Wednesday of the week the assignment is due. There will be 6 assignments, due in weeks 2 through 7. Credit for partial work will be given. Late assignments will be corrected, but will not receive credit. The lowest homework/quiz grade will be dropped, so only the best 5 of these 7 grades will be used to compute the average. All material included in the homework is testable, however, so skipping an assignment is a bad idea.

Students may work together on the assignments, but all of the material that is turned in for grading must be produced individually. For example, students may form study groups and work out solutions together on a chalkboard, but it would not be permissible for one student to create a computer file containing the answers and then for other students to copy that file and submit it as their own work. The goal of this policy is to encourage the use of homework as a learning aid. A concentration on grades to the exclusion of learning when working on the homework can be counterproductive, since each exam is worth at least as much as all of the homework assignments together.

For the term project, three-person teams will design and implement some type of application in a way that makes substantial use of advanced technologies learned in this class. Team work is required. Each group will be asked to make a 5 minute Powerpoint presentation describing their project plans in class the week after the midterm exam. This is intended to help shape the focus and scope of the project; the presentation will not be graded. Groups are encouraged, however, to get an earlier start; they may submit a one page description of their plans by email to solicit feedback at any time. A formal usability evaluation of the resulting application is an important part of the project, and a written report describing the project and the usability assessment is due at the start of the last class session of the semester (Dec 8) Each team should schedule a 30 minute project demonstration with me for some a mutually convenient time and location on December 11, 12, or 13.