LBSC 690 - Information Technology
Fall 2008 - Section 0101
Course Description

Official Catalog Description

Goals

• Understand how computers and computer networks work.
• Learn to use some 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. Most sessions will be videotaped, and the tapes will be placed on top of the filing cabinet outside my office (HBK 4121G). Because there is only a single copy, these should not be borrowed for more than a day. RealVideo recordings of most sessions will also be made available online and linked form the syllabus. Section 0301 is being taught using a similar (but not identical) syllabus, and students in section 0101 may make advance arragments with the section 0301 instructor to attend that section on a day when they are covering similar topics if they will be unable to make it to one of our sessions on our regular night. If you choose to do this, you remain responsible for the material as presented in section 0101, of course.

The Teaching Assistant (TA) will hold optional lab sessions on the schedule shown above. 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 to discuss homework grades (which are assigned by the TA using grading criteria established by the professor). Students may attend as many or as few of these sessions as they wish, but experience suggests that students who choose not to attend any sessions may have more difficulty with the assignments and the project than do students who attend at least some lab sessions. Lab sessions are unstructured, and students are free to come and go as they please. You may attend lab sessions run by another TA for the same course, but you will only be able to discuss homework grades with the TA for your section. The TA will also sometimes come by our classroom during class, so you could also chat during a break if you have a question that only they can answer. There will be no class or lab sessions during the Thanksgiving break.

I am always happy to meet with students after classs or at any other mutually convenient time by appointment,a nd if meeting in person is inconvenient for you we can also set up a time to talk by phone. Email by far is the best way to reach me to set up an appointment or a phone call, and it is also a good way to get a quick answer to a simple question. This semester it will usually not be possible for me to schedule appointments (other than very brief ones) immediately before class because of a regular commitment that I have between 4 and 5 PM on Mondays. But if you are also here for class on another evening it might be possible to schedule appointments before that class.

Course Materials

All required readings will be available online at no cost. Material from required readings is testable, regardless of whether the specific information is discussed in class. All exams are open book, so memorization is not required. But it is important that you understand the content of those readings and that you know where to find specific information when you need it because the time limitations on the test are sufficiently stringent that it will likely not be possible to begin to learn about a topic during the test!

The optional textbook is either the "2008" or the "2009" edition of Shelly, Cashman, and Vermaat, "Discovering Computers: Complete, which should cost about $75 from the least expensive online booksellers (or about $100 from the university bookstore). Earlier (reasonably recent) editions of the same textbook should be equally useful, although if you use an earlier version you will need to check the table of contents for the current version to see if chapter numbers have changed. Purchase of this optional textbook is not required. A copy of this textbook (probably the 2008 version, though) will be placed on reserve in McKeldin library.

All students registered as of August 24, 2008 have been automatically signed up for the course mailing list using the email address that is on record for them with the university. If you do not receive email on that list by August 27, please contact the instructor to confirm which email address you which to have on that list. Students are encouraged to post to the list (you'll get the address the first time you receive an email) when you have something that you believe that your classmates might wish to see. Questions sent to the professor of to the TA by email may be answered using the mailing list when the answers might be of general interest (unless you specifically request otherwise).

You will most likely want a USB thumb drive (menory stick) on which to store assignments between computer sessions because some computers you will be using may not be configured to provide permanent file storage. You will also need to obtain a WAM account. If you want to print on campus (which is not required if you have a printer at home), you will need a "Personal Print Account" (which requires an initial deposit).

Grading

There will be one take-home quiz, one take-home midterm exam, and one in-class final exam. 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 after the assignment is due. There will be 6 assignments. Credit for partial work will be given. Late assignments will be corrected, but will not receive credit. The lowest homework or quiz grade will be dropped, so only the best 5 of those 6 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.

Questions about exam grading should be discussed with the professor. Questions about homework grades should first be discussed with the TA, and then with the professor if your concern has not been resolved.

Students may work together on the homework 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 whiteboard, 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 quiz and the two examinations, students may not receive assistance from any other person. For the take-home quiz and the take-home misterm examination, students must complete the exam in the alotted time, and must truthfully record their start and stop times. The University of Maryland has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity, administered by the Student Honor Council. This Code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students. As a student, you are responsible for upholding these standards. More information is available at http://www.shc.umd.edu/code.html.

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 written report describing the project is due at the start of the last class session of the semester, and project presentations will be given by each team during that session.

Importnt Notes

Students are expected to demonstrate mastery of the following prerequisite knowledge throught the course. These skills are not taught as a part of this course. Students concerned about their mstery of specific skills on this list should discuss the matter with the professor and/or TA prior to the second class of the semester.

• Create a document using a word processing program such as Word.
• Send and receive email.
• Find Web pages using a search engine.
• Create a simple spreadsheet that includes calculated results.
• Transfer files between computers using a USB thumb drive.
• Print documents, Web pages, and spreadsheets.

It is required that students arrange for regular access to a computer with 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 network connection 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 conection. Help getting connected is available from the OIT Help Desk at (301)405-1500.

When not scheduled for use as a classroom, The iSchool computer lab (HBK 2108) can be used by students during the posted hours (which may vary). Computers are also available on campus in several Open Workstation Labs, some of which are open all night.

Students wishing to discuss accommodations for unusual circumstances should come see me, and should do so no later than the third week of classes.