LBSC 690 - Information Technology
Spring 2008 - 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 OIT 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 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 each class will also be made available through the syllabus Web page. Section 0201 is being taught using a similar (but not identical) syllabus, and students in section 0101 might want to make advance arragments to attend section 0101 on a day when they are covering similar topics 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 Teaching Assistant (TA) 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 often have more difficulty with the assignments and the project than do students who attend at least a few of the 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 sometimes drop by our classroom at some point during our 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. There will be no class or lab sessions during Spring Break, and labs are not expected to continue past Spring Break unless there is popular demand (since after that point there is no more homework!).

I am always happy to meet with students before or after classs, during breaks, and at any other mutually convenient time by appointment. You can also often find me in my office (HBK 4121G) at 5 PM before class, so feel free to drop by then if you are in early and have questions. 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 use email to schedule a phone call if you like.

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

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. 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.
• 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 USB thumb drive.
• Print files, Web pages, and spreadsheets.

The required text is the "2008" edition of Shelly, Cashman, and Vermaat, "Discovering Computers: Complete, which should cost $70-$80 from online booksellers (or about $100 from the university bookstore). Readings will be assigned from that text. Additional required readings are also be assigned on the course Web page. Most of these readings are Web-accessible; in other cases a copy will be placed on reserve in McKeldin 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.

You may 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 and you will probably want a "Personal Print Account" (which requires an initial deposit). Computers are available 24 hours a day in several campus the Open Workstation Labs.

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.

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 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 2 homework/quiz grades 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 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 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.