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Syllabus contents:
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FIT100,
Winter 2003 |
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Syllabus | |
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Prerequisites Course Description The
Fluency Vision CSE100/INFO100,
or FIT100, is an introductory class that implements the recommendations
of the National Research Council’s study Being Fluent With
Information Technology [National Academy Press, 1999]. The
report describes the knowledge and experience a person should possess
to be fluent in information technology, where fluency is a more
ambitious goal than computer literacy. For
more information on the goals of this class and the report, read the vision
statement at the course Web site. Grading Policy Grades
will follow the University Undergraduate Grading policy. http://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/front/Grading_Sys.html
The breakdown of your grade for this class is
as follows: Attendance is expected for all lectures and labs. Mini quizzes will be given at random class lectures or labs on the readings for that day. Coursework, Workload, Late/Missed Exam PolicyAttendance is expected for all lectures and labs. Mini quizzes will be given at random class lectures or labs on the readings for that day. Coursework entails readings, computer labs, assignments, computer projects, mini quizzes, midterm exams, participation and a final exam. Attendance at lecture (M,W,F 10:30-11:20 AM, MGH 389) and the assigned computer labs is expected. For each hour of class time you should plan for one 1.5 – 3 hours of work outside of class; so, roughly, 8 -15 hours of outside work each week. In life, bad things happen. They might take the form of a medical or family emergency. If something like this should happen to you during the quarter and it causes you to miss an exam, contact the instructor immediately. Early, late, or make-up exams will only be administered in extreme circumstances. Pop quizzes will not be made up, but adjustments made for students with a valid excuse. Be advised that in order to make up any missed exam you must provide a valid reason: documented emergency, illness or standard UW exception (military service, student athletes, etc) - a note from your mother will not be acceptable. Other than the situations described above, exams will not be rescheduled for any reason and assignments should always make it to class, even if it in the hands of a roommate or classmate. One 1-day late policy for project pieces: You may turn in one project piece 1-day late without penalty during the term. No other late projects will be accepted. Always turn in what you have completed, partial or otherwise: some credit is better than no credit! Required Text There is only one required text. Useful files for this book are available at: http://www.aw.com/snyder/. At various points in the course, additional online materials will be identified. This materials will assist with HTML, databases and JavaScript.Computer
Lab Each
computer lab section meets two times a week. Attendance is required.
The labs are integrated with the lecture material. Hands-on computer
skills needed to complete the projects will be taught in the labs. In
addition, important information about the projects will be discussed
and certain labs graded for points. The labs and the assignments that
are part of them will be graded; they account for 15% of your final
grade. If
you miss a lab, do not expect the TA or Instructor to provide you with
an equivalent lab session during their consulting hours. Be prepared to
go through the lab on your own and then, if you have specific questions
not answered by your classmates, ask your TA. Diskettes You
will need diskettes to save your work or to carry it from place to
place. We will also show you how to save and retrieve files to and from
your UW account. How to Communicate with Others in the Class… Bulletin
Board Every
student will be able to post to the class bulletin board from the
course website. You can post a message or discussion on a particular
project, on lecture or on labs. You
may also post any question that a fellow student may be able to answer.
The Bulletin Board will be the main communication tool between the
Instructor, the TAs and all students. Check often for new postings,
they may be very helpful. This is different from the class listserv,
where the information comes directly to your email account. Email
Every
student must have a UW email account to send messages to the
instructors and other students. All enrolled students are automatically
a part of the class list serve. All important announcements will be
sent to this list. This may be the only official class notice you will
receive in some cases. Be sure to read these postings regularly. You
will be responsible for the content. Because
not everyone has access to email during the weekends, official
announcements will not be sent out past 2 PM on Fridays.
Likewise, do not expect an immediate reply from staff on the
weekends. During the week,
Monday – Friday, you will hear back from one of us within 24 hours. Anonymous
Email There is a link from the class Web site that will allow you to send anonymous email to the Instructors, the TAs or both if you wish. Anonymous email means you can send mail without the Instructors or TAs knowing who you are. But, it also means that we can't answer you directly if you ask a question using anonymous email! Getting
Unstuck… It
is the most common action in IT that users of a particular technology
WILL get stuck. It is a given - nobody is immune. However, one of the
most useful skills you may learn from this course is "how to get
unstuck." In
the real world, successful people who find themselves stuck do several
things such as: Hopefully
you’ll explore all three means to get unstuck in this course. Here
are some suggestions: Debugging When
you first "get stuck," take a deep breath! Step back for a
moment. Look carefully at the work you have just done. Try changing one
thing and see what effect it has. You
may also want to check the class bulletin board to see if others have
encountered (and solved) a similar problem. We’ll
talk more about this sort of strategy – called "debugging,"
during the course. Ask
a classmate… Get
to know two or three students in the course; exchange email addresses;
ask each other for help when you get stuck – try to share ideas about
how to figure out the problem rather than telling your classmate the
answer. You’ll learn as much by helping others find their mistakes as
you will by finding your own. Consult
with the Instructors/Teaching Assistants Your
Instructor will hold regular office hours each week. You will get more
out of your time with the Instructor if you come prepared with a
specific question in mind. You
may also email your question with a full explanation of the problem,
not just a vague request for help or the answer! Appropriate
Cooperation and Collaboration It
is valuable to work with a friend or classmate when learning a new
application or working out a problem. However, the work that you
perform in FIT100 for a grade must be your own work unless
"working in groups" is explicitly allowed. Projects in this
course are meant to be done by the individual. Copying
files or other documents from someone else, and claiming they are yours
is plagiarism and anyone caught will be sent to the University Conduct
Committee. The
rules concerning plagiarism by the University are outlined at: http://depts.washington.edu/grading/issue1/honesty.htm.
Disability
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Contact the instructor at: yourname@u.washington.edu
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