FIT100 
Fluency with Information Technology Winter 2004

Syllabus

Prerequisites

This class covers a wide range of material and will require a considerable amount of time. Students not able to spend up to 10 hours a week outside of class should consider taking FIT100 during another term when they have more time.

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:
45%     3 Projects (15% each)
20%     2 Midterm Exams (10% each)  Bring Photo ID
15%     Final  Bring Photo ID
05%     Labs
10%     Assignments
05%     Pop Quizzes (lowest quiz grade dropped)

Coursework, Workload, Late/Missed Exam Policy 

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 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 part: You may turn in one project part 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.
Title: Fluency with Information Technology:  Skills, Concepts & Capabilities
Author: Snyder, L.
Publisher: Addison-Wesley, 2004; ISBN: 0-201-75491-6.

Useful files for this book are available at: http://www.aw.com/snyder/.

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.

How to Communicate in the Class…

All communication in FIT100 is to be respectful.

Announcements

The FIT100 homepage lists all announcements. Consult it often.

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 fact in IT that users of a particular technology WILL get stuck. It happens to everyone -- 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:

(1) systematically play around with the technology,
(2) ask a co-worker or friend for help, or
(3) ask an expert for help.

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.

There are rules for working with someone on homework that must be your own:

• After working together no collaborators should keep any records or documents of the session ... only memories.

• Wait at least 1/2 hour before starting your own work, and in that time engage in some mindless activity ... such as playing a video game or watching a sitcom.

It is recommended that you note on your submitted work "I talked to ____ while working on this assignment."

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