The Information School - INFO/CSE 100 Syllabus

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Course Description (Syllabus) DRAFT Web site: http://www.cs.washington.edu/education/courses/cse100/05wi/ This course 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. This course is offered jointly through The Information School (INFO 100) and Computer Science and Engineering (CSE 100). For more information on the goals of this class and the report, read the more detailed vision statement. The textbook for this course was written by Larry Snyder of the UW CSE department. The lectures that will be presented are largely derived from the material that Larry has created when he taught the course in past quarters. Some material is also borrowed from other offerings of the course, including those given by Erik Forslin, Grace Whiteaker, and Doug Johnson. Prerequisites No previous experience with computers is required for this course. However, it is not an easy course and we will cover a lot of new (and interesting!) material. You should be prepared to work hard in this course. If you truly have NO experience with computers, you must be prepared for a steep learning curve. 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 the class during another term when they have more time. In any case, you will need to take responsibility for learning the material. Do the homework, talk to the TAs, go to all the lectures and labs. All of us on the course staff enjoy working with computers and we are eager to help you learn more so that you can enjoy applying computer technologies to your own areas of interest. Required Text and Clicker The required text is Fluency with Information Technology: Skills, Concepts & Capabilities, ISBN 0-201-75491-6 by Larry Snyder of the UW CSE department. The companion web site has various useful files associated with the book. At various points in the course, additional online materials will be identified. This material will assist with HTML, databases and JavaScript. You will be using H-ITT handheld transmitters (clickers) to respond to questions in class. There is a discount coupon for the clicker included in your textbook. Don't lose the coupon - you need it to get back most of the cost of the clicker. The clickers are required - please purchase one! You can send a copy of your receipt to the vendor (rather than the original receipt) when you ask for the refund. This way you can keep the original receipt to give to the bookstore next summer for your patronage refund. 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.  Time permitting, there may be credit opportunities for oral reports and presentations, especially at the end of the quarter. Attendance at lecture 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 contact the instructor immediately, before you miss an exam or turnin if at all possible.  Adjustments for missed work will be made only in extreme circumstances.  In the case of an official UW absence (such as participation in an athletic event), your coach or other UW official will need to provide authentication in advance. Pop quizzes will not be made up, but adjustments made for students with a valid excuse. Under no circumstance will exams be given early.  In particular, do not make plans to leave campus at the end of the quarter before the scheduled final exam (not even if you have a super discount airfare!).  You must take and pass the final exam to pass the course. 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. Always turn in what you have completed, partial or otherwise: some credit is better than no credit! Computer Lab Section Meetings 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 this class is to be respectful of one another. There are always varying levels of knowledge related to the material in a class; we all need to cooperate to make the process of learning enjoyable for everyone.  This is true regardless of the medium and venue of communication. Announcements. There is a mailing list that will be used to distribute important announcements to the entire class. An archive of these announcements will linked from the class home page. Message Board. Every student is able to post to the class Message Board (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 mailing list, where the information comes directly to your email account. Please use some judgement in posting to the bulletin board. It is appropriate to ask for clarification about assignments; it is NOT appropriate to post your solution to a homework problem and say "this doesn't work, please tell me why not". 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 email list. 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. Asking questions. There is a link from the class Web site that will allow you to send signed email to the Instructors, the TAs or both if you wish.  In general, if you have a technical question, or you need a clarification on an assignment, you should first ask your question on the Message Board.  After all, if you have a question, chances are someone else has it too, and might already have an answer.  You are more likely to get a fast answer from the Message Board than by sending mail to a particular staff person.

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