The Information School - INFO/CSE 100 Syllabus

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Course Description 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 and Grace Whiteaker. 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 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. 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 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. 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. 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. As I said earlier on this page, the staff members all enjoy working with computers, and we want to help you learn more so that you can enjoy it too. If you have any concerns about the course or your TA, please see the TA about these issues as soon as possible. If you are not comfortable talking with the TA or not satisfied with the response that you receive, you may contact the instructor of the course. If you are still not satisfied with the response that you receive, you may contact Joseph W. Janes, the Associate Dean for Academics in 370 Mary Gates Hall, by phone at (206) 616-0987 or by e-mail at jwj@u.washington.edu. Announcements. There is a mailing list that will be used to distribute important announcements to the entire class. An archive of these announcements is linked from the class home page. Bulletin Board. Every student is 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 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. 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. If you want a response to your comment or question, then this is the link to use. Anonymous Email. There is also a link from the class Web site that will allow you to send anonymous email to the Instructors, the TAs or both. Anonymous email means you can send mail to us without the Instructor or TAs knowing who you are. But, it also means that we can't respond to your comment, because you are anonymous!

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