Contact and Deadline Information

Instructor:            Bruce R. Gottwig M.Ed.  Adjunct Instructor

Address:               1409 10^th Avenue NW, Great Falls, MT  59404

Telephone:           406-452-1437

E-mail:                  bgottwig@bresnan.net – Home

                              bgottwig@msugf.edu - Work

Texts:                   

·         Assigned readings on web sites.

Additional Reference Reading:

·         How Computers Work: 8^th Edition by Ron White, Timothy Edward Downs, Illustrator. QUE  (2006) Price:  $29.99.

·         How Macs Work: Bestseller Edition. By John Rizzo and K. Daniel Clark. ZD Press (1996) Price:  $24.99.

Software: 

·         Norton Systemworks 2006 ,

·         Various shareware utilities.

Other:

·         A loose leaf notebook to organize your class materials – handouts, lab journal, etc.

Web Sites

·         http://www.bgottwig.com

·         http://my.lesley.edu

Course Objectives

·         To become familiar with the origins of modern computers and their implications on users today.

·         To demonstrate an understanding of foundational issues on how computers format and evaluate data.

·         To identify the main hardware components in a computer and their typical configurations.

·         To understand how these components a computer work together to form a unit.

·         To understand the technical functions of computer operating systems.

·         To become familiar with computer interfacing, networking and compatibility issues.

·         To practice fundamentally sound methods of evaluating and repairing computer, peripheral equipment, and computer operating system problems.

·         To learn what's necessary for technically informed decisions regarding the purchasing and upgrading computers.

Policy for Students with Disabilities

"Lesley College is committed to ensuring the full participation of all students in its programs.  Accordingly, if a student has a documented disability, and, as a result, needs some accommodation to complete course requirements, he/she should inform the instructor at the beginning of the course.  For further information about services through Lesley College for students with disabilities, contact the Office of Student Affairs on the main campus at [617] 349-8544 [TDD] or [617] 349-8543[Voice]."

Attendance Policy

This graduate level course for three credits requires 45 in-class hours of attendance.  Attendance for all sessions is required.

In the event that an absence due to an extreme personal emergency, individual students must confer with the instructor to arrange to make-up the course material missed.   In such cases, students will be required to complete additional assignments.

7100 Grading

Incomplete Grades

Students who find it impossible to complete course requirements by the due date may request an grade of "incomplete". To do this you must notify your instructor, in writing, prior to the end of the class and explain your need for a grade of incomplete.

Depending on the circumstances, late projects may be dropped one grade level. For example, an A to a B or a B to a B-.

Incomplete grades must be taken care of no later than the end of the semester immediately following the current semester. After this, the incomplete grade becomes a permanent grade.

Lesley College is committed to ensuring the full participation of all students in its programs. Accordingly, if a student has a documented disability, and, as a result, needs some accommodation to complete course requirements, he/she should inform the instructor at the beginning of the course. For further information about services through Lesley College for students with disabilities, contact the Office of Student Affairs on the main campus at (617) 3498544 (TDD) or (617) 3488543 (Voice).

These guidelines are presented in the Lesley College Graduate School Student Handbook

Assignments

These assignments are mostly for your intellectual growth, less so for your own students. It is important to recognize that this is a master’s degree program and not a series of workshops.  Therefore, this course intends to extend your abilities to work with computer systems and to understand how they work. It is a very practical course. 

All assignments must be completed on time, or prior to, their due date. Active class participation, which accounts for 30% of your grade, means that you should take an active role in course discussions and presentations. In this course, missing four consecutive hours results in a grade reduction by 3%, regardless of make-up work, due to the lab notebook contribution to grades.

If you wish your final and midterm project materials to be returned, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope of sufficient postage with your final project.  If you would like confirmation that your project has been received, then please include a SAS postcard, or a note with your email address.

Academic Honesty Policy

True learning can only exist in an environment of intellectual honesty. As future professionals, you have a particular responsibility to yourselves and society to conduct your academic studies with integrity. The Lesley community must refuse to allow plagiarism and cheating; all of us must work to create an environment where intellectual curiosity and honesty are valued.

Plagiarism is defined as using or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as your own in any academic exercise.  Cheating is defined as using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids in any academic exercise.

You have specific responsibilities in maintaining academic integrity in the community:

·         It is your responsibility to learn how to document sources and what constitutes plagiarism. The Modern Language Association Handbook and the American Psychological Association Handbook define plagiarism and give complete descriptions. You can ask at the Center for Academic Achievement for assistance as well.

·         It is your responsibility to report observed cases of cheating or plagiarism to the faculty member in whose course the incident took place or to the Dean for the Adult Baccalaureate College, who will refer the case to the Academic Honesty Committee.

·         It is your responsibility to keep notes, rough drafts, and a copy of each finished paper until it has been graded and returned.

·         You may not submit one piece of work to meet the requirements for more than one course. If you wish special consideration to do so, you must request and receive written permission from the instructors of the courses involved.

Violation of the Lesley University prohibition of cheating or plagiarism may result in lowered grades, suspension from classes or dismissal from the University.

http://www.lesley.edu/abc/abcpolicy.html

Lab Notebook Requirements

Your in-class lab notebook is a journal of short entries and comprises a record of your learning. 

The lab notebook is where you enter your responses to the lab activity questions. 

Between major activities (about every 4 hours) you will be given 10-15 minutes to write an entry.  If available you will be using Blackboard (http://lesley.blackboard.com) as a way to enter your responses.   Take a few minutes to reflect on what you have learned, and another few minutes to write it down. Meet the following requirements:

·         Describe what you learned.

·         Describe what you are puzzled about or your concerns.

·         Date and time of entry.

Your notebook will help you, and the instructor, understand the class and your own learning.  Additionally, the journal will provide feedback to the instructor to make mid-course corrections and will be used to determine your participation.  As you reflect on your thoughts and feelings about your learning and about the material it should also deepen our discussions in class.  You may write, draw, graph and diagram.  You may choose to write on the computer or take pen in hand (provided you have readable handwriting).  Choose whichever suits your style. Make sure that your name is on your paper and that any papers are clipped or stapled together.

Group Discussion Rubric
[MA Professional Standards 7.08 (2) (a)(2); 7.08 (2) (b) 1. b]

This rubric is used to determine your participation in course discussions.

7100 Midterm Project Requirements

Select any two comparable computers and do a written comparison. For example you could choose a Gateway and compare it to a similar machine built by Compaq or one of the other computer manufactures. If you prefer, you can compare any two comparable Mac computers. If you have an interest in laptops, you can compare two different laptops. You can even choose a Power Mac and compare it to a Pentium based machine, however a cross- platform comparison is harder to make since there usually is little cross platform research, and there are very few ways of making cross platform benchmark comparisons. Projects that are found to be plagiarized from another student will receive a failing grade.

 

1)      Your name and the site name on the front cover,

2)      High quality grammar and spelling,

3)      A Comparison of the hardware in a table or spreadsheet, including:

a)      Model number and/or name,

b)      Main processor used in the machine and its clock speed,

c)      Bus clock speed,

d)      Amount of RAM and maximum RAM expansion possible,

e)      Numbers and types of ports and expansion slots,

f)       Size of hard drive,

g)      Approximate base price including the standard monitor, keyboard and mouse.

h)      Number of colors displayed and the resolution of the monitor (in pixels), If the monitor must be bought separately, then pick one.

i)        Extras such as built in CD ROM , Modems, Zip Drives,

4)      Describe the pro's and con's of each machine. Consider writing the comparison as if you were doing it for a computer committee trying to decide between these two machines. You do not necessarily have to make any final selection in the comparison, however you should come to some general conclusions after you make the comparison. For example, you could state that "machine A is better suited for doing graphics and desktop publishing while machine B is less expensive and is perfectly suited for doing spreadsheets and word processing". This written part of the comparison should be at least 2 pages long and no more then 4 pages. Your report should use technical terminology meaningfully, indicating your mastery of the technical language. Definitely include what operating system is installed.

5)      Be prepared to present your results on Friday evening of the second weekend.

6)      A one-paragraph description, either discussing generally what is a benchmark, or describing one bench mark in particular, and why we need them.

7)      A Glossary that includes a correct and complete listing of all the acronyms, terminology and technical phrases that you use, and written in your own words, so that almost anyone could understand your comparison,

8)      Citation of four sources in the text, with accompanied entries in a reference list. (Follow APA guidelines)

9)      A section labeled "Performance Review" which holds a personal accounting of a hands-on comparison of at least one of the computers or an interview with someone who has used at least one of them; or cite a review someone has posted to a site like ZDNET.com. Include the source as a citation in your text, with an accompanied entry in the reference list.

10)  One or two paragraphs anticipating what would be most cost effective to upgrade on each machine in 3 years.

Midterm Project Rubric

MA Professional Standards 7.08 (2) (a)(8.b.1.b); 7.08 (2) (b) 1. (b); 7.08 (2) (b) 3.a

7100 Final Project Requirements

Organize a school computer lab

Design a lab or technology assisted classroom as you think it could best be done.  Include:

(1)   Your name and the site name on the front cover.

(2)   A one page description of the context in which the lab operates:

a)      Use statistics either from the district, state, or is national levels (see for example the National Center for Educational Statistics website) to describe the socio-economic and demographic status of the school or district in which the lab is located.

b)      Describe the school technology policies in existence that could affect the design of the lab, i.e. describe any accessibility requirements the lab must meet, any user agreements students must sign, whether there are Internet filters in place, the software licenses and agreements that exist, etc…  

c)      Describe the purposes for the lab (include whether it is also used for adult education, collaborative learning, if it is actually a classroom, etc.)

(3)   Make a bulleted list with vital information about each kind of computer and other technology you would put in the room (you do not have to choose only one kind of computer). The list includes:

a)      Manufacturers and models

b)      System software used,

c)      Amount of RAM installed,

d)      Application Software installed,

e)      Any expansion and upgrade possibilities which extends the lifetime of the technology, or expands capabilities.

(4)   Draw a floor plan with locations of computers, furniture, network drops, and other technology in the room. 

(5)   Write up a small, simple troubleshooting checklist or flow chart for anyone who is using the room, for those fixes that do not require a tech support person..

(6)   Maintenance: Design a regular maintenance schedule for the lab. Describe what tasks are to be performed, who should do it, and how often. For example, some schools have a student tech force that can do basic to advanced maintenance. Put this into checklist form. (This could also serve your school as a record for maintenance.)

(7)   Wiring: Draw the network topology of the lab. (i.e. in a diagram, identify how hubs/switches and computers, PDA’s, printers, etc. are connected).  This is not a floor plan – a wiring topology is an abstract diagram that often looks like a collection of lines in a spider-like formation.  This is also the case for wireless networks.

(8)   In  100 – 200 words, describe the reasons behind your design, i.e. how the floor plan and types of technology corresponds to the purposes of the lab (see #2c above) and what kinds of learning goes on there, e.g. cooperative, teacher centered, centers, work stations, etc…  If policies and accessibility are design considerations, include them!

(9)   In 200 to 400 words, reflect upon the technological concepts that you have learned, and the technical skills you have mastered, throughout this course.

Final Project Option Rubric

[MA Professional Standards 7.08 (2) (a)(6, 8.b.1.b); ; 7.08 (2) (b)1(b); 7.08 (2) (e) 6; 7.08 (2) (b) 3.a]