Welcome to CMPE 003 - Personal Computer Concepts
General Class Information
Course assignments and weekly quizzes will be available through the campus eCommons system.
You will need a CruzID Gold password to access eCommons. This is a different login than your usual cruzmail login. For more information, and to obtain a password, visit http://its.ucsc.edu/services/accounts/change_gold_password.php
We recommend using the latest version of Firefox or Internet Explorer to access eCommons. Safari and Google Chrome are not recommended. Firefox add-ons can conflict with eCommons and may need to be disabled.
If you need help with eCommons, you can go to http://itrequest.ucsc.edu, or email help@ucsc.edu, or call 459-HELP. You can also visit the ITS Help Desk in person in Kerr Hall Room 54, Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.
Class Number:
60884
Instructor:
Gerald B. Moulds
Email: gmoulds@soe.ucsc.edu
(Note: If your issue can be resolved by your TA, please contact them first. Due to the volume of email I receive, I may take several days to respond.)
Office: Engineering-2 Room #237A
Instructor Office Hours:
Wednesdays 1:00pm-3:00pm, or by appointment.
Office: Engineering-2 Room #237A
Lecture times:
Tuesday and Thursday, 2:00-3:45pm, Classroom Unit 2.
Teaching Assistants:
Brigit Schroeder - brschroe@ucsc.edu
Danny Eliahu - deliahu@ucsc.edu
Who is my TA?
- You will receive an email early in the quarter, providing you with the name of your TA.
Required text:
There are a few different editions of the text available. The previous version of the text recently went out of print, but there is a custom-printed edition made just for this class available at the bookstore.
You can also find used copies of the original text: Digital Planet - Tomorrow's Technology and You, 10th edition, by George Beekman. There are two versions of this text, the Introductory and Complete versions. Both cover all the material we will be using in this course, so feel free to purchase whichever is less expensive or easier to find.
Labs:
- Labs are NOT mandatory.
- You only need to attend a lab if you would like some help from one of the course TAs.
- You may drop in on ANY of the four labs for help, even if you are not enrolled in that lab.
All labs are held in the Ming Ong PC (Merrill Room 103- Left side). A map to this computer lab can be found here.
1A: Mondays, 10:00-11:30am - Danny Eliahu
1B: Tuesdays, 9:30-11:00am - Brigit Schroeder
1C: Wednesdays, 10:30am-12:00pm - Danny Eliahu
1D: Thursdays, 9:30-11:00am - Brigit Schroeder
Exam times:
Midterm Exams (each worth 15% of your final grade):
Exam 1: Tuesday, April 19 (Chapters 1-3)
Exam 2: Thursday, May 12 (Chapters 4-6)
Exam 3: Wednesday, June 8 at 12:00pm (Chapters 7-10)
Bring a pink Scantron form (form F-1712, available at the Bay Tree Bookstore) and pencils on exam days.
If you know you cannot make an exam, or need special arrangements, inform me at least a week ahead of the scheduled exam time. If you miss an exam due to illness or emergency, contact me as soon as possible.
Academic Integrity:
Cheating in any part of the course may lead to failing the course and severe academic discipline.
Special Accommodations:
If you have special needs, we will accommodate you. Also, the Disability Resource Center offers services that are confidential and free of charge.
Course Outline:
This course covers the concepts of hardware and software used in personal computing. The lectures provide a background in terminology and fundamental concepts. The assignments provide hands-on practice using basic office applications and creating simple web pages and applications.
Credit:
This course is worth 5.0 credits. Students cannot repeat this course for credit. Students cannot get credit for both this course and CMPS 2.
Grade Evaluation:
- 45% = 3 Exams (15% each) Worth 1500 points each.
- 15% = 10 Quizzes (1.5% each). Each is worth 150 points. 50 of these points will come from a class participation question referencing something that happened during a recent class lecture.
- 40% = Best 4 of 5 Homework Assignments (10% each) Each is worth 1000 points.
Your grade will be assigned: A=90% and above, B=80%-89%, C=70%-79%, D=60%-69, Fail=below 60%
Late Quizzes and Assignments.
Quizzes can NOT be submitted late, for any reason.
Assignments submitted in the 24 hours after the due date will receive a late penalty. After this grace period, unexcused lateness may result in a grade of zero. If you have a valid excuse for a late assignment, contact your TA or the Instructor.
Assignments:
Note on submitting Assignments 1-5:
- All assignments are submitted through the eCommons Assignments link, listed under Course Tools.
- Click on Assignments
- Click Add attachments to attach files.
- Browse for the assignment.
- Click Submit to submit assignment.
- (Some assignments have additional requirements as well.)
- Assignments #1 and #5 use Microsoft Office, any version (Mac or PC). This software is installed on most of the PCs available in labs on campus.
- You may also use the Open Office application suite. This suite is free for download, but students unfamiliar with the software may have trouble installing or using the software. We'll go over this software suite in class.
- Assignments #2 and #3 will require a plain text editor, with files saved in plain ASCII format (I'll explain this in detail during class.) This can prove tricky for Mac users, who need to change some preferences on TextEdit for the assignments to display properly - ask the instructor or your TA for help.
Assignment 1 - Spreadsheet. Here are links to the assignment and an example - Due Thursday April 7
Assignment 2 - Web Page. Here are links to the assignment and an example - Due Thursday, April 21
Assignment 3 - Javascript. Here are links to the assignment and hello_java.html - Due Thursday, May 5
Assignment 4 -Programming. Here are links to the assignment - Due Thursday, May 19
Assignment 5 - PowerPoint Presentation. Here is the link to the assignment - Due Tuesday June 7
Quizzes:
All quizzes are taken on eCommons and must be submitted by 11:30pm of their due date. Quizzes can not be submitted late for any reason. Each quiz is available for the five days previous to its due date.
- Chapter 1 Quiz - Due Friday, April 1
- Chapter 2 Quiz - Due Wednesday, April 6
- Chapter 3 Quiz - Due Wednesday, April 13
- Chapter 4 Quiz - Due Wednesday, April 20
- Chapter 5 Quiz - Due Wednesday, April 27
- Chapter 6 Quiz - Due Wednesday, May 4
- Chapter 7 Quiz - Due Wednesday, May 11
- Chapter 8 Quiz - Due Wednesday, May 18
- Chapter 9 Quiz - Due Wednesday, May 25
- Chapter 10 Quiz - Due Wednesday, June 1