CyberTech I – IT Foundations 11.412 (Y)
Fall 2005
Course Description:	CyberTech I: IT Foundations 11.412 IT Foundations helps students prepare for a career in information technology, computer science or information systems. Topics include information systems in organizations, hardware, software, database concepts, telecommunications and networks, the Internet, systems development, security, privacy, ethics, programming logic, algorithms, abstraction, and data structures. Students who successfully complete CyberTech I will have the opportunity to take an advanced standing examination and receive 3 hours of college credit for CSIS 2300, Principles of Computing, upon enrollment at Kennesaw State University.
Prerequisites:	IT 7.441 or equivalent working knowledge of computer applications.
Textbook and Resources:	Dale, Nell, & Lewis, John (2004). Computer science illuminated (2nd ed.). Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, ISBN 0-7637-0799-6. Replacement Cost: $45.00 Meyer, R. Mark (2003). Explorations in computer science: A guide to discovery (with CD). Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Replacement Cost (lab manual): $25.00 Replace Cost (CD): $5.00
Instructor:	Dr. Amy B. Woszczynski (Kennesaw State University) Teachers at each school and Graduate Teaching Assistants at KSU
Email Address:	cybert1@kennesaw.edu
Phone:	770-423-6572
Website Address:	http://blackboard.cobbk12.org

Learning Outcomes:

After the completion of CyberTech I and all associated assignments and activities, the students will be able to:

• Describe the integration of computing systems with people
• Understand ethical and security issues related to computing
• Explain the integration of the computing discipline(s) with career paths
• Gain a systems perspective of computing
• Use Web resources to learn more about relevant topics
• Complete laboratory exercises to illustrate and reinforce lecture topics

Tentative Schedule of Units and Due Dates (subject to change)
Unit	Due Date
1 – Introduction	August 26, 2005
2 – The History of Computing	September 2, 2005
3A – Hardware	September 9, 2005
3B – Software Systems Management	September 23, 2005
Test #1	September 30, 2005
4 – Operating Systems	October 7, 2005
5 – Data Communications and Networking	October 21, 2005
6 – The World Wide Web	November 4, 2005
Test #2	November 11, 2005
7A – Concepts of Programming	November 18, 2005
7B – Concepts of Programming	December 2, 2005
7C – Concepts of Programming	December 14, 2005
Test #3	December 18, 2005
FINAL EXAM	TBD

Grading:

Item	Pts Available	% of Total
Discussion Board Activities & Class Participation	260	29.55%
Chapter Quizzes	180	20.45%
Laboratory Exercises	160	18.18%
Tests	180	20.45%
Final Exam	100	11.36%
TOTAL	880	100.0%

Grade Evaluation
A	90% - 100%
B	89% - 80%
C	79% - 74%
D	74% - 70%
F	Below 70%

Virtual Class Policies:

All units are due at 11:45 pm on the date specified. If you are unable to complete the work in a timely manner, please contact your Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) so that we can discuss.

You have three main sources that you may contact for assistance in this course. If you are in-class, you may ask your teacher, or you may e-mail the GTA for your section. Outside of class times, you should e-mail your GTA for assistance. You may also e-mail me at cybert1@kennesaw.edu for assistance or with questions.

You are allowed to work together on homework and laboratory assignments, but the work you turn in must be your own. You may not share an electronic file with classmates. If you work together, you must work on separate computers. You may not discuss the quizzes or exams or share the questions/answers with your classmates. Quizzes should be completed independently – no sharing! Violation of these policies may result in one or more of the following:
- 0 on the assignment for both students
- Letter home and/or conference with parents
- Requirements to re-do the assignment, and
- In serious cases, forfeiture of all future CyberTech activities, including
SummerTech, Saturday Academy, and grant support for expenses.

Quizzes, tests, and the final exam will be graded automatically. If there is an error in the quiz or test, please let your GTA know, and we will manually override the grade as necessary. If you misspell a word (but are very close), e-mail your GTA and ask for a re-grade of your quiz.

In an online class, it is very important that you regularly visit the Blackboard site for updates and assignments. If you do not check the site at least every 3 days, your GTA or your teacher will contact you to discuss.

Discussion board activities comprise a significant portion of your grade in this course. In a virtual (online) class, it is very important that you interact with your peers and your instructors in order to acquire an enhanced learning experience. Remember that discussion postings are available for all students and instructors to review. As such, you should conduct yourself in a professional manner at all times. It is fine to disagree with someone’s opinion, as long as you use appropriate courtesy and netiquette when posting on the discussion board. Flaming and unprofessional language will not be tolerated, and your posting will be removed from the discussion board.

Make sure that you answer the questions for the discussion board posting. If you are asked to respond to a classmate’s posting, do not simply write, “I agree” or “Good job.” Instead, comment on your classmate’s discussion, adding your own opinion as well.

Discussion board postings and laboratory assignments are not automatically graded. GTAs will grade all discussion board postings after the due date has passed. GTAs will also have regularly scheduled days and times for grading, which they will post on Blackboard.

All discussion board postings, laboratory exercises, and e-mail messages should be spell-checked and proofread before sending or posting. I recommend typing the message in a word processor before cutting and pasting in order to minimize the number of typos you have. If you have more than one typo or grammatical error in a discussion board posting, you will not receive full credit for the posting.

Laboratory exercises must be submitted in one of the following acceptable formats: .DOC, .JPG, .BMP, .RTF, .TXT, .XLS, or .PDF. If you have another format that you would like to use for submission of assignments, please contact your GTA in advance. Also, make sure that you submit one file that answers all of the questions for an assignment. For example, if you must take multiple screenshots, put them all in one file in an acceptable format. Do not send multiple files for one assignment.

The teacher at your school is available to assist with problems you may have with Blackboard or the course content. In addition, you can contact me by sending e-mail to cybert1@kennesaw.edu or your GTA as listed on the Blackboard site. Someone will respond to your e-mail within 2 business days of receiving it.

You must check your e-mail regularly. We will send important information to you at your listed e-mail account. I expect you to check your e-mail regularly for updates and class information. You should respond to any e-mails that your GTA, your teacher, or I send you within 3 business days of receiving the message.

Student Commitment:

A grant funded by the National Science Foundation provides scholarships to students so that they can complete this online course at no charge. We expect your commitment to successfully completing this course. As such, you should plan to spend 10-14 hours per week of in-class and out of class time completing the course activities.

Class Format: 

This class is completed entirely online. Students will read assigned chapters, review PowerPoint slides, complete interactive exercises, and submit assignments as shown for each Unit.