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Academic Media Technology
Capital Community College
Hours
     Mon. - Thurs.: 8am - 5pm
     Fri.: 8am - 4:30pm

Face-to-Face
     Room 1031
Phone
     860.906.5030

eMail
     ca-media@ccc.commnet.edu

CTDLC

Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium (CTDLC)

Hours
     Mon. - Thurs.: 8am to 10pm
     Fri.: 8am to 8pm
     Sat.: 8am to 4pm
     Sun.: 10am to 8pm
Web

     http://www.ctdlc.org/help
eMail
     support@ctdlc.org
Phone
     860.832.3887
     1.866.462.8352 (toll-free)


 

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CSA* 105 Introduction to Software Applications

Instructor:
Miah LaPierre / 860.906.5176
Instructor's Email:
Prerequisites:
None

Credits:

3

Text & Materials

TEXTS:  
1. Microsoft Office 2003: Introductory Concepts and Techniques, 2nd Ed.
Shelly, Cashman, Vermaat, Walker
Course Technology

SOFTWARE:
1. Microsoft Office 2003


CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course teaches the use of the microcomputer as an office productivity tool. It covers creating and editing word processing documents, spreadsheets, and computerized visual presentations. Currently, the Microsoft Office software products Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are being taught in depth. Beside office productivity tools, this course covers file-management using the Microsoft Windows operating system.
 

Communication with Your Instructor: Normally, all e-mail communication with the instructor must be via WebCT Vista Mail inside the CSA105 course website within  http://my.commnet.edu. Contact your instructor via regular campus e-mail only in case of emergency, course website failure, or unless you are instructed by your instructor to do so. This is the only way your instructor can keep all students' information and records in one centralized location. Allow up to 48 hours for responses to e-mail messages Monday through Friday. E-mails will not usually be replied to on weekends. Please plan your work accordingly in order to give your instructor ample time to respond to your questions before each assignment due date. You may also contact your instructor via telephone or in-person during office hours.

Instructor's Regular Campus E-mail Address: mlapierre@ccc.commnet.edu
Instructor's Office: College Campus, 6th Floor, Room 607
Office Hours: Mondays 4:00 - 5:30 and Thursdays 11:15 - 12:45
Instructor's Phone: (860) 906-5176

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course teaches the use of the microcomputer as an office productivity tool. It covers creating and editing word processing documents, spreadsheets, and computerized visual presentations. Currently, the Microsoft Office software products Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are being taught in depth. Beside office productivity tools, this course covers file-management using the Microsoft Windows operating system.

TEXT & MATERIALS

Required Text: Microsoft Office 2003 Introductory Concepts and Techniques, Premium Edition, 2006 Course Technology, by Shelly/Cashman/Vermaat

Project Files: Available from the publisher's website (follow the instructions on the inside back cover of your text book).

Software: Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003 (WORD, EXCEL, and POWERPOINT only).
*** You must have these versions installed on you computer in order to follow the curriculum properly. ***

Extra Reading: Additional reading assignments may be provided during the course.

Supplies: You will need floppy diskettes or portable USB drives if you want to save your assignments and projects when you are using the college computers. ** The USB drive is recommended. **

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures/Demonstrations: Important information and highlights will be discussed within each lesson. Notes for course content and topic review, interactive discussions, and computer demos are some examples of instructional materials that will be used.

Assignments/Labs: There will be assignments and lab activities for each lesson weekly throughout the course. Many of them are obtainable from the textbook. You will work on them at your own pace, meaning they are not timed, although due date deadlines are outlined in the course schedule.

Project: You will be expected to develop and present a final project on a topic of your choice related to the course subject matter. Your project will be posted on the course site at the end of the semester for presentation to the group. Details will be provided mid-way through the semester.

Chat Sessions and Discussion Boards: A schedule will be set up for required on-line chat sessions that you will be required to participate in at least 10 throughout the semester (over at least 10 different weeks... meaning: not all 10 at once).æ There will also be various discussions topics posted on the discussion board by your fellow classmates and myself that you will be required to participate in throughout the semester. These will be counted as part of your class participation grade.

Exams: Five exams (including a comprehensive final) will be given. Two of the exams are "mini" exams and are only worth 50 points each, the other three are worth 100 each. Study guides are available on the course website for review and reinforcement purposes.

Internet Support: Visit the course website often for additional and revised information, or for posting questions about this course, or for downloading student data files.

Instructor Communication: Questions for your instructor must be posted within your course site and will typically be responded to within 48 hours (Monday through Friday only, no weekends usually). Please plan your work accordingly in order to give your instructor ample time to respond to your questions before each assignment due date.

WEBCT VISTA USE

PC Readiness: If you wish to use the WebCT Vista features, make sure you check if your computer is ready for online course use. This can be done at http://www.ctdlc.org/Help/requirements.html.

WebCT Vista Familiarity: Go through the "Student Orientation to WebCT Vista" tutorial to familiarize yourself with the interface of a WebCT Vista course. A link to the tutorial can be found on your course home page. Follow the instructions listed.

WebCT Vista Tech Support: If you need technical assistance with WebCT Vista, please use the WebCT Vista help desk service at http://www.ctdlc.org/Help/index.html, a college-paid help desk service from our WebCT Vista host, the Connecticut Consortium for Distance Learning. Their service includes a phone line ((860) 832-3887), which is staffed twelve hours every day, including weekends, with a 12-hour response time. There is also an online form to ask for help as well as an e-mail link. You might be able to find answers to your distance learning/WebCT Vista questions by reading the FAQ file, the Frequently Asked Questions at the WebCT Vista Help Desk.

*** DO NOT USE THE WEBCT VISTA MAIL TO CONTACT YOUR INSTRUCTOR FOR THIS CLASS. USE THE REGULAR E-MAIL ADDRESS LISTED ON THE 1st PAGE INSTEAD. ***

ASSIGNMENT POLICIES

WebCT Assignments Page: You are responsible for the submission of all assignments for each lesson via the WebCT "Assignments" page and not via regular e-mail (unless instructed by your instructor). Assignments submitted via regular e-mail will not be accepted and will not receive a grade.

Due Dates and Grace Periods: Assignment submission should be in step with the target due dates posted in the course schedule and on-line. Flexibility in these target dates is always maintained to allow consistency with student's work, travel and family commitments. Assignments may be turned in prior to due dates posted, however they will not be graded until after the posted due date. Due dates shown in WebCT are target dates to receive full credit on an assignment. For late assignments, there is a two-week grace period from the target date to submit your assignments. For each week an assignment is late, there will be a 10% reduction in the grade. Once an assignment is two weeks late, it will not be accepted, and a grade of zero will be given.

If you have extenuating reasons for missing an assignment beyond the two-week grace period and have appropriate documents to support your reason, you may contact your instructor and request an extension before the end of the grace period, or as soon as practicable. Please note that May 14th is the deadline for the submission of any Assignments and May 21st is the deadline for the submission of the final exam. There will NOT be any grace periods for these cutoff dates. Therefore, it will be advisable for you to plan your assignments accordingly. As a good practice, always save a copy of your assignments in case they get lost in the mail and you need to resubmit them. Make a habit of reading your instructor's comments or suggestions for improvements on graded papers for project resubmissions.

File Format and Names for Assignments: All assignments should be submitted via the WebCT "Assignment" page as attachments. Each assignment should be submitted as a separate attachment within the WebCT assignment page. DO NOT mix assignments together as one file. You have to attach each assignment file separately by clicking the "Browse" button. Do not submit the assignments until all files have been completely attached. Once the group of attachments is submitted, you will not be able to re-submit anything without the instructor resetting your assignment. Until you are finished attaching your files, you may click the "Save As Draft" button to save your attachments without submitting them to your instructor. When you are ready to turn in the completed assignment, click the "Submit" button to send all the files to your instructor.

All documents should be named according to the instructions given in the assignment followed by your last name and your first initial.æ For example, the name of assignment 1B of John Jones may read "Assignment1B_JonesJ".

Academic Dishonesty: Capital takes plagiarism and cheating very seriously. Such offenses may be punished by failure on quiz or project, failure in course, and/or expulsion from the College. Visit http://webster.commnet.edu/mla/plagiarism.shtml for the definition and more information on plagiarism. For more information on policies and consequences, refer to the College Student Handbook.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Distance-Learning courses provide students with great flexibility in schedules and course participation. The only "attendance" requirements will be with regards to live lecture/chat sessions. There will be several scheduled instructor-led live chat sessions every week. You will be required to participate in at least 10 throughout the semester (over at least 10 different weeks... meaning: not all 10 at once).æ Failure to do so will result in a reduction in your class participation grade. A schedule for these sessions will be determined based on students' feedback of their available time periods.æ (I will gather this time period info from students in the first few weeks of the semester.)

GRADING *

 

TOTAL POINTS

ASSIGNMENTS:

1 @ 5 points

Assignments:
"Getting To Know You" Activity

5

2 @ 25 points each

Assignments:
COM & WIN

50

1 @ 35 Points

Assignments:
Research Paper

35

8 @ 45 points each

Assignments:
WD 1, 2, & 3
EX 1, 2, & 3
PPT 1 & 2

360

Total

450

EXAMS:

2 @ 50 points each

Exam 1: Computers and Windows

50

Exam 4: PowerPoint

50

3 @ 100 points each

Exam 2: Word

100

Exam 3: Excel

100

Final Exam: Comprehensive

100

Total

400

PROJECT:

1 @ 100 points

Final Project

100

CLASS PARTICIPATION:

10 Required Chats, E-mail, & Discussion Boards

50

TOTAL:

1000

EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES:
Extra efforts, extra assignments, etc.

Up to 50

TOTAL POSSIBLE:

1050

 

Final Letter Grade Final Percentage Grade Total Points
A

A-

94 - 100

90 - 93

940 - 1000

900 - 930

B+

B

B-

87 - 89

83 - 86

80 - 82

870 - 890

830 - 860

800 - 820

C+

C

C-

77 - 79

73 - 76

70 - 72

770 - 790

730 - 760

700 - 720

D+

D

D-

67 - 69

63 - 66

60 - 62

670 - 690

630 - 660

600 - 620

F (Fail) 0 - 59 0-590

* Subject to change as necessary