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In order to enroll in this course, you must have successfully completed
Business Information Systems I (28-IS-175) or its equivalent. In addition, you must
be eligible for the English Composition course sequence. If you are unsure as to whether
or not you meet these requirements, please
contact me or check with your adviser.
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Jessup and Valacich:
Information Systems Today (2003). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
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Grauer and Barber:
Exploring Microsoft Office XP Professional, Vol. 1
Enhanced Edition (2003). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson Education, Inc.
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One high high-capacity storage device
(Zip disk or flash drive; flash drive is preferable).
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A Bearcat Online
(BOL)
email account (this is in addition to any other email account you may
currently be using).
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A Blackboard
(Bb) account.
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Regular access to the World Wide Web (you can use RWC's computer labs for
this).
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Adobe Acrobat Reader.
This is installed on RWC's computers, but if you plan to use some of the
course materials away from RWC, you need to make sure Acrobat reader is
installed on the computer you plan to use.
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Additional utilities, such as
QuickTime, may also be required, depending on the web sites you access
during the quarter.
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Regular access to business publications (online or print
versions). Examples of business publications include, but are not limited
to, Business Week, Fortune, Forbes,
and the Wall Street Journal.
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A pair of headsets, if you plan to use the sound capabilities of the
computers in the RWC labs.
Should the need arise, you are responsible for completing the paperwork
required to officially drop the class. Failure to complete the required paperwork will
result in a grade of UW (unofficial withdrawal) for the course; a grade of UW has the same
effect as a grade of F when calculating your GPA. Note: I will not submit your
paperwork for you! You can leave your completed drop slip on my door for a
signature, but you're responsible for submitting the slip to the appropriate RWC
office for processing.
Much of this course will follow a Problem-Based Learning (PBL)
approach. I believe that we learn more by solving problems than by listening to
lectures; PBL supports that belief. This doesn't mean that the class will be
entirely lecture-free; I'll do a mini-lecture from time to time. It does,
however, mean that you'll take responsibility for the learning that
takes place in the course.
We'll follow these guidelines as we work through
the quarter together:
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Since most work environments require collaboration with
colleagues, much of your work this quarter will require you to work as part of a
team.
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Teams will be assigned, and you will most
likely stay with your team for the
entire quarter. It's quite likely that you'll enjoy working with your team
members. It's also possible that you may end up in a group with someone you
don't particularly like. That's OK — you don't have to like someone to work with
them. Your job is to come up with a way to work effectively with your team and
to resolve personal conflicts as they arise.
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Each team will establish its own set of
ground rules, which must be agreed upon by all team members. The ground rules
will identify communication expectations (such as turnaround time for phone
calls and email), consequences for "slugs," consequences for failing to meet
group deadlines, and so on.
Please note that although I'll give each team some latitude
in dealing with absences, late arrivals, and early departures, I believe attendance
(during class time and at scheduled out-of-class meetings) is critical in this
course. When you miss scheduled classes and team meetings, your team members end
up doing your work as well as their own work; this is unacceptable. So, my
expectation is that each team will come up with, and enforce, a reasonable
attendance policy.
I reserve the right to require an individual to drop the
course if, in my estimation, he or she isn't meeting a acceptable level of class
attendance and participation. Please note that "attendance" refers not just to
coming to class, but also to work habits that are expected by any employer:
arriving on time, staying for the entire work period, being prepared, and so on.
You should plan to attend all regularly-scheduled classes and group meetings. In
most cases, an absentee rate over 10% is unacceptable. And, as mentioned earlier
in this document, you may be removed from the class if you miss even one of the
first three class meetings.
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If you miss class, please make sure you contact
someone in the class to get their notes and any handouts that were distributed
in class. I'm not that "someone." Please note that if you miss
a class, you cannot earn credit for any group work that took place during that
class session.
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Each team member has an equal voice. Make sure to listen
carefully to the views and perspectives of every member of the team. A major
benefit of collaborative learning is that multiple views and perspectives are
available — learn from your teammates!
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Full participation is expected. Please be prepared throughout the quarter to participate in
discussions with your group and with the class as a
whole; these discussions may take place in a face-to-face setting, or they may
involve use of the class discussion board.
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Nearly all of the problems your team tackles this quarter will
be based on content to which you may not have been formally introduced. As you
work through the problems, you'll develop effective research skills. By leaning
how to find and evaluate resources on your own, you'll be better able to deal
with constantly-changing technological environment as you move along in your
chosen career.
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In most cases, your team will submit some
sort of work product that reflects the team's problem-solving process, solution,
and rationale for that solution. Work products can take many different
forms: completed work sheets, informal discussions, oral presentations, formal
papers, and so on. Please make sure to complete each work product carefully and
thoroughly. If you have questions about the work product requirements for a
particular problem, please ask!
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Some problems can be completed in one class session, while
others will require you to work over more than one class session.
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You'll be asked to evaluate yourself and your
team members from time to time throughout the quarter. Since these evaluations
will play a significant role in your final course grade, you should take them
seriously.
This course may require a different method of
learning than you're used to. You're taking responsibility for your learning
this quarter, but rest assured: I'm not abandoning you! I'll be available to
answer questions, listen to concerns, and (when necessary) mediate disputes. The
goal is to minimize the time you spend listening to me, and maximize the time
you spend working with your colleagues to learn about the topics we'll cover
during our time together.
In addition to the Course Approach
information provided above, I thought it might be
helpful to let you know some additional expectations for the course. While much of what follows
is common sense, it never hurts to make sure we are all starting from the same page of the
book (no pun intended…).
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Completion of assigned work (even work that isn't collected
and graded) is expected. While I understand that we all have emergencies
that keep us from completing coursework, that should be the exception rather than the rule.
Please be aware that I generally do
not accept late assignments (more on that later…).
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Arrive on time. If you absolutely cannot make it to class on time
consistently, please drop the class and take it at a time that is more convenient for you.
Again, I understand that traffic, work emergencies, family crises, and so on may
occasionally prevent you from arriving on time. Consistent tardiness, however, is
distracting to everyone and is unacceptable. Please be considerate to the others in the
class and plan to arrive by the scheduled course starting time.
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Plan to stay for the entire class. Early departures are distracting. In
addition, please understand that I am very much aware of what time the class ends, and will do
my best to make sure we wrap up by the class ending time. Please do not pack up your
worldly possessions until class is over.
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Please bring all of the necessary materials with you to each
class, including the books required for the class and your
removable storage devices (Zip disk, flash drive,
etc).
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Please either turn off your cell phone or leave it at
home.
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In addition to attending class on a regular basis, you
should plan to devote several hours each week outside of class to this
course. While the number of hours you'll need to spend on the work for this
course is dependent on several factors (your previous computer experience,
effective use of in-class time, and so on), a general rule of thumb is that
you'll need to spend at least two hours out of class for every hour in
class. So, you should budget a minimum of 6 hours of out-of-class time each
week for this course.
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Naturally, ethical and honest behavior is expected in this class. This means that
academic dishonesty or other unethical and/or illegal activities will not be
tolerated; such activities will be dealt with swiftly and harshly. If
you are unsure as to what type of activity constitutes "academic dishonesty,"
please take a look at the Student Code of Conduct.
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You are expected to complete and submit
work products throughout the quarter. All
assignments must be submitted by the due date specified to
receive credit. Late submissions will be cheerfully refused! (I
reserve the right to adjust this policy in extreme cases, such as those involving
hospitalization, death in the immediate family, and so on.) Failure to submit the required
assignments will result in a drastic reduction of your course grade (you will most likely
receive a grade of F or UW).
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Please make sure to read each assignment
carefully for submission requirements. I'm usually very specific regarding
the submission method to be used. In fact, I usually go so far as to specify
file names and email subject lines. Please trust me — there's a method to
my madness. If you don't follow the instructions in each assignment, you
probably won't have a successful quarter.
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Most of the assignments for this class require the use of
technology — computers, printers, Internet connections, and so on. I am very much aware
of the fact that technology occasionally fails. That's why
course work
is assigned so as to allow sufficient time for completion prior to the due date. Plan ahead! I am not inclined to accept work late because of technology
failures.
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Unless otherwise specified, work
products completed outside of class should be prepared
using an appropriate software tool (word processor, spreadsheet, email, etc.).
Unless specifically discussed in class, hand-written assignments are not
accepted. To accommodate time constraints, in-class work
products are typically hand-written.
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You must have a Bearcat Online
(BOL) email
account, a Blackboard
(Bb) account, and
Internet access to participate in this course. Instructions for
activating your email
and Blackboard accounts are available on
this web site. If you don’t already have Internet access, you can sign up for UC’s
dial-in service. If you don't have a computer at home, please don't panic —
RWC has
several computers available for your use.
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You should get in the habit of checking your
BOL email account
and Blackboard
regularly, since most class information and assignments will be distributed
electronically.
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Please keep the following information in mind
when you send email my way.
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I will answer email that contains:
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questions about course content.
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questions about grades and/or
feedback received on a specific
project or assignment.
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concerns about group process.
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I will not answer email that contains:
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questions for which answers are provided on the
class Web site, in an email message, in an assignment, or in other
materials that were assigned as readings in the class. Please make sure
to read all available information — the
assignment, the course syllabus, the class Announcements page, your
text, and other resources provided to you —
before you send your question.
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messages that don't include a clearly-defined
subject line and your name (not just a username —
I need your full name). I receive tons of
email. If you don't include a subject line and
your name as part of your message, I probably
won't read it.
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messages that raise an inappropriate subject. I
shouldn't need to elaborate on this...
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messages that include file attachments.
Messages that include file attachments are immediately
deleted. File attachments are problematic for a number
of reasons; I currently do not accept them for homework.
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Email response time is dependent on a number if
circumstances, not the least of which is system availability. Under
normal circumstances, I'll respond to your message within 48 hours,
excluding weekends and holidays.
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A student assistant is usually available in the computer lab
on the Concourse (across from the library) to help with
general problems, such as putting paper in the printer and restarting computers when
necessary. Please note that the student assistants are not responsible for
helping you with your homework. If you have difficulty with an assignment,
please contact me!
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Depending on the classroom in which your class
meets, we may have frequent access to computers
throughout the quarter. Please note that you are expected to use
common courtesy with regard to the use of the computers. Disruptive and/or
annoying behavior such as surfing the web, reading/sending email, working on
homework for other classes, and playing games will not be tolerated (unless,
of course, these activities are required as part of an assignment for this
class). If this behavior occurs, I won't be shy about asking you to either
shut off your monitor or leave the class. Repeated offenses may
lead to your forced withdrawal from the course.
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Short quizzes may
be included in this course. Quizzes may be announced
or unannounced. Quizzes are open book/open note. They are
not, however, open Internet -- you will only have access to print materials
during the quizzes.
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You'll take a comprehensive final exam during exam week.
The exam is open book/open note. It is not, however, open
Internet -- unless otherwise specified in class, you will only have access to print materials during the exam.
Exams are scheduled according to the
published
university exam schedule. Please check the exam schedule early in the
quarter. If you cannot take the exam during the scheduled exam time, drop this section of the course and take a section of the course which
offers an exam time that fits in your schedule. Please note that exam week
is the eleventh week of the
quarter. Since I do not give exams early, do not schedule your
vacation during exam week.
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All
information covered during the course (including information from the textbook, lab book,
additional handouts, etc.) is considered fair game for the quizzes and
exams.
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Makeup exams are
not permitted. In the case of extreme circumstances,
your final course grade will be calculated without the
final exam. Examples of extreme circumstances include death in the
immediate family and illness resulting in
hospitalization. All "extreme circumstance" claims must
be supported with documentation from a valid, verifiable source. Note: An
"emergency" trip will most likely not fit in the "extreme circumstance"
category.
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If you are seen in the building on the day of an
exam,
you are expected to take the exam with your class (unless
other arrangements have been made). If you miss the exam, you
will not be permitted to make it up! Again, the "extreme
circumstances" rule applies here, but the circumstance should be very
extreme.
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Quizzes cannot be made up, regardless of the reason for your
absence.
Your grade is made up of several components; the course
components are described in more detail on the
Course Work page. For this class, the breakdown
looks like this:
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PBL work/projects — 45% (90 points)
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Individual homework and quizzes — 20% (40
points)
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Final exam — 20% (40 points)
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Peer evaluations — 15% (30 points)
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Labs — these aren't graded, but you are
expected to complete them
For more details about how your grade is calculated, please see the Grading Info page.
Note: I do not use the Grades section in Blackboard to calculate grades.
Please take responsibility for keeping track of your grades as the quarter
progresses. You can easily calculate your grade at any point in the quarter:
just add up the points you've earned, and divide that number by the total points
available. Use the grading scale provided on the Grading Info
page to convert your grade percentage to a letter grade.
Here's a list of the chapters/sections in your
texts we'll cover during the quarter. Please note that we won't necessarily
cover the material in the order listed here; remember to check Blackboard and
your BOL email account for specific due dates, reading assignments, schedule updates, and so on.
Jessup text:
Ch. 2 — Information Systems for Competitive Advantage (this may be a review for
you, depending on which section of BIS1 you were in)
Ch. 3 — Database Management
Ch. 4 — Telecommunications and the Internet
Ch. 5 — Electronic Commerce, Intranets, and Extranets
Ch. 6 — Organizational Information Systems
Ch. 7 — Enterprise-Wide Information Systems
Ch. 8 — Information Systems Development and Acquisition
Appendix C — Computer Networking
Grauer and Barber lab book:
Exploring Microsoft Excel 2002 — ch. 3; we may also review and/or pick up a few
topics from some of the other chapters
Exploring Microsoft Access 2002 — entire section
This is a tentative syllabus and is subject to revision.
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