IRLS 116

School of Information Resources 
& Library Science

Introduction to Microcomputers

Fall 1998


Instructors:

Sue Fitzner and Kathy Wilka
Phone: 621-3565
Office Hours:  MWF, 1-3, TTh, 10-noon
School of Information Resources and Library Sciences
1515 East First St., Room 3

Purpose

The purpose of this course is to acquaint students with the technologies, terms, and techniques of microcomputers and their applications. Students will be taught how to navigate various operating systems and applications, where to look for help when using those systems and applications, and what these systems and applications are designed to accomplish.

Although the class will give students both a theoretical and practical grounding in microcomputers, the emphasis will be on learning to use the resources available to University of Arizona students. By the end of the course, students should be proficient in five major areas:
 


Weekly Schedule

Week 1 - August 24
Introduction, set up e-mail accounts, subscribe to the list
Time: 5:00 - 7:30
Location: Social Science, Room 224

Week 2-- August 31 
Operating Systems
Time: 5:00 - 7:00
Location: Social Science, Room 224
Windows '95 IRLS 116

Project 1 - 20 pts - The student will demonstrate competency with both DOS and Windows
formats by providing hard copies of codes and disks with directory trees.
Due: September 14

Week 3-- September 7
NO CLASS 
University Holiday

Week 4-- September 14 
Electronic Mail
Time:  5:30 - 7:00
Location: Main Library, Room A315

Project 2 - 10 pts - The student will join and participate in the class email list during the course of
the semester and one other email list of personal choice and provide hard copies of various
commands used on these lists.
Due: October 12

Week 5-- September 21
Word Processing, Basic Introduction
Time: 5:30 - 7:30
Location: Social Science, Room 224
Resources:Grey Matter and KnowHow on the Web

Project 3 - 10 pts - Write a resume using one of the word editors as discussed in class.
Due: September 28

Week 6-- September 28
Spreadsheets
Time: 5:00 - 7:30
Location: Social Science, Room 224

Today's assignment

Project 4 - 10 pts - Create a Spreadsheet using Microsoft Excel.
Due: October 5

Week 7-- October 5
Power Point
Time: 5:00 - 7:30
Location: Social Science, Room 224

Week 8-- October 12
Database Management
Time: 5:00 - 7:30
Location: Main Library, Room A315

Week 9-- October 19 
Database Searching
Time: 5:00 - 7:30
Location: Social Science, Room 224

Project 5 - 5 pts - Complete a database search over some topic of personal interest to the student, and provide the hard copy of the search. Be prepared to discuss the theory behind database construction and design in class.
Due: Oct. 26

Week 10-- October 26
Overview and Project Time
Time: 5:00 - 7:30
Location: Social Science, Room 224

Project 6 - 10 pts - The student will perform his or her own project with Instructors approval. This should be a combination of two or more of the above projects.
Due: December 11

Week 11-- November 2
Introduction to the Internet
Time: 5:00 - 7:30
Location: Social Science, Room 224

Week 12-- November 9
Searching the World Wide Web (WWW)
Time: 5:00 - 7:30
Location: Social Science, Room 224

Week 13-- November 16
FTP - File Transfer Protocol and downloading software
Time: 5:00 - 7:30
Location: Main Library, Room A315

Project 7 - 5 pts - FTP two files of personal interest to an FTP site. Identify your files.
Due: November 23

Week 13-- November 23
HTML (HyperText Markup Language)
Time: 5:00 - 7:00
Location: Social Science, Room 224

Project 8 - 10 pts - The student will create, edit and mount a Home page on the WWW using
HTML coding.
Due: December 7

Week 14-- November 30
Usenet News
Time: 5:00 - 7:00
Location: Social Science, Room 224

Week 15-- December 7
Overview  & Project Time
Time: 5:00 - 7:00
Location: Social Science, Room 224

Project 9 - 10 pts - Perform an Internet search on a topic of personal interest to the student, as well as demonstrate ability to obtain sophisticated data from the internet starting with only a few clues. This will be an in class project and has shown itself to be one of the most popular assignments of the semester. The students will be given just two words and will, using all of the skills they have acquired over the semester, obtain all of the information they need to complete the project. (Internet Hunt)
 

Final Exam December 11 @ 5:00pm
Location: TBA

All assignments at due 5:00pm on the due date. Assignments may be turned in at class or the School of Information Resources and Library Science office in the course mailbox.

 Final Exam December 11 @ 5:00pm

 


Project responsibilities:

During the course of the semester the student will be required to perform various projects of varying degrees of complexity, each project worth varying points. Below is the list of projects for the class and following that the Grade Scale.

Project 1 - 20 pts - The student will demonstrate competency with both DOS and Windows formats by providing hard copies of codes and disks with directory trees.

Project 2 - 10 pts - The student will join and participate in the class email list during the course of the semester and one other email list of personal choice and provide hard copies of various commands used on these lists.

Project 3 - 10 pts - The student will create, edit and mount a Home page on the WWW using HTML coding.

Project 4 - 5 pts - Complete a database search over some topic of personal interest to the student, and provide the hard copy of the search, as well as be prepared to discuss the theory behind database construction and design.

Project 5 - 5 pts - FTP two files of personal interest from the Internet, as well as demonstrate a knowledge of at least three different means to download data over the internet.

 Project 6 - 10 pts - Write a resume using one of the word editors as discussed in class.

 Project 7 - 10 pts - Create a Spreadsheet using Microsoft Excel.

 Project 8 - 10 pts - The student will perform his or her own project with Instructors approval. This should be a combination of two or more of the above projects.

Project 9 - 10 pts - Perform an Internet search on a topic of personal interest to the student, as well as demonstrate ability to obtain sophisticated data from the internet starting with only a few clues. This will be an in class project and has shown itself to be one of the most popular excursuses of the semester. The students will be given just two words and will, using all of the skills they have acquired over the semester, obtain all of the information they need to complete the project.

Project 10 - 10 pts - Final Exam. BE THERE!
 

Grade Scale:

A    90 - 100 points
B    80 - 89 points
C    70 - 79 points
D    60 - 69 points
E      0 - 59 points
 

Code of Academic Integrity:

Students in this class are expected to abide by the University's Code of Academic Integrity (August 1991). For a complete copy of this code, contact the Dean of Student's office.