COURSE DESCRIPTION
CGS2100, Micro Applications for Business, is an introduction to the information management systems and software applications prevalent in today's business and professional environments. Course material is presented solely through Web-based media, textbooks, and hands-on experience with support from experienced teachers.
| Information System Concepts Presented in the Textbook | Computer Skills |
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COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of the semester, students will:
- demonstrate knowledge and understanding of basic computer concepts such as computer hardware, software, architecture, and networking
- demonstrate understanding of Information Concepts, Computer-Based Information Systems, and their application in the modern business environment
- demonstrate understanding of Data Management and Database Systems
- demonstrate understanding of Networking Technologies and Applications in the modern business environment
- demonstrate understanding of Electronic Commerce
- demonstrate understanding of Business Decision Making and Problem Solving
- demonstrate understanding of the Development of Business Information Systems
- demonstrate file management techniques in the MS Windows environment
- demonstrate skills related to email use
- demonstrate skills involved in web-based research
- demonstrate working knowledge of word processing with MS Word
- demonstrate working knowledge of spreadsheets with MS Excel
- demonstrate working knowledge of database management with MS Access
- prepare a presentation with MS PowerPoint
- demonstrate methods of sharing information between Office applications
THE "ONLINE" DIFFERENCE
While online students give up the benefits of weekly class meetings on campus, this online course is designed in a manner that provides the same quality and quantity of instructor contact as the traditional classroom environment. Online instructors are in our campus office connected to their students over the Internet forty hours per week. They field questions through email, discussion groups, instant messaging, telephone, and face-to-face visits. Instructors provide online tutorials and lessons to assist students with their projects and prepare them for exams. Online students benefit from the same video tutorials, exercises, practice tests, and study guides that classroom students use.
CONDITIONS FOR ENTRANCE INTO CGS2100
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FSU'S COMPUTER SKILLS COMPETENCY REQUIREMENT
The successful completion of this course satisfies FSU's Computer Competency Requirement for business majors and many other degrees. Non-business students should check with their academic advisor to confirm that this course will meet the requirement for their major.
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INSTRUCTORS
Online Helpdesk Instructors Faculty Supervisor: Please communicate ALL class questions and concerns to the Helpdesk Instructors. Helpdesk Instructors will refer difficult cases to Mr. Baldauf. |
Students are responsible for purchasing the following materials within the first week of class:
- The CGS2100 Course Pack which includes:
- Textbook: "Succeeding with Technology, 2nd Edition ", Stair/Baldauf, Course Technology Pub.
- Software: "SAM 2007 Assessment & Training V1.0 " - a very important key code for accessing testing software.
- A USB Flash Drive is recommended for students who plan to work in the computer lab
Copies of the Course textbook has been placed on reserve in Dirac library.
The materials for this class have been bundled together in order to reduce their total coast, and save confusion. Purchasing course materials separately can cost 25 percent more than the bundled price. Course Packs are available at Bill's Bookstore and FSU Bookstore
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Students will be unable to do course work or take exams without the above listed course materials. Students who fail to purchase these materials or purchase them later than the first week of class will be responsible for the consequential effects on their grades. The instructor will not provide accommodations for students who do not purchase these materials. |
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Students must purchase a new and unused copy of the SAM software. You will be unable to use SAM software that has been used by any other student. USED SAM key codes are useless. |
| Points | Task | ||||||||||
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| 100 | Assignment 1: Web Research and Microsoft Word | ||||||||||
| 100 | Assignment 2: Spreadsheets with Microsoft Excel |
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| 100 | Assignment 3: Database Management with Microsoft Access | ||||||||||
| 60 | Assignment 4: Presenting with Microsoft PowerPoint | ||||||||||
| 340 |
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| 300 |
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| 1,000 | Total Points | ||||||||||
Use the table below to calculate your letter grade from your earned points.
| 900 - 909 A- | 910 - 1,000 A | |
800 - 809 B- |
810 - 879 B |
880 - 899 B+ |
700 - 709 C- |
710 - 779 C |
780 - 799 C+ |
600 - 609 D- |
610 - 679 D |
680 - 699 D+ |
| 000 - 599 F |
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Final Letter Grade: The points you earn over the duration of the semester determine your final letter grade. No additional point earning activities will be provided for students who, at the end of the semester, realize that they have fallen short of their desired grade. Nor will we review and haggle over old assignment and test grades during the last weeks of the semester with students trying to boost their final grade. Issues with assignment grades must be dealt with within two weeks of the posting of the assignment grade, and issues with test grades must be dealt with immediately following the exam. Please don't email the instructors at the end of the semester to haggle over your points or beg for more. What you earn is what you get. |
GENERAL POLICIES, PREREQUISITES, AND REQUIREMENTS
This Online program depends on students being well-informed and self-motivated. To insure successful completion of this course, students must understand and comply with the following:
- Online students must be able to attend exams on campus in Tallahassee.
- Online students should be comfortable with Email, the Web, and computers in general upon entering this course.
- Online students must have a functional FSU email account and check email on that account at least once a week.
- Online Instructors are available throughout the day, Mon-Fri to assist students via email, telephone, or office visit.
- Online students must be self-motivated. The instructors are not responsible for contacting students when due dates and scheduled appointments are missed nor will students be contacted when they are obviously failing the class. It is the students responsibility to keep in touch with the instructor.
- A mandatory class meeting/orientation session is provided during the first week of the semester (check the Directory of Classes for the day and time associated with the section for which you enrolled). The orientation session is used to familiarize students with our training and testing software (SAM) and Online course procedures (how to submit assignments, how to pace yourself, how to get help when needed, how to reserve test times, etc).
- Online students attend one mandatory class meeting in the first week of the semester, and after that, do not attend any regular classroom meetings.
- Students attend two exam sessions at times that they reserve using an online reservation system at the beginning of the semester (instructions provided on the course Agenda).
- Online students will purchase and use the same books and materials as classroom-based participants in the same course.
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NO INCOMPLETES WILL BE GIVEN FOR THIS COURSE. |
BASIC COURSE PROCEDURES
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Beginning on the first day of the semester, students are responsible for retrieving the course syllabus, agenda, assignments, and all other information necessary to successfully complete the course from the course Web site at accessible from http://campus.fsu.edu
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This Course Syllabus is the first and most important document that should be read.
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The Course Agenda is the Web page that students rely on throughout the semester to access weekly homework assignments, due dates, deadlines, tips, and reminders. It should be reviewed at the start of the semester and revisited every week.
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Assignments are also accessed from the Web site. Assignments include working through Online tutorials and lessons to create files that are submitted electronically for grading.
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Assignments due dates are provided on the Agenda. This course is NOT self-paced.
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Every effort is made to grade assignments and post grades within one week to ten days after submitted.
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Students are given weekly reading assignments in the textbook and practice exams that assist them in learning the textbook concepts.
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Weekly homework may add up to as much as 6 hours per week.
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During the first three weeks of the semester students sign up for two exam sessions to be taken roughly at midterm and towards the end of the semester using the on-line test reservation system.
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Students prepare for all exams by taking practice tests in SAM.
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Students view their grade records throughout the semester using the on-line grade book on our Web site Grader comments are accessed by clicking on the assignment score.
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If you stay on task, you will be done with all assignments several weeks prior to the end of the semester, and your last exams two to five weeks prior to the end of the semester.
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Detailed Testing and Assignment procedures and policies are provided below.
On Your Own PC
If you have a Windows PC with Office 2007 (Word 2007, Excel 2007, Access 2007, PowerPoint 2007) and an Internet connection, you can do your class work on your own PC. All you'll need to do is install the SAM 2007 software downloaded from the Internet (click SAM on the menu for instructions). Students will be unable to use Mac computers for their coursework. You will be unable to use earlier versions of Microsoft Office to complete your work.
In the 315 MCH Computer Lab
Students who don't have a Windows PC, or Office 2007, or portions of Office 2007, will need to do some or all of their coursework on a PC in the 315 MCH computer lab which has all the software, including SAM installed. When working in the lab, students should save all their work on a flash drive.
Students must have a SAM keycode whether working on their own PC or in the lab.
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Microsoft Office 2007 vs. Office 2003 |
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Submitted homework files that are unable to be opened with the 2007 version of Microsoft Office, due to being created with the wrong software or version of the software, will receive a zero. Make sure you use the correct software and the correct version. |
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Students that opt to do their work on their own computer accept the responsibility for their computer's proper functioning. PC problems that inevitably arise will not be accepted as an excuse for late assignment submissions. If PC problems occur at home, students should complete their work in the 315 MCH computer lab. |
GETTING HELP
The following people are involved with seeing to it that you have a positive experience in this course:
- Our Online Instructors are your primary source of contact and support. The Online Instructors:
- answer assignment questions, and assist you with problems
- answer policy and procedure questions
- respond to questions about assignment scores and test grades
- manage the grade records
- Online students may communicate with Online Instructors face-to-face, via telephone or email during office hours. From the course Web site, click the Teacher Info link for office hours and instructor contact information.
- The Online instructors will respond to student email within 12 hours Mon - Fri. Due to the large volume of email we receive, it is appreciated when students look up answers for themselves on our class Web site prior to emailing a question to the teacher.
- Faculty Supervisor: Ken Baldauf (baldauf@cs.fsu.edu) oversees the entire Computer Literacy program and is able to answer any course-related questions whenever the Online Instructors cannot.
- Computer Literacy Testing Staff: Our testing staff will administer your exams and enter your exam scores into our grade book You will not have any contact with our testing staff outside your examination periods. Questions regarding test scheduling should be directed to the Online Instructors during office hours. Questions regarding test scores should be addressed to the test administrator immediately following your exam prior to leaving the testing facility.
- Computer Literacy Grading Staff: Our grading staff will receive your assignment submissions, grade them, record your assignment scores in the online grade book You will not have any direct contact with our grading staff. Questions regarding assignment submissions and grades should be directed to the Online Instructors during office hours.
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Students learn application skills by working through on-line training lessons. Students will be provided assistance with their assignment only after they have completed the on-line training. Office hours and help hours are not intended to replace the independent work required to learn the skills. |
Administering exams to over a thousand students each semester is no small task. We have a testing staff that attends to this task and several procedures and policies to help the testing procedure run as smoothly as possible. It is imperative that students understand the following important procedures and policies regarding the examination process:
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- There are two exam sessions that students must attend on campus. Each session includes several exams (listed above under GRADING/EVALUATION).
- Students reserve exam times on-line using the Test Reservation System on the Course Web site prior to the posted deadline (see Agenda). Students who reserve their test times early will have the best selection of available times.
- Exam sessions are timed. Students must be able to complete all tests within the 90 minute exam session.
- Students who miss an exam with a documented excuse (note from a Dr. or FSU administrator) may change their exam time, using the same on-line reservation form, without penalty. Present documentation at the time of make-up exam.
- Student are required to setup and familiarize themselves with the SAM software and the process of taking tests in SAM prior to their first exam session. No training will be provided at exam sessions. Click SAM on the course menu for further instructions regarding setting up and using SAM.
- The exam dates that you reserve dictate the speed at which you must complete the assignments and readings.
- Students must bring a picture ID to their exams sessions.
- Tests are delivered in electronic format over a computer network in our computer testing center. If their is power, network, or server failure during an exam, the student may need to reschedule for another time.
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Exam Penalties You will incure a 20 point penalty if you:
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Exam scores are displayed upon completion of each exam. Students who wish to contest an exam score must do so by speaking to the test administrator immediately following the exam prior to leaving the testing room. |
ASSIGNMENT PROCEDURES AND POLICIES
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- Assignment are accessed from our course Web site
- Assignment one will be available on our course Web site (http://campus.fsu.edu) during week one of the semester.
- Assignments two through four will be posted no later than two weeks prior to their due dates.
- Assignment due dates are listed on the Course Agenda located on our course Web site
- Assignments
are submitted electronically using the form provided
with the assignments on our Web site
- Students are responsible for confirming that an assignment is submitted successfully with the submitted file in working order by following the instructions accessed by clicking the Assignments link on the Web site
- Once an assignment is submitted it cannot be taken back or resubmitted - even if it is submitted early. Make sure that the work you submit is your final version and ready for grading.
- Submitted assignment files found to be corrupt and unopenable, will require re-submission with late penalties
- Assignments will NOT be accepted if submitted on disk, printout, or as an email attachment.
- Students may access grader feedback by clicking the assignment score in the grade book
- Students are responsible for regularly checking their grades on-line to confirm that assignments were received and graded. Every effort is made to grade assignments within a week of submission.
- Questions, concerns, or complaints regarding graded assignments should be addressed to the Online instructors during office hours within two weeks of the posting of the assignment grade.
- Keep a copy of your assignment files until final grades for the course are posted and you are satisfied that your final grade is accurate.
- Submitted homework files that are unable to be opened with the 2003 version of Microsoft Office, due to being created with the wrong software or version of the software, will receive a zero. Make sure you use the correct software and the correct version.
- Assignments that contain content that anyone would find offensive (including profanity, vulgarity, insults, violence, or sexually explicit language) will receive a zero and the student responsible may be brought up on charges of violation of FSU's Conduct Code
Cheating
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Always begin your assignments from a new, blank document file. We consider it cheating when a student starts an assignment from some other student's assignment file, or copies portion of another student's file.
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There are no innocent participants in cheating incidents. Students who leave their assignment work available for others to access either on a private or public computer, intentionally or accidentally, will be considered accomplices to cheating should someone else use their work and submit it as their own.
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- Assignments are designed in a manner that requires every student's files to contain unique and different data. If two or more students submit work with the same, or portions of the same data, and/or if file properties are the same, it is evidence that cheating has taken place.
- Two or more students working together on an assignment is considered cheating. An assignment submission is intended to be a measure of one student's ability.
- Be warned! Special software will be used that compares every electronically submitted assignment file to all other submitted files to determine if the file was copied from another student.
- Sometimes cheating is not detected until after students have submitted several copied assignments. In such cases the first copied assignment is considered the first offense, the second copied assignment, the second offense, and so on.
- Students caught communicating during exams will be asked to leave and forfeit the exam.
Communication
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Students are responsible for class announcements sent to their FSU email accounts, and posted to the class Web site. Students are expected to checking their email on their FSU account (http://webmail.fsu.edu) at least twice a week. |
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Students are expected to view announcements and the agenda on the course Web site at least once a week. |
ACADEMIC HONOR POLICY:
The Florida State University Academic Honor Policy outlines the University’s expectations for the integrity of students’ academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty members throughout the process. Students are responsible for reading the Academic Honor Policy and for living up to their pledge to “. . . be honest and truthful and . . . [to] strive for personal and institutional integrity at Florida State University.” (Florida State University Academic Honor Policy, found at http://www.fsu.edu/dof/honorpolicy.htm.)
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT:
Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should:
(1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center; and
(2) bring a letter to the instructor indicating the need for accommodation and what type. This should be done during the first week of class.
This syllabus and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request.
For more information about services available to FSU students with disabilities, contact the:
Student Disability Resource Center
97 Woodward Avenue, South
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4167
(850) 644-9566 (voice)
(850) 644-8504 (TDD)
sdrc@admin.fsu.edu
http://www.fsu.edu/staffair/dean/StudentDisability/