CS105P/CS106P & CIT105P/CIT106P

[ Home]  [ Overview]  [ Calendar]  [ Introduction]  [ Syllabus]  [ Assignments]  [ Email HW]  [ My Progress]

Introduction

to CS/CIT 105P and CS/CIT 106P

Instructors: Nicole English, EnglishN@umkc.edu & Mike Strong, StrongM@umkc.edu.

Time/Place: Organizational /Orientation Meetings, two or more opportunities to attend an Orientation during the first week of each session. For the current semester, the meetings are scheduled for the following locations, on the following dates:

• Organizational Orientation Meeting Times & Dates: (CORRECTED)
• 1st 4-Week Session:
  • CIT105P-1, Tuesday, June 8th, 6pm-6:45 in RH 314 (Smaller RH PC Lab)
  • CIT106P-1, Wednesday, June 9th, 6pm-6:45 in RH 314 (Smaller RH PC Lab)
• 2nd 4-Week Session:
  • CIT105P-2, Tuesday, July 6th, 6pm-6:45 in RH 314 (Smaller RH PC Lab)
  • CIT106P-2, Wednesday, July 7th, 6pm-6:45 in RH 314 (Smaller RH PC Lab)
• More Orientation Info:
• You only need to come to one Organizational Orientation Meeting.
• If you cannot make the meeting for your class, you can attend one of the scheduled meetings for one of the other classes instead.
• Otherwise, you can downoad the audio file of the Organizational Orientation Meeting HERE .
  
• If you come to one of the SCHEDULED Orientations, you will receive bonus points.
  
• Lab Support:
• Lab Support is available. Just make an appointment. Phone appointments are also an option.
• Evening Lab Support is available in RH 314 afternoons/evenings. Just make an appointment.
• For Summer, the regular Lab Support time is 1pm Mondays in SH 104.

If you cannot make the Organizational Meeting, email me, and make an appointment. We can probably meet in the RH 314 (or RH 303 as a backup) Computer Lab to get you started. Or you can just download the audio file of the Organizational Orientation Meeting HERE .

You can also make appointments for extra lab support, (Afternoons/Evenings), and we would meet in RH 314.

General Info:

• This Web site contains online resources for the combined PACE Block of classes: CS/CIT105P and CS/CIT106P.
• The Computer Lab Rooms for lab support is 314 Royall Hall (Evenings) or 104 Scofield Hall (Day time). (Lab sessions for the evening are by appointment only now.)
• (Interested in more classes similar to this one? See below.)

About the Class:

• There are no longer any live lectures or regular class attendance. The new Web-based format of the class is still rather a work in progress, so your input is appreciated...!
• All text Class materials are available on this Web site (available through Blackboard).
• Tapes/DVDs will be available either at MNL or the PACE Office (104 Scofield Hall).
• Supplemental lab support is available by appointment in the computer lab room (RH 314).
• Everyone enrolled in the class should have received a UMKC email account and Web access account. You need to know that UMKC email account User ID even if you use other email systems.
• Your UMKC "Sign-On" ID will be your ID for the Quizzes and Grades. The password for Quizzes will be assigned to you once you email the instructor.
• Rather than a class that tries to teach you EVERYTHING about computers, think of this class as more of a sampler or smorgasbord

Need help? Whom do you contact?

• Call the Call Center at 816-235-2000 if there are any problems with your UMKC UserID, UMKC email account, or UMKC dialup.
• UMKC Email site: http://www.umkc.edu/exchange/
• Contact EnglishN@umkc.edu if you have any problems with this course Web site, or if you have questions about assignments or course materials.
• Contact PACE at 816-235-1588 if you have any questions about the PACE program, PACE Instructors, or to inquire about other PACE classes being offered.
• (Want information about getting your account set up? Want to FTP to your Web account? Try looking here: Account Info Link.)
• For information about on-campus Computer Lab facilities, you can go to this Web site: http://web1.umkc.edu/labs/.

About Homework:

• All classwork is available online.
• Assignments can be done during lab time appointment (for lab support), or remotely.
• Assignments will generally be expected to be submitted via email attachment to my email address, unless otherwise arranged.
• Include the CIT105P or CIT106P class number in all subject lines of email to me, so that I know it is class related (otherwise it might get lost in the volume of email I get every day).
• Always include your full name, as well as your UMKC UserID "Sign-On", so that I know who you are.
• Always "CC" a copy of your assignment submissions to yourself, as a backup.
• Send questions separately from HW attachments for quicker reply...(otherwise it might get overlooked until grading).
• Send email to EnglishN@umkc.edu for concerns, problems, or questions.
• Everyone enrolled in the class should have received a UMKC email account and Web access account. You need to know that UMKC email account User ID even if you use other email systems. This will be your ID for the Quizzes and Grades.
• Reminder... It's easier for me to retrieve the files you submit through email file attachments if you don't include spaces or funny characters (&'# etc) in the filename.
• When HW assignments are graded, grades should be posted by the first part of the following week. I work on them over the weekend. I try to do grading every week, but occasionally get delayed.
• Homework assignments can be reworked and resubmitted to upgrade scores. (Just let me know if you are resubmitting for upgrade of score.)
• Online tutorials are available for each assignment for added support or to learn more features at more depth.
• Next step will be to look over the links above: Home, Overview, Calendar, Syllabus, Assignments, Email HW. You will probably want to print these pages for future reference.
• There is a textbook for each class. You can find info for the textbook on the Syllabus page.
• Other Supplies:
  • A small flash drive (thumb drive) that can plug into the PC, to save a back-up of your work is optional, but strongly recommended and very advisable. It can save a lot of heart-ache later.

Quizzes for Current Students:

• Quizzes are online.
• Quizzes are open book/open notes.
• Quizzes can be taken during lab sessions (for moral support) or remotely.
• Current Students can find Quizzes on the Blackboard Course Content link, found on the left side of your screen.
• Current Students can find Grades on the Blackboard My Grades link, (or the Tools link), found on the left side of your screen.
• If the Quiz scores do not show up, contact the instructor at EnglishN@umkc.edu to look into the problem. Usually the problem can be easily fixed.
• The Quizzes can be taken SAVED while you work on them.
• The Quizzes may be re-taken up to 3 times to improve your score (but you will get a different set of quiz questions for each attempt.)
• The system should take the highest of your Quiz scores to calculate your Final Grade.

Special Information on Quizzes for Students Finishing Incompletes ONLY:

• For Students Finishing Incompletes:
• You can take the quizzes for both classes here.
• Log in with your UMKC UserID Username and the Password for Quizzes. (This password will be good only for these classes to do quizzes and check grades.
• If you have any problems, please send email to EnglishN@umkc.edu and we will try to figure out the problem.
• There are 2 buttons at the bottom of each Quiz:
  • A Pre-Score Button on the Left, which you can use twice to make corrections;
  • A Save & Submit Button on the Right, which you can use after you have made all your corrections.
• Quizzes can be taken again if you have problems or if you wish to upgrade your score, but you will get a different set of Quiz questions.
• The system should take the highest of your Quiz scores to calculate your Final Grade.
• If you do not yet have a password for Quizzes, be sure to send me email about the password to use for the Quizzes. You need to do so ASAP, for you will not be able to take the Quizzes or check your Grades otherwise.

History of the Class...

• The CS105P/CS106P classes were originally created by Eddie Burris, (who also created the CS100 class). He created the CS105P/CS106P classes especially for the PACE program.
• Mike Strong and Nicole English both worked with Eddie Burris in the Computer Science Department developing classes and materials for the IT program. They developed IT222 Multimedia on the Web. Now Eddie Burris teaches IT222, and they teach these and other classes at PACE.
• Originally, the classes were done alternating between a lecture classroom, and a PC classroom, where all students followed along while the instructor demonstrated on a PC with an overhead projector.
• What became apparent over time, was that there was a large range of skill levels among students coming into the class. Some novice students found that teaching in "lock-step" went too fast for them, while other students found it too slow.
• The next version of the class involved lectures with open lab sessions, where novice students could get extra support, and other students could get only as much support as needed and then were free to leave and work on their own.
• With IS taking over the A&S PC classrooms, it was necessary to change the format of the class yet again. This current version is a work in progress to develop a workable Web-based version of the class.

About Us...

• We are very informal. Please feel free to address us by our first names.
• We understand that most PACE students are working adults with families, so we try to be flexible to accomodate your schedules, and still be fair to the other students in the class.
• Generally, our first concern is to lower your anxieties about the difficulty of the class or the number of homeworks.
• For more about us and our backgrounds, click here.

Interested in similar classes to this one?

Nicole English (EnglishN@umkc.edu) and Mike Strong (StrongM@umkc.edu) work on a number of classes set up very similar to this one. If you are interested in these classes, contact the PACE office at 235-1588 or email one of us at PACE for more info. These are the classes in that will be currently offered (depending on scheduling):

• IT Classes
  • A&S 400D Introduction to Database for Professional Communications (Block XXXVI Info Tech)
  • A&S 400J Introduction to Java (Block XXXVI Info Tech)
  • A&S 400L Introduction to ASP (Block XXXVI Info Tech)
• Communication Studies Classes
  • Writing for the Web (Comm Studies)
  • Digital Video for the Web (Comm Studies)
  • Digital Video Editing (Comm Studies)
  • Streaming New Media for the Web (Comm Studies)
  • Web Radio and New Media (Comm Studies)
• Intersession Classes (More Detail on Intersession Classes)
• ST: Topic: Dataveillance and the New Big Brother Surveillance (Orwell vs. Kafka Models of Surveillance)
• ST: Topic: Power Structures and the Internet
• ST: Topic: Digital Divide: Social Inequities in Technology
• ST: Topic: Hackers and Crackers: Hacker Culture in Social Context
• ST: Topic: The Impact of the Electronic Games on Society
• ST: Topic: Disability Technology (and the Social Construction of Disability)

Advanced Apology to Students.