1. Instructor Information:
Name Mr.
Charles Kwiatkowski
E-mail
address charles_kwiatkowski@ivcc.edu
Office
hours Monday
By Appointment Only
Tuesday 4:00-7:00
Wednesday 3:00-6:00
Thursday 4:00-5:30
Friday By Appointment Only
Contact
information Charles
Kwiatkowski
A
Building, Room 330
IVCC
815
North Orlando Smith Road
Oglesby,
IL 61348
+1
(815) 408 0876
2. Course description
A hands-on course for new personal
computer owners. Covers elementary maintenance of a personal computer, its
peripherals, and its software. Preventative maintenance and minor repair
of hardware, as well as upgrading and installation of software and hardware,
will be discussed. Lecture, two hours per week; lab, two
hours per week.
Prerequisite: None
Credit Hours: 3
3. Course Meeting Times
Section
01
Lecture Tuesdays
AND Thursdays 1:00-1:50
D
Building, Room 228
Lab Tuesdays 2:00-3:40 D
Building, Room 109B
Section
02
Lecture Tuesdays
AND Thursdays 1:00-1:50
D
Building, Room 228
Lab Thursdays 2:00-3:40 D
Building, Room 109B
Section
300
Lecture Wednesdays 6:30-8:10 A
Building, Room 208
Lab Wednesdays 8:20-10:10 D Building,
Room 109B
4. Expected learning outcomes
·
Students
will gain a working knowledge of the different components of the PC
hardware, their names, and their functions.
·
Students
will learn to identify important working environment factors that can affect
the operation and life span of a PC and its peripherals.
·
Students
will learn to perform basic preventative maintenance tasks that can add
to the life and
performance of a PC.
·
Student
will learn how to isolate and repair common PC problems and when to
ask for professional assistance.
·
Students
will learn how to install and replace basic PC components: memory,
expansion boards, power
supplies, hard disk drives, etc.
·
Students
will be informed of the selection of add-in and add-on hardware
available (displays, memory,
drives, input devices, etc.) and when and how each
device should be used.
·
Students
will be able to disassemble and reassemble a previously unseen PC to working
order within a fixed amount of time.
5. Disability statement :
You
may be eligible for academic accommodations if you have a documented physical,
psychiatric (anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, AD/HD, post-traumatic
stress, or others) or cognitive disability such as a learning disability. If you have a disability and need more
information regarding possible accommodations, please contact
Tina
Hardy at (tina_hardy@ivcc.edu, 224-0284) or
Judy
Mika Judy_Mika@ivcc.edu or 224-0350) or
stop by office B-204.
6. Attendance Policy
Illinois
Valley Community College (IVCC) mandates students attend all class meetings.
This includes both lecture and lab. Attendance is part of your class grade,
typically 4 points per week. Attendance *may* be taken in the form of a pop
quiz. These pop quizzes exist primarily to provide me an assessment of how well
you are grasping the course material. Quizzes may be given at the start of
lecture so be punctual.
You
are expected to attend for the full lab period. You may be excused, with
permission, when you have completed ALL of your homework (not just the nearest
due). I have been known to give a quiz at the end of lab without a prior
announcement. You may be marked as absent if you leave with being excused.
If
you come in late, remind me that you were late BEFORE we leave class that day,
preferably before I leave the podium. This is so I may give you half credit for
attendance. Failure to do so will result in you being marked absent for that
day. As much as I care about you and your education, I cannot remember whether
or not you arrived late after class has ended.
We
may do assignments during class. If you miss that class, you will NOT be able
to make it up.
Note:
Two key aspects of attendance are preparation and participation. You are
REQUIRED to read the material regarding the lecture topic BEFORE coming to
class. You are expected to answer questions reasonably when called upon.
"I don't know" may be true, but it is also an excuse. You are
REQUIRED to make a reasonable attempt at an answer EVEN IF it is wrong so I may
gauge your understanding of the current topic. Answering "I don't
know" or such similar response may result in attendance points
deduction.
This
is your obligation.
7. Assessment of student learning.
Student
learning will be assessed by in-class questions, homework and exams.
8. Grading: The grading of the course will fall into
3 categories:
Homework
This
is where you will develop and apply your knowledge relevant to the topic. There
shall be about 1 homework per chapter. Homework will
consist of hands-on work, simulator work, and short answer questions. Each
chapter's combined work shall be worth approximately 80 points.
Midterm
exam
Based on the
Homework. It shall
be worth 250 points.
Project
Student teams
will select the components necessary to build a PC with constraints given by
the instructor. The teams will prepare and give a presentation to the class on
their choices. This is worth 200 points.
Written
Final Exam
Based on the
Homework. It shall
be worth 100 points.
Hands-On
Final Exam
Each individual
student will be required to disassemble and successfully reassemble a PC within a given
amount of time under instructor observation. It shall be worth 150 points.
Final
grade by percentage of possible points
90-100%
A
80-89%
B
70-79%
C
60-69%
D
<
60% F
Note:
Grades are not rounded up or down. Example: if you end up with an overall
course grade of 89.99%, you have earned a B.
9. Withdrawal policy
According
to IVCC, you may withdraw from this course with instructor permission.
You
may withdraw from this course for any reason you like. I shall not shame you
nor chide you for dropping the course, but I may inquire why. The only
exception for this rule shall be for people who have left their lab partner
"hanging". This applies only to classes with labs using lab partners.
Note:
Just because you stop showing up for class does not grant you a grade of I
(incomplete) or W (withdrawn). You must promptly contact me in order to receive
a grade of I or W.
For
Fall 2010:
Tuesday,
August 31 is the last day for refund.
Tuesday,
November 9 is the Last Day for Student Withdrawal
Personal
advice: Education is not a race. There is no shame in strategic retreat. Drop
the class in which you are performing the worst in, not the one you like the
least. Always aim to keep your grade point average high as it will take you
farther than how long it took you to complete your degree/certificate/program.
10. Cell phone and text messaging policy.
Calculators,
Laptop PCs, Cell Phones, iPods, and other electronic devices are not allowed
during exams and quizzes unless otherwise specified. failure
to comply with these rules will result in ejection from the exam and a grade of
F for the exam.
11. Financial aid statement
a. Withdrawal from a course can affect
financial aid. Students who receive
financial aid should see an advisor in the financial Aid Office before
withdrawing from a course.
12. Plagiarism statement/academic honesty
Policies
regarding cheating may be found under the heading of “Academic
Integrity” in the IVCC Student Handbook. Students should become
familiar with these policies and abide by them.
Furthermore,
don't even think about cheating. Cheating is not tolerated at all.
Although I encourage you to collaborate and discuss ideas and concepts from
this class with others, you are responsible for your own work. A (all too)
common example of cheating is to work together collectively in a group and each
member turns in his/her copy of the same document. This is completely
unacceptable.
When
you cheat, you insult my intelligence.
13. Any classroom rules
Lecture
shall begin promptly at the assigned time. I ask that you REFRAIN from asking me questions while I am at the podium before
lecture starts, as I am usually setting up. This also ensures that everyone in
class has a chance to hear the question and answer.
Questions
about HW assignments may be deferred to lab (if possible) .
You can expect lecture to last until the assigned end time. Do not immediately
begin packing up your belongings before the end of lecture.
PC
Usage
If
you have a PC in front of you during lecture, it should be used ONLY for one of
two things:
1.
Following along with the lecture's slides, code, etc.
2.
Working on an in-class assignment.
Do
not work on homework while I am lecturing. Do NOT
"surf", check email, or play games during class. This is rude
behavior and you may be asked to leave if caught doing so. If this continues to
be a problem, further action may be taken.
Lab (if applicable)
This
is where you are expected to work on your homework and labs. Also, this is
where I answer questions about your HW. You may expect to need extra time
outside of lab to complete your assignments.
Lab
is also where I try to get grading done. Often, I like to call you over during
grading so you can better understand why your grade is what it is.
You
are advised to backup files on your U: drive. Through the miracle of
technology, you may access your U drive from off campus. Visit the Learning
Commons (aka Computer Lab) on the 2nd floor of D building, or their webpage at
www.ivcc.edu/studenthelpdesk for more information.
You
are expected to bring your textbook(s) to all class meetings and lab.
You
may opt to also work on your homework assignments at home. This
is fine, but know that:
1.
If you have a question or a problem with the assignment, we may not have time
to meet to solve your problem before the assignment is due.
2.
You are responsible for the operation of your equipment. This means that you
will not be given any special treatment if it your hard drive crashes, printer
malfunctions, etc.
3.
I do not debug over the phone or via email.
4.
You are still expected to attend lab.
5.
People who work on their assignments in lab tend to achieve higher grades than
those that work at home.
Three
strikes
If
you have 3 unexcused absences of any combination class activity, (HW, quiz,
lecture, etc.) your course grade becomes F. Just because you
stop showing up for class does not grant you a grade of I (incomplete) or W
(withdrawn). You must promptly contact me in order to receive a grade of
I or W.
14. Outline of assignments for the
semester
There
shall be approximately 12 assignments, 1 per chapter.
Each
chapter's assignment shall normally contain:
·
Short
answer (True/False, Multiple Choice, etc.) questions
·
Simulation
work using the LabSim software
·
Hands-On
lab, which are normally required to be done IN LAB, not at home.
15. Hints on how to be successful in the
course
·
Read
the book before lecture.
·
After
reading the book, pay attention during lecture. If you still don't understand,
ask a question,
·
Do
as much work as possible in the lab as possible, because if you have a problem,
I am right there to help.
·
Start
homework early and keep working until 100% complete. It is IMPOSSIBLE to
accurately predict how much debugging is necessary. Waiting until shortly
before the assignment is due is a recipe for failure.
16. Required text and materials
A+
Guide to Managing & Maintaining Your PC, 7th Edition
Jean
Andrews
Publisher:
Delmar, Cengage Learning
Copyright
year: © 2010 Pages: 1346
ISBN-10 1-4354-9778-3
ISBN-13 978-1-4354-9778-8
17. Additional Resources
LabSim for CompTIA's A+ for Practical Applications. ISBN 978-1-935080-36-7 . This should be bundled with your text from the IVCC
bookstore.
512M
or larger Thumb Drive.
This can be used for other classes too.
Headset
(for listening to simulations).
You can use your iPod headphones if you like. Or, you may purchase a low cost
headset from the IVCC bookstore, typically for under $10.
Toolkit. This should be bundled with your text
from the IVCC bookstore.
17.
Topic Schedule
This
schedule is tentative and subject to change.
Day
Sections 01 and 02
|
Date |
Topic(s) |
Date |
Topic(s) |
|
|
|
|
Thursday, August 19, 2010 |
Syllabus Review |
|
|
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 |
Chapter 1 |
Thursday, August 26, 2010 |
Chapter 1 |
|
|
Tuesday, August 31, 2010 |
Chapter 2 |
Thursday, September 02, 2010 |
Chapter 2 |
|
|
Tuesday, September 07, 2010 |
Chapter 4 |
Thursday, September 09, 2010 |
Chapter 4 |
|
|
Tuesday, September 14, 2010 |
Chapter 5 |
Thursday, September 16, 2010 |
Chapter 5 |
|
|
Tuesday, September 21, 2010 |
Chapter 6 |
Thursday, September 23, 2010 |
Chapter 6 |
|
|
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 |
Chapter 7 |
Thursday, September 30, 2010 |
Chapter 7 |
|
|
Tuesday, October 05, 2010 |
Catchup + |
Thursday, October 07, 2010 |
Midterm Exam |
|
|
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 |
Faculty Enrichment Day |
Thursday, October 14, 2010 |
Chapter 8 |
|
|
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 |
Chapter 8 |
Thursday, October 21, 2010 |
Chapter 9 |
|
|
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 |
Chapter 9 |
Thursday, October 28, 2010 |
Chapter 10 |
|
|
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 |
Chapter 10 |
Thursday, November 04, 2010 |
Project |
|
|
Tuesday, November 09, 2010 |
Project |
Thursday, November 11, 2010 |
Veterans' Day |
|
|
Tuesday, November 16, 2010 |
Project Presentations |
Thursday, November 18, 2010 |
Project Presentations |
|
|
Tuesday, November 23, 2010 |
Chapter 11 |
Thursday, November 25, 2010 |
Thanksgiving Break |
|
|
Tuesday, November 30, 2010 |
Chapter 11 |
Thursday, December 02, 2010 |
Chapter 21 |
|
|
Tuesday, December 07, 2010 |
Chapter 21 |
Thursday, December 09, 2010 |
Catchup + |
|
|
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 |
Day Semester Exams |
Thursday, December 16, 2010 |
Day Semester Exams |
Night
Section
This
schedule is tentative and subject to change.
|
Date |
Topic(s) |
|
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 |
Syllabus Review |
|
Wednesday, August 25, 2010 |
Chapter 1 |
|
Wednesday, September 01, 2010 |
Chapter 2 |
|
Wednesday, September 08, 2010 |
Chapter 4 |
|
Wednesday, September 15, 2010 |
Chapter 5 |
|
Wednesday, September 22, 2010 |
Chapter 6 |
|
Wednesday, September 29, 2010 |
Chapter 7 |
|
Wednesday, October 06, 2010 |
Catchup, Review, |
|
Wednesday, October 13, 2010 |
Chapter 8 |
|
Wednesday, October 20, 2010 |
Chapter 9 |
|
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 |
Chapter 10 |
|
Wednesday, November 03, 2010 |
Project |
|
Wednesday, November 10, 2010 |
Project |
|
Wednesday, November 17, 2010 |
Project Presentations |
|
Wednesday, November 24, 2010 |
Thanksgiving Break |
|
Wednesday, December 01, 2010 |
Chapter 11 |
|
Wednesday, December 08, 2010 |
Chapter 21 Supporting Notebooks |
|
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 |
Evening Semester Exam |