Everyday Computing

91.111Instructor: Patrick KrolakTopic: Introduction to course including the schedule, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and software needed to be uploaded for the course.

91. 111 Everyday Computing

Instructor:Patrick Krolak

Course Syllabus online athttp://www.cs.uml.edu/~pkrolak/91-111/Week1/

EverydayComputing.pptClass Assignments at:

http://everyday-computing.blogspot.com/Copyright 2005-9

How to contact me!

• Email – pkrolak@cs.uml.edu

• Yahoo IM – id dr_krolak

• What to call me.. Dr K will be fine.

Approximate 14 week ScheduleWinter 2009

Week Date Topic1. Jan. 27, 2 Introduction to Everyday Computing / Computing History / Blogs2. Feb. 3, 5 Email, Chat, Instant Messaging and video conferencing3. Feb. 10 12 Introduction to MicroSoft Office/Word4. Feb. , 18 MS Excel Review (no class Tues Feb 17 Monday schedule)5. Feb 24,26 MS Excel Intermediate                                             6. Mar. 3, 5 MS Excel Advanced7. Mar. 10, 12 Mid Term Project - To Be Assigned8. Mar 24,26 MS Access Review9. Mar 31, A 2 MS Access Intermediate10. Apr 07. 09, MS Access Advanced (Nov. 11 no class)11. Apr 14. 16, MS PowerPoint (Nov 27 no class)12. Apr. 21, 23 Final Project – To Be Assigned13. May. 12 All Projects and Assignments Due.14. ** Note: All assignment exercises and weekly readings will be available each

week when the lectures are activated.

Grade Policy

• Students will turn in weekly blogs and exercises (lab assignments). Each is graded pass/fail.

• All blogs and assignments turned as passed B

• Less than all material completed -- grade is a B- or lower.

• Final is worth one letter grade plus the Blog and assignments.

When is material due?

• The normal schedule is that the material is due the Tuesday after it is assigned in the class blog and discussed in class.

• Each Week the assignment, readings, exams, etc. will be posted on the class blog.

• The assignments will require assigned reading to be read BEFORE the week of the class.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)s

• What is the text for the course?

• What do I need for the course?

• Text -- Computer Literacy for IC3, J and S. Preston, Prentice Hall. Is not required but is suggested reading.

• Access to computer to do you homework (exercises & projects). It should have enough memory to add 100 MB of materials, connection to the Internet & a sound card. It is recommended that MS Office is installed.

FAQs (more)

• Am I required to go to chat if class is a make up?

Chat is Required. Students shall attend distance learning chat sessions as assigned. They may require microphone and web cam for group work and exchange of files. Students will be expected to work in groups on assignments after the mid term and should plan on using chat and other web based tools for collaborative decision making.

FAQs More

• What about using another storage device instead of the A:\ drive and a floppy disk?

• The updated computer material will include the newer storage devices. The A;\\ drive is still widely supported in the Cont Ed labs. The USB port devices are just now getting recognition. The original material spoke of the floppy disk because it was popular and cheap. It is nearing the end of its life cycle and USB devices of all kinds will work for this course. CDROMs and DVDs Write/Readers that support data are also acceptable.

• If you only work at home store the work on your C:\ drive (hard disk). The reason for the storage on the other media is to carry back and forth and the backup your work.

• It is excellent professional practice to backup your work, i.e. make a second copy on a storage device kept separately from your computer. This prevents all sorts of hardships should the unexpected happen to your computer.

FAQs More

• I have a MAC or use a LINUX or other Operating System (O/S) on the computer I will use for the course. Will that work and will that be allowed?

• MACs and computers that use LINUX, etc. will work for the course. However, the student may have to use tools (software) that are appropriate for those machines. This is not a serious issue and MAC users have done well in the past with MAC specific software.

FAQs More

• I do not have PowerPoint on my machine is there an option other than MS Office?

• Download PowerPoint viewer --

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/

details.aspx?FamilyID=428d5727-43ab-4f24-90b7-a94784af71a4&displaylang=en

FAQs (more)

• I am unfamiliar with PowerPoint. How do I use it?

• The material is set up as a slide show with an automatic advance.

• Download the ppt file and click [Slide Show]/view show

• You can set the advance to move on mouse click [Slide Show]Slide Transition – In right column check -- on

mouse click then Slide show icon.

– During the slide show click to advance to next slide.

What else do I need?

• You will need a microphone and web camera. These can be in the same electronic package and can be gotten in any office supply store (Staples, Office Max, etc). They don’t have to be top of the line or expensive. For better sound a head set with mic is recommended.

• You will set up a Yahoo Instant Messenger account. Yahoo IM will allow us to have web telephones and video conferences anywhere in the world.

What else do I need? (More)

• You will need to set up a blog (an online journal to write short essays and ideas assigned on a weekly basis.

• You will need to download additional software such as Google Earth and MapEdit. This freeware or shareware (free use over the course).

PowerPoint materials

• The class will use powerpoint (ppt) presentations in all of the weekly materials. Students will be responsible for their contents.

• Normally I will set them up to run as a slide show with a combination of click and automatic animations.

• If you are unfamiliar with ppt materials please try and get to the first help session where we will discuss your questions.

U Mass Lowell Email and Phone Address book

• email addresses of faculty & staff http://podir1.uml.edu/search/

• phone directory of all university faculty and staff http://phonedir.uml.edu/

Downloads for the Course

The software required for the course is always being updated and sometimes it occurs during the course. You have the option of running current versions or the older ones. It is not possible to maintain a document that agrees with all situations. The notes will try and use the current version.

Browsers Email Choices

Since July 2005, Netscape has separated its browser from the email (Messenger) and web editor (Composer). This poses some problems for the materials in the lecture notes and I will allow you the freedom of choice on how to solve it.

1. First you can download Netscape 7.2 (It corresponds to the class notes immediately and will contain Messenger and Composer) http://browser.netscape.com/ns8/download/archive72x.jsp

2. Second you can download:1. the new Google Chrome http://www.google.com/chrome or2. the new Foxfire browser from Mozilla

http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/all.html 3. Both offer new security and are reasonably easy to use to do the first weeks

assignments. 3. Third you can use Thunderbird Email Client

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/4. Fourth, you can use Internet Explorer and MicroSoft’s associated email

system and hope that you remember to back up your data and use a strong Firewall and other security tools..