Syllabus :: IST 160 – Introduction to
Programming
Semester: Fall 2009
Class Room: Morrow Library 119
Class Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 11:00 am - 12:15 pm
Instructor: Nicholas Slate
Office: Science Building 162
Phone: (304) 696-3593
E-mail: [email protected]
Office Hours: Appointments are strongly recommended. I will try to be available at the listed times; however, emergencies may keep me out and about.
MWF: 11:00 am - 12:00 noon, TR 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm, Other by appointment
Textbooks
The following textbook is required for this course:
Microsoft Visual Basic 2008: Reloaded (3rd ed.) by Diane Zak (ISBN: 1-4239-0250-5)
Computer Requirements
Supplemental materials can be found contained within the Blackboard Vista environment
(http://muonline.marshall.edu/). I will be sending class announcements, updates, etc. using your Vista account (will discuss during the first lecture). Access to a WWW browser is required (Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher or FireFox 2.0 or higher) and Adobe Acrobat Reader (available for download free from Marshall University’s Computing Services download page). It is also recommended that you visit the COS ITC center on the first floor of the Science building (room S162) and sign an agreement to obtain a copy of Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2008, the programming environment we will be using this
semester. This package is available for free to students in this course by signing the MSDNAA agreement, linked from the course homepage in Blackboard.
Course Description
Introduces the students to modern data gathering methods and programming. The course covers programming, graphic programming interface packages, and problem solving methods.
Credit
Pre/Co-requisites
NoneDesired Objectives and Outcomes
Students will learn to design and develop programs in Visual Basic 2008 using a clean, conceptual approach. Specific topic coverage includes:
An introduction to Visual Basic 2008 Creating a user interface
Variables, constants, methods, and calculations Making decisions in a program
Repeating program instructions Sub and function procedures Arrays
Fundamentals of logic
Instruction Method
There will be 3 contact hours of classroom lecture per week. Projects covering major topics are part of the course. Students may work on their assignments/projects in University computing facilities or from home with an Internet connection.
Evaluation Method
Evaluation of student's performance will be based on the quality of your performance on homework assignments and exams.
Grading Policy
Two in-class exams: 30% (equally weighted)
Final Exam: 20%
Visual Basic Homework Assignments: 50% (equally weighted)
Attendance: 0%
Assessment of Projects
The grading of all homework assignments and projects will take into account:
1. Although the most important attribute of a program is correctness, grading will take into consideration such items as time and coding efficiency, documentation, etc.
3. All submitted code must compile correctly to receive at least partial credit. Code that does not compile will receive 0 credit, NO EXCEPTIONS. This means you must debug your code before submitting.
4. When a method name and/or parameters are specified in an assignment’s description, you must use that name and/or parameters.
5. When you write a function, remember that the function should work for all possible inputs. Not on just your test inputs.
6. Although interactions with other students are encouraged, you must compose your own answers, unless otherwise noted.
Individuals who utilize other people’s thoughts or ideas must provide appropriate references to said resources. Failure to provide such documentation will result in a failing grade for the assignment, and may result in a failing grade for the course.
In determining the overall grade for an assignment, you can expect the following grades based on performance:
A 100-90% Excellent work that meets and/or exceeds all of the requirements for a given assignment, code compiles and works for multiple test samples, all code and associated files are well documented, and the code is written efficiently.
B 89-80% Good work that meets all of the requirements of the assignment, but may have errors in documentation or coding, or contains code that may not work with all possible data samples.
C 79-70% Average work that meets all of the requirements of the assignment, but is missing one or more of the items in its entirety that is mentioned in terms of an A grade.
D 69-60% Below average work which fails to meet one or more of the requirements of the assignment.
F Less than 60% Unacceptable work, which fails to meet two or more requirements for an assignment, or has code that will not compile and execute.
Final letter grades are determined based on the weighted average of assignments, projects, quizzes, and exams using the same grade scale as used for projects.
Policy Statements
Assignments
The course includes a number of assignments/projects. All assignments are due by the beginning of class on their due date and must be submitted through the Blackboard Dropbox. No late assignments will be
accepted. Please do not procrastinate in working on your assignments or trying to submit through Blackboard as many others have done in the past. If you wait until the last night to start on the project or the last minute to submit, chances are, you will fail.
Exams
There are THREE exams worth 50% of your overall grade. The first will come after Chapter 3, the second after Chapter 7, and a comprehensive Final exam (as scheduled). Exact dates and times of exams will be announced in class.
Make-up Exams and Late Penalty
Make-up exams will not be given except under unusual circumstances and satisfactory written
justification. Any student who misses an exam due to an unexcused absence will receive a grade of zero for that exam with no opportunity for make-up or substitution. University excused absences or those occurring with a good reason (and that reason must be given prior to missing the exam – call and leave a message if you have to) will be excused. Make up exams must be taken within one week of the original scheduled date. The decision whether to give a make-up exam rests with the instructor.
Passing Grade
Programming assignments, presentations, and participation are required parts of the course and must be satisfactorily completed to pass this course. A student must have a passing performance on each part. A failing grade on a component may result in a failing grade in the course.
Attendance Statement
Although highly encouraged, class attendance is not mandatory and is not a required part of the course. While the textbook and online resources provide a great deal of information, there is no substitute for attendance and participation. The classroom environment is an interactive one; as such, material may be covered in class that is not included in the online materials. Those who miss a class should remember that it is their responsibility to obtain and cover all the material.
Withdrawal Policy
The University withdrawal policy is followed in this course. The last day to drop an individual course for the Fall of 2009 is October 30, 2009.
Academic Dishonesty
In accordance with university policy (available at
http://www.marshall.edu/academic-affairs/Academic%20Dishonesty%20Policy.pdf), academic dishonesty is not tolerated. Academic
advantage over others engaged in the same or similar course of study and which, if known to the classroom instructor in such course of study, would be prohibited.
If work is not your own, do not submit it. While students are encouraged to collaborate and help each other, each student is expected to produce their own work when they sit down to work on an
assignment. Common forms of academic dishonesty include but are not limited to submitting someone else's work, submitting work that is obviously derivative of another's work (only changing a few words), copying others' work directly without thought, and using concepts that you do not understand.
The consequences for academic dishonesty will be determined by the instructor based on the severity of the offense. There will be no second chances for offenders, they can expect to fail the course and that the incident will be reported to the department chair. Repeat offenders may expect to fail the course and that the incidents will be reported to the department chair, the College of Science dean, and Academic Affairs. All students involved in the submission of duplicate or derivative work will be subject to the similar consequences.
Acceptable Use Policy
Students are granted access to university computer resources in order to facilitate the learning process. This access is a privilege, not a right, and must be regarded as such. For more information, students should refer to the Computing Services Acceptable Use Policy (available at
http://www.marshall.edu/ucs/CS/accptuse.asp). All students with a Marshall user account have already agreed to abide by this policy.
Tentative Schedule
The following outline delineates the tentative class schedule with topics to be addressed during the course. Please note this is a tentative schedule and it may change upon class progress:
Week Weekday Date Content and Assignments Due Notes
1 Tuesday Aug 25, 2009 Overview of course and syllabus, intro to Blackboard
1 Thursday Aug 27, 2009 Chapter 1 2 Tuesday Sep 01, 2009 Chapter 2 2 Thursday Sep 03, 2009 Chapter 2 3 Tuesday Sep 08, 2009 Chapter 3 3 Thursday Sep 10, 2009 Chapter 3
4 Tuesday Sep 15, 2009 Chapter 3, Project 1 due 4 Thursday Sep 17, 2009 Chapter 3, Review for Exam 1 5 Tuesday Sep 22, 2009 Exam 1
5 Thursday Sep 24, 2009 Chapter 4
6 Tuesday Sep 29, 2009 Chapter 4, Project 2 due 6 Thursday Oct 01, 2009 Chapter 4
8 Tuesday Oct 13, 2009 Chapter 5, Project 3 due End 1st 8 weeks 8 Thursday Oct 15, 2009 Chapter 6
9 Tuesday Oct 20, 2009 Chapter 6
9 Thursday Oct 22, 2009 Chapter 6, Project 4 due 10 Tuesday Oct 27, 2009 Chapter 7
10 Thursday Oct 29, 2009 Chapter 7 Last day to drop
10/30 11 Tuesday Nov 03, 2009 Chapter 7, Project 5 due
11 Thursday Nov 05, 2009 Chapter 7, Review for Exam 2 12 Tuesday Nov 10, 2009 Exam 2
12 Thursday Nov 12, 2009 Chapter 8
13 Tuesday Nov 17, 2009 Chapter 8, Project 6 due 13 Thursday Nov 19, 2009 Chapter 9
Tuesday Nov 24, 2009 Fall Break - NO
CLASS
Thursday Nov 26, 2009 Fall Break - NO
CLASS 14 Tuesday Dec 01, 2009 Chapter 9, Project 7 due
14 Thursday Dec 03, 2009 Catch-up day Dead Week
15 Tuesday Dec 08, 2009 Review for final Dead Week
Thursday Dec 10, 2009 Final exam due 10:15 am Final Exams - NO CLASS
Tuesday Dec 15, 2009 Final Exams - NO
