Course: Computer Science 106 A, Computing Concepts, Fall 2002, Central College.
Professor: Tom Linton, 312 B Central Hall, (641) 628-5264, email: lintont@central.edu.
Class Meets: MWF 9:00 to 9:50 AM in Central Hall 313.
Office Hours: 1 PM Mon, 9 AM Tues, 1 PM Th, 11 AM Fri, or by appointment.
Text: Introduction to Interactive Programming on the Internet using HTML and JavaScript, by Craig Knuckles.
Technology: We will make extensive use of computers and software related to "programming on the internet". No prior knowledge of these tools is assumed. The class web page is located at the URL http://www.central.edu/homepages/lintont/classes/fall02/conceptsframeset.html and information relevant to this course may come via email. You should check your email and the class web page on occasion.
Final Exam: Tuesday December 17, 8 AM, 313 Central Hall.

Class Overview

This class provides an introduction to programming on the internet that is intended for the general population. Students who are familiar with word processing and surfing the web will be well prepared for this class. To skillfully publish information on the internet, one must gain a proficiency with HTML and web page construction. To process information, one must learn programming fundamentals. The treatment of JavaScript in our book is geared toward supporting HTML forms in such a way as to teach programming fundamentals, especially objects. With our newly learned programming skills, we will be able to provide interactive capabilities to our web pages. The class will give you a sufficient programming foundation to allow pursuit of virtually any other programming endeavor on the internet. It is important to learn the fundamentals now so that one has the tools necessary to learn newer, emerging technologies as they become more commonplace. Simply put, this class will cover those core fundamentals.

Goals and Objectives Upon completing this class, students will

American Disabilities Act: Central College abides by interpretations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that stipulates no student shall be denied the benefits of an education “solely by reason of a handicap.”  Disabilities covered by law include, but are not limited to, learning disabilities, hearing, sight or mobility impairments, and other health related impairments.  If you have a documented disability that may have some impact on your work in this class and for which you may require accommodations, please see me and Nancy Kroese, Director of Student Support Services and Disability Services Coordinator, (x5247) so that such accommodations may be arranged.

Grades

Grades, based on the letter, or A, A-, B+, B, B-, . . . system, will be based on a curve of the total points in the class. The curve used will be the traditional 100-93 A, 92-90 A-, 89-88 B+, etc. (or an easier curve). The breakdown of the points in the class is given below. There is no extra credit for this class. You are encouraged to work together on group assignments (including homework), but copying answers of others (including those in the back of the text) will result in no credit. Several assignments in this class will be completed on an individual basis (working with others is forbidden).

Exams: There will be three midterm exams worth 100 points each. Tentatively, these exams will occur after we complete chapters 2, 4 and 10, or approximately on the dates September 14 (exam 1), October 12 (exam 2) and November 16 (exam 3). We will also have a 150 point cumulative final exam on Tuesday December 17 at 8:00 AM.

Homework: I will collect problem sets from the text after each chapter is completed, and there will be regular (every week or two) writing assignments as well. The writing assignments will be used to help you master the language of computer science and the internet. There will be approximately 300 points total for this part of your grade. You should keep your homework in a separate notebook so that it can be collected at any time. Recording "just the answer" will receive little or no credit. You should show and/or explain your work on all assignments for this class. You are encouraged to work together on homework assignments, but this does NOT mean copying the work of others nor answers from a solution set.

Programming Assignments: We will have regular programming assignments, typically one assignment per chapter. Some of the programming will be done in class, some of it will be done outside of class. The programming assignements will total about 150 points for the semester.

Activities: We will complete several activities (mostly in groups), some in-class, others may be out of class. These activities will involve the current topics of the course and normally replace a lecture. We will have approximately 150 points (total) worth of activities.

Class Participation and Attendance: There will be 50 points based on your class participation (asking questions, taking part in discussions, contributing to your group in activities, etc.) and attendance. I will determine your score for these 50 points. You are responsible for all of the material covered in class each day, even if you are not present.

Late assignments and academic dishonesty: Late homework, activities, etc. will be penalized by 10% each lecture they are late. I am fairly flexible about giving exams at alternate times, BUT you should definitely warn me before the exam is missed, and plan on taking it early rather than late. Quizzes missed due to absences can NOT be made up. Plagiarism, or copying answers from other people or books without citing the source is a serious offense and will result in no credit for the work.  It is OK to discuss your answers with other groups on group assignments, but  the work you turn in must be your own.

Class Materials

Search engine activity: Using search engines to locate reputable information on the internet.
Using FTP to upload a web page to our server.
A brief look at FrontPage.
Some of the attributes of image tags.
Using FrontPage to create forms.
Our first javascript programs.
The math class and interacting with form objects.
Our first form script assignment, calculating the winning percentage of a team.

Schedule

Relevant information will be added to this schedule as we progress through the semester. An up to date version is available on line at http://www.central.edu/homepages/lintont/classes/fall02/concepts/concepts.htm#schedule.
 
 

Week
Dates
Sections
Assignment
1
8-28 to 30
Lesson 1
Review Questions (RQ): p 15 #5,7,8,9 
Exercises (EX): 2,3
Search Engine Activity
2
 9-3 to 6
 Lesson 2
 RQ 4,5,8
EX 5 ftp activity
3
 9-9 to 13
 Lesson 3
 RQ 1,2,3,5
EX 1,3,4
4
 9-16 to 20
 Lesson 4
 RQ 3,8,10,11
EX 2 without css, 3 with css
Thread A
5
 9-23 to 27
 Lesson 5
 RQ  1,2,9,10
EX 2,3,6
Thread A frontpage intro.
6
 9-30 to 10-4
 Lesson 5
  
7
 10-7 to 11
 Lesson 6
 RQ 3,4,7,9
EX 1,2,4 Thread A
image tag attributes
8
 10-14 to 16
 Lesson 7
Fall break
 RQ 1,2,3,6
EX 2,4,6
Thread A
9
 10-21 to 25
 Lesson 7
 exam 2
10
 10-28 to 11-1
 Lesson 9
 RQ 3 EX 1 Thread A
forms activity
11
 11-4 to 8
 Lesson 10, 11
 Lesson 10 RQ #1,3,5,9,10,12
EX 1,6,8 Thread A
first javascript programs
Lesson 11 RQ#1,4,8,9,11
EX# 2,5,7
12
 11-11 to 15
 Lesson 12
  Lesson 12 RQ #2,3,4,9,11
EX 2,5,7
The math class and forms
13
 11-18 to 22
 Lesson 12, 13
 Lesson 13 RQ # 5,6
EX # 1,7,8
14
 11-25 to 27
 Lesson 13, 14
 ThanksGiving Break
Calculating the winning percentage of a team.
15
 12-2 to 6
 exam 3
 Lesson 14 RQ #1,2,4,9
EX # 2,6,7
exam 3 study guide, and solutions
17
December 17
Tues 8:00 AM
Cumulative Final Exam