Syllabus
This is a blended course that meets on the following day: Thursday/ 11am/ South 71/230

Table of Contents

Faculty Contact Information

Course Description

This is an introductory course in basic computer and Internet use. It covers computer hardware and software fundamentals (including the use of Windows), key productivity applications (including word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation systems), and living in an online world (including network fundamentals, e-mail, and the effective use of the Internet as a communication tool and information resource). Students will develop basic computer skills to aid them with college studies and workforce readiness. Hands-on use of a personal computer is required.

General Course Outcomes

By the conclusion of this course,

Students should be able to:
• identify what an OS is and its purpose; manage computer files and folders; manage computer configuration, Control Panel, OS drivers.
• identify common computer technology; types of devices and describe factors that affect computer performance
• demonstrate software management skills; identify various licensing models; identify what software to use for a specific task; identify available software tools. 
• troubleshoot and manage software problems, hardware problems, and problems relating to devices and peripherals; demonstrate how to backup and restore software and data. 
• identify common features and commands of key applications, use formatting tools located in key applications, navigate key applications, and work with multi-media files. 
• use word processing software to organize data and use design tools and layout tools to format documents. 
• use spreadsheet software for organization and analysis of information in tabular form and use design tools and layout tools to format spreadsheets. 
• use presentation software to create presentations by inserting content, managing and designing slides.
• use database management software to store, modify, and extract information from a database.
• use the comment tool in key applications and share files using email, network storage, and cloud storage environments. 
• distinguish between the lnternet, Browsers, and WWW and shall be able to navigate the lnternet, Browsers, and WWW. 
• use Internet connections, explain network types and features capabilities, and the ability to troubleshoot network problems. 
• communicate through email and real-time communication programs, i.e., Twitter, Skype and text messaging.
• demonstrate proper digital communications standards and the responsible and legal use of computers. 
• demonstrate the use of secure online communications and/or activities and ergonomics. 
• use search engines and evaluate search results, using advanced features of search engines.

Prerequisites & Co-requisites

To maximize your chances for success in this course, make sure that you meet the following course prerequisites:

• Course Prerequisites and Co-requisites: None

Attendance and Participation Policies

You must show up for all classes. Show up on time and leave when the instructor has ended the class. This is a blended class using in person classroom instruction and online assignments and discussions. Failure to show up to class during the first class, will be reported as a no-show and you will be withdrawn from the course. Simply logging into the course will not satisfy your attendance. Students who are reported for non-attendance in a blended course and are withdrawn are still responsible for paying for the course. If you do not complete the requirements of the first week of class, you should drop the course by the official drop/add deadline or expect to pay for the course.
It is very important for you to actively participate in this blended class. Therefore, if you stop attending the on campus class, participate in class discussions, do not submit assignments, or miss two or more exams, you will be withdrawn from class, and your grade will be based on the date of withdrawal as specified below.

• Please refer to the College's academic calendar for the Prior to 60% withdrawal date - Grade is "W" and for the
• After 60% withdrawal date - Grade is "F"

You cannot miss more than 1 class during this 12-week session. In the event you must miss a class for a personal reason, contact me in advance. You are responsible for any missed work or notes.
To avoid a failing grade, you should remain an active learner in this class and always communicate extenuating circumstances to me. Ongoing communication with the instructor is critical to your course success. Completion of exams, assignments, and other class activities are used as indicators of your participation in order to satisfy this reporting requirement.
Please refer to the College's academic calendar for the Last Day to drop the class with a 100% refund and for the Last Day to Withdraw with a "W”.

Participation: 
Regular, active, and meaningful participation in online learning activities is a critically important component of this course and is essential to your success. It is recommended that you log into the course daily. It is important that you:

• Attend ALL in-person classes
• Utilize the Academic Success Center for assistance with D2L and SAM
• Check your D2L email and post and respond to course discussions regularly.
• Complete your homework and assessments before the weekend, do not wait!!
• Stay on Task.  Falling behind in assigned work will lead to failure in the class.

See the list of activities required for participation and attendance on the General Course Policies page.

General Policies and Technical Requirements

You are responsible for being familiar with Broward College policies and procedures. See technical requirements in this section to "ready" your computer for online activities. A 24/7 helpdesk is available to address all technical issues.

Academic Success Centers (ASC)

• The Academic Success Centers at Broward College are here to ensure your success in this class. You will benefit from an array of academic support services provided in a comfortable, collaborative atmosphere specifically designed to advance your academic achievement. Statistics show that students who use the ASC early and often are more successful than those who do not.

• Smarthinking.com – is an online, web-based, tutoring program that is available 24/7 to all students currently enrolled at Broward College. Smarthinking supports student learning in most subject areas including Accounting, Anatomy and Physiology, Biology, Chemistry, English, Nursing, Math and more. Students can chat online and work on a whiteboard with a tutor, submit questions, and get extensive feedback on essays and research papers. 

Academic Honesty

Your academic work must be the result of your own thought, research, or self-expression. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to the following: cheating, plagiarism, unacceptable collaboration, falsification of data, aiding and abetting dishonesty, unauthorized or malicious interference, hacking computer property or software, and online disturbances. Please refer to the Student Code of Conduct Policy and the Student Code of Conduct section located in the Student Handbook for more information. All required class activities are subject to submission to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers.

Types of Academic Dishonesty:

• Cheating: Is defined as obtaining or attempting to obtain, or aiding another to obtain credit for work by dishonest or deceptive means.
• Plagiarism: The use of words or ideas of the original creator without attribution as if they were your own. Plagiarism ranges from copying someone else’s work verbatim and elaborating on or altering someone else’s work.
• Self-Plagiarism: Submitting or reusing parts of a previous paper without referencing source it was first submitted. This includes retaking a course and turning in previously submitted papers and data.
• Unacceptable Collaboration: Using answers, solutions, or ideas that are the results of collaboration without citing the fact of the collaboration is improper.
• Falsification of Data: Making up or falsifying information and data. Examples include making up or altering data for an experiment or citing reference to sources you did not actually use.
• Pay Services: Employing an assignment writing service or having another write the paper for you.
• Enabling: Aiding and abetting another student in an act of academic dishonesty. Examples include giving someone a paper to copy and allowing someone access to your account.
• Unauthorized or malicious interference: If one person deliberately interferes with the work or activities of another person on purpose to cause the other harm or irreparable damages. Academic honesty violations are considered a breach of policy and may result in academic penalties (zero points on the assignment/test in question, and/or a failing grade for the class), disciplinary action, and/or referral to the Dean of Student Affairs.

Class Policies

• Cell phone - Please turn your phone to silent as to not disturb the class..
• Arriving late/leaving early - Please be considerate of the class in progress and make every effort to arrive on time and do not leave class early.

Disability Services

If you need academic accommodations and/or disability services support, you must contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS). It is your responsibility to contact the ODS to document disability prior to receiving services. You must notify the instructor that you have registered with the ODS and provide the instructor a copy of the ODS letter. Your documentation and any related communication with your instructor remain strictly confidential

Technical Requirements

• Students taking blended courses are expected to be moderately proficient in using a computer. Please go to the Technical Requirements page for a complete list of computer skills and technical requirements.

Technical Issues

• If you need help using D2L, you can review the step-by-step tutorials
• For year-round, 24 hour technical assistance, please visit the 24/7 Help Desk page.
• If an online assignment is due but you are having computer issues, contact the helpdesk prior to the due date/time for a ticket number to submit to instructor. The ticket provides proof of time/date you tried to submit online assignment.

Communication Practices

Communication

• Use the course email tool in D2L is only for private, personal, one-to-one communication with a specific individual, or groups of individuals. Do not send course-related emails to the instructor's BC email address.
• In the event that the course communication tools are unavailable for more than 24 hours, the instructor will communicate with students (if necessary) via their BC email address. Access your BC email account at http://www.outlook.com

Faculty Response

• Faculty Response Times: Assignments and assessments will be graded within four days of the deadline date (not the date you submitted an assignment or took an exam). Course emails and discussion posts will be answered within 48 hours. If you need info related to a test or assignment, plan ahead and submit your questions well ahead of the due date. Your instructor is not online 24 hours per day, so please allow time for responses. 
  
  Discussions: Feel free to respond to other students if you think you can help them. Proofread the content of your posts before making them public; proper grammar and sentence structure are expected. Remember that the discussion tool is public - everyone will be able to view posts and responses. See the Netiquette section below for expectations regarding appropriate behavior in online discussions.

Email: Use the email tool only for private, personal, one-to-one communication with a specific individual or groups of individuals. Please do not send course related emails to the instructor's BC email address. Solicitations will not be tolerated. Assignments sent to the instructor's BC email will not be accepted.

Materials

Methods of Instruction

This is a three credit hour, blended course using classroom and online instruction. 

This course presents Windows 8, Computer Concepts, and Microsoft Office 2013 within a simulated environment called SAM. This Internet-based program (SAM) will be utilized for the majority of student learning, homework, and assessment. This program contains the learning activities (Training exercises and application simulations), and exams for all objectives in this course. The computer you use must be configured correctly with the SAM software. The ability to successfully log in to the web site DOES NOT guarantee you can take the exams; each computer must be configured correctly. In the event you experience difficulty with your own personal computer you will need to complete your assignments at one of the Academic Success Centers (ASC).  A listing of these centers is listed below under "Academic Success Centers".  Do not wait until the very last hour to complete your assignments. The assignments are accepted exactly at the time specified. No late assignments will be accepted.

Please be sure you can adhere to the following requirements: 
Homework assignments will require Microsoft Office 2013.  If you do not have access to Microsoft Office 2013, assignments can be completed in the ASC (72/225)
Regardless of the computer you may have at home (PC or Mac) it is suggested you use a PC keyboard; if you are using a laptop, it is recommended you use a mouse instead of the track pad. 
Students are expected to log in daily to D2L to check for instructor messages. 
Students are responsible for regularly reviewing the Course Schedule and completing all required assignments. See the Course Schedule for a description weekly learning activities, training, discussion postings, textbook projects, and exams.

Schedule and Assignments

Read and refer to this document regularly (printing it would be a good idea). It will tell you what assignments you should complete, and how to complete them.

• Instructions for Discussion Postings: A welcome discussion and e-mail are required during the first class meeting to ensure you know how to communicate with the instructor and your class members. You are expected to read articles or watch associated videos before responding to the instructor’s discussion. Simply stating you agree or like something is not sufficient. Copying another student’s response and submitting it as your own falls under plagiarism.
• Instructions for Assignments: SAM assignments have been provided to aid you in the learning process. These assignments are provided as learning aids for successful completion of graded exams.
  • Homework assignments will require Microsoft Office 2013.
  • Assignment deadlines are posted in the Course Schedule table.
  • Assignments must be submitted through the course.
  • No assignments will be accepted via email.
  • Assignments submitted after the due date and time will only be accepted if prior arrangements have been made with the instructor.
  • Discussion postings are expected to be posted according to the Course Schedule table. No late discussion postings will be accepted.
• Instructions for Exams: Exams will be conducted online using SAM. The schedule for when exams are available and due dates for completion are listed in the Course Schedule as well as the calendar in SAM. These exams must be taken via a computer with a compatible browser for the SAM software and an Internet connection (available in the Academic Success Centers). All in-class exams must be completed before the scheduled end of class for the day.
• Collaboration (sharing test answers) between students and discussion of exam answers is NOT permitted (sharing answers is cheating).
• Allow time to complete each exam before the closing date and time. Make sure you have a solid Internet connection. If your ISP disconnects you during an exam, that may count as an attempt and you may not be able to repeat the chapter exams. Log in again, and you may be able to continue with the exam.  
• If for any reason, your personal computer is not working correctly, you will need to complete your assignments on campus in the Academic Success Center.
• Completing all readings, assignments, discussions, and exams is your responsibility. The grade you receive is the grade you earn.

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ading and Instructions for Course Activities

Grades

• Grades will be available after the quiz or exam availability window closes.
• Grades for assignments will be posted within five BC working days of the closing date of the assignment.
• Grades for discussion postings will be posted within five BC working days after the discussion has closed.

View your Grades

• Assignment and Exam grades in SAM will be available after the due date has passed.
• The cumulative grade will be available in D2L.

Make-up Exam

• Make-up exams will only be permitted with valid documentation and by approval and arrangement with the instructor.  If you miss an exam you will earn a zero.  You cannot make up more than ONE missed exam and may not use this for re-taking an exam previously taken in order to improve a score. The instructor reserves the right to create alternate make-up exams for students who are not able to take the scheduled exams.

How your Grade will be Determined