Richard G Baldwin (512) 223-4758, NRG Room 4238, Baldwin@DickBaldwin.com, http://www.austincc.edu/baldwin/

COSC 1301 Personal Computing

Official Web Page

Fall 2007

Revised 09/04/07

The official web page for this course is http://www.austincc.edu/baldwin/Fall07/Cosc1301WebPage/COSC1301.htm  

General

This is the official web page that will be used for communicating information between Professor Baldwin and students enrolled in this course.

Orientation:
All students are required to complete the online orientation.  To participate in online orientation, click on the orientation link below.

Broken Links
Occasionally one or more of the links that tie these online documents together, may become accidentally broken.  If you discover a broken link, or any other problem with the online documents, please notify me as soon as possible so that I can repair the problem.

Communications via Email
If you send email message to me, it is imperative that you include your name and the identification of the class in which you are enrolled (COSC 1301) on the Subject line.  I normally have a very large number of students in any given semester. If I have to search the rolls to identify you, I may not answer your Email.

In addition, because I receive approximately 30,000 spam and virus Email messages each month, I use a very aggressive spam blocking program.  If your email message doesn't contain the identification of the class in which you are enrolled (COSC1301) on the Subject line, your message will probably be put in quarantine by the spam blocker and I will probably never see it.

It is also important that you provide a telephone number where I can contact you. I receive many email messages from students with invalid return email addresses.

I have been notified that ACC will no longer forward my ACC Email messages to my preferred Email address.  Please do not send Email messages to baldwin@austincc.edu.  Send them instead to Baldwin@DickBaldwin.com

Questions via Email:
From time to time you may need to ask questions via email, and I encourage you to do so.  However, please make the question as specific as possible.

I am here to help you, so don't hesitate to ask for help when you need it.

Carelessness is costly
A few semesters back, on the last Friday of the month, which was anticipated to be one of the most active trading days of the month, programmers working on a network made a careless error and shut the NASDAQ stock exchange down for several hours.  There is no way of estimating how much this cost various people around the world.

A few months later, programmers working for a telephone company made a careless programming error and swamped the 911 emergency call center in Austin with wrong numbers for several hours.  Hopefully no one died as a result, but we will never know.

Although careless errors on exams and laboratory projects may not be as costly as the errors described above, they are costly nonetheless.  The cost for making a careless error on an exam or a laboratory project is just as costly as not knowing how to do it right in the first place.  In either case, you get no credit.  So, don't be careless.

Links

If things don't seem to be working properly when you follow these links, you may need to clear your cache or force a reload or both.

Links to the online documents for this course

Links to Practice Tests for Exam 1:

Links to Practice Tests for Exam 2:

Bulletin Board

Check this area daily for messages from Professor Baldwin to all students enrolled in the course.
 

08/22/07  Who Am I?
I receive many email messages addressed to Dr. Baldwin, and I appreciate the courtesy. My highest degree earned is a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering, and I am a full Professor at ACC. Under the circumstances, Prof. Baldwin is a more appropriate salutation than Dr. Baldwin.

08/22/07  Who are you?
When the semester begins, I will have a very large number of students on my rolls.  I probably won't be able to learn your name and email address.

I typically receive hundreds (occasionally thousands) of email messages each day, many of them from my students.

When you send an email message to me, make absolutely certain that the Subject line contains the following information as a minimum:

Make certain that your reply-to email address is valid.  (Send yourself a message and then reply to it to see if you get the reply.  I receive many email messages from students with invalid reply-to addresses.)

Include your current telephone number somewhere in the body of the message, and make it easy to find.

If you don't comply with the above, don't expect me to answer your email messages.

08/22/07 Computer Studies Student Information Form
The following is requested by the Computer Studies department, but is not a requirement of the course in which you are enrolled.  Whether or not you provide the following information will not be taken into account when determining your grade in the course.

If you are willing to provide this information, please compose an e-mail message containing the following information and send it to Baldwin@DickBaldwin.com

If you do provide the information, please make the subject line of your e-mail message read as follows:
Last Name, First Name, Course Number, Student Information Form

DO NOT include this information in the message that you send confirming that you have completed online orientation.  Send separate messages for those two purposes.

You should be able to copy and paste the following form into your e-mail client and then fill in the blanks.  Don't be too concerned about neatness when filling in the form.

Last Name:_____________________
First Name:_____________________
Student ID:_____________________
Course Number: IT__ ____

Telephone Numbers

Home:___________
Work:___________
Other:___________
E-mail address:_________
Any issues that the instructor should be aware of:

_________________________________________________

Reasons for taking the course:

_____Personal Interest
_____Required by degree program, which is ______________
_____Work related - please explain in comments section below
_____Recommended by ______________________________
_____Other, please explain in comments section below
Please indicate the following:
_____Hours working per week
_____Number of credit hours enrolled in this semester
_____Number of computer courses completed at ACC
_____Highest degree earned
What computer courses have you completed at ACC or elsewhere?

_____________________________________________________

What computer or computer related work experience do you have?

_____________________________________________________

Comments:

_____________________________________________________

08/22/07 Now accepting online orientation confirmation messages
I am now accepting online orientation messages.

08/22/07 Online Practice Tests
Separate online Practice Tests are provided for the different sections in your textbook.  Links to the Practice Tests are provided above.

Although the Schedule page shows the use of these Practice Tests on a one-time basis immediately prior to the submittal deadline for the exam, I encourage you to use these Practice Tests on a continuing basis to reinforce what you are learning with your hands-on projects in the laboratory.

08/29/07 Exam 1 content and date
Note that I have reduced the number of lessons included in Exam 1 and have changed the required submittal date.  Lessons that were removed from Exam 1 are now included in Exam 2.

08/29/07 Exam 1 is ready for you to take
Exam 1 is ready for you to take whenever you are ready to take it.  Remember, you may take it early, but you may not take it late.  If you don't complete it on or before the specified deadline, you simply won't get credit for the exam.

09/04/07 Exam 2 is ready for you to take
Exam 2 is ready for you to take whenever you are ready to take it.  Remember, you may take it early, but you may not take it late.  If you don't complete it on or before the specified deadline, you simply won't get credit for the exam.

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File: COSC1301.htm