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Session Calendar and session guides

CIT-100: Computer Fundamentals (Online)

Date Topic Notes/Status
Wk 1: TUE 4 SEP to
MON 10 SEP		 Orientation Login to BB, take the Syllabus "Quiz" and create your Bio
Wk 2: TUE 11 SEP - MON 17 SEP Computers as systems Diagramming non-computer and computer systems
Wk 3-4: TUE 18 SEP - MON 1 OCT Operating systems Multi week unit: Memory management, task management, and more
As interested! Growing file system trees! Optional! Trying your hand at old-school computing to visualize file trees and add to our growing CCAC digital forest
Wk 5: TUE 2 OCT to
MON 8 OCT		 Spreadsheets 1 Module: Creating a personal or business budget
Wk 6: TUE 9 OCT to
MON 15 OCT		 Spreadsheets 2 Module: Spreadsheetify your life
TUE 16 OCT Mid-term grade proposal card due @ Morning light Email instructor an image/scan of a mid-term grade proposal 3x5 card using our self-grading guide
Wk 7: TUE 16 OCT to
MON 22 OCT		 Spreadsheets 3 Module: Bid like a pro
Wk 8: TUE 23 OCT to
MON 29 OCT		 Choose-your-adventure 1 Possible module: Be a stealthy field researcher
Wk 9: TUE 30 OCT to
MON 5 NOV		 Choose-your-adventure 2 Possible module: Databases 1
Wk 10: TUE 6 NOV to
MON 12 NOV		 Choose-your-adventure 3 Possible module: Technology and society exploration
Wk 11: TUE 13 NOV to
MON 19 NOV		 Choose-your-adventure 4 Possible module: Security
Wk X: TUE 20 to
MON 26 NOV		 NO CLASS TURKEY DAY BREAK
Wk 12: TUE 27 NOV to
MON 3 DEC		 Final project Preparing final project proposal for submission by end of this week.
TUE 4 DEC Final project proposal due @ morning light Follow final project proposal guidelines
Wk 13: TUE 4 DEC to
MON 10 DEC		 Final project work time Reach out for help as needed
Wk 14: Finals TUE 11 DEC to
SAT 15 DEC		 Final project sharing Submit a fully-baked final project, please!
SUN 16 DEC Final project upload due @ Morning light Follow final project submission instructions
SUN 16 DEC Final grade proposal card due @ Morning light Email instructor an image/scan of a final grade proposal 3x5 card using our self-grading guide.

Weekly guides

Guiding questions, objectives, and lesson activities are available for each week of class. Click "toggle full session guide" to view the full guide.

Wk 1: TUE 4 SEP - MON 10 SEP

Orienting to our on-line class

live_helpGuiding questions

  • What will we learn in CIT-100?
  • How does the class work?

check_circleLearning Objectives

  • Internalize the course outline and structure
  • Share some basic biographic information about yourself with the class

listLesson sequence

  1. Study our course syllabus, this schedule, and our grading guide.
  2. Log onto BlackBoard, click "Assignments" and take the short syllabus quiz. Note that if you reviewed our grading policies, you'll already know that this and all other quizzes are reviewed, but not scored for points.
  3. Log onto BlackBoard, click "Discussions" and open up the "Class Biographies" forum. Create a new thread with the "Create Thread" button (see image below for reference) and share some cool stuff about yourself. No extra credit points are given, since no non-extra credit points are given, but kudos for cool pictures!
  4. Read your classmates' bios and comment on them as interested

Creating a new thread in a BB forum:

how to create a new thread in the post

sendProducts

  • You'll have a completed syllabus quiz
  • You'll also have a nicely composed bio

cakeExtension exercises

In the syllabus, under the section about "Can I use a mac?" a reference is made to something called a chipset. Explore what this means by studying a nice Wikipedia article on the topic of x86 architecture.

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Week 2: TUE 11 SEP to MON 17 SEP

Computers as systems

live_helpGuiding questions

  • What makes a computer different from, say, a digital camera or a really fancy car stereo with a screen and all that jazz?
  • What can we learn from a non-computer system when learning about computers?

check_circleLearning Objectives

  • Create a system diagram that contains components, and their relationships (flows)
  • Define, identify, and relate the core components of a computer using a system diagram

listLesson sequence

  1. The entire work for this week is laid out in Module 1: System diagramming. Please start at the top and carefully work your way to the end, paying particular attention to our file naming systems.

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Weeks 3-4: TUE 18 SEP - MON 1 OCT

Operating system fundamentals

live_helpGuiding questions

  • What does an operating system do? Is there really a difference between Mac's OSX, Linux, and Microsoft's Windows?
  • How are files stored in operating systems?

check_circleLearning Objectives

  • Use a system monitor to assess the resource use of various applications running on an operating system.
  • Navigate a file system's tree to store, view, and move files in the structure
  • Create a miniature file system tree and populate that tree with content of student interest

listLesson sequence

  1. Explore and engage with the exercises in our Chunk 2, Module 1: Operating system fundamentals.
  2. Optionally, explore Chunk 2, Module 2: OS Command Line expedition. This third module is really cool to computery geeky people, but after assigning it last term and reacting to student feedback, I have decided to make this an optional module. If you choose to do it, please email me and let me know so I can share out your cool work.

NOTE on sumbmissions

To submit your work, you only need to upload it to the proper directory in our cloud drive, which is the directory called "Module_operatingSystemsFileTre

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