University of South Carolina at Columbia   

Department of Computer Science and Engineering

CSCE Z102 - General Applications Programming

Online Course . Spring 2012

January 9th . May 3rd

Instructor:  Orren Mckay

Office:  Sumwalt 340, Byrnes Building 607C

Office Hours:  Monday 12:30pm . 3:30pm (Byrnes Building Room 607C), Saturday 11:30am - Noon (Sumwalt 340)
Other times by appointment

Office Phone: Byrnes Building 7-9459 (777-9459 off campus), Sumwalt 7-5609 (777-5609 off campus). You can also call or text message me at 803-450-0022(this number is the fastest way to reach me).

Email:  mckayj@mailbox.sc.edu

Instructor website:  http://www.cse.sc.edu/~mckayj(you will need to check this site on a weekly basis, in addition to blackboard for class work and information)

Course Description [from computer science home page http://www.cse.sc.edu/]: Introduction to systematic computer problem-solving and programming for a variety of applications. Open to all majors.

Prerequisite - two years of college preparatory mathematics or equivalent

Required Textbooks:

Basics of Web Design: HTML5 and CSS3, by Terry Felke-Morris.ISBN-10: 0137003382 | ISBN-13: 978-0137003389.

DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model, by Jeffrey Sambells. ISBN-10: 1430233893 | ISBN-13: 978-1430233893

Required Software* .Notepad, MSpaint and Internet Explorer/Firefox (Free download or already on all windows computers).

*Mac users are welcome to take this class, and although most software used in this class has a mac version or equivalent, you will be responsible for finding access to a windows machine (or dual-booting) to complete any work requiring a windows PC if any software will not run on a mac.

Useful Additional Materials - USB pen/thumb drive

Upon completion of this class, students will be able to: 

  • Use logic and problem solving skills to create an interactive web site using XHTML and JavaScript.
  • Modify page layouts and design esthetically pleasing web pages using Cascading Style Sheets.
  • Use a computer to solve problems, and will learn basic computer programming.
  • Understand the processes that go on when processing, loading and viewing web pages.

 

Important Dates

Grading 

A

100-90

B

89-80

C

79-70

D

69-60

F

Less than 60

 

Final Grades will be determined as follows:

Test 1 and 2

15% each

Project

5%

Quizzes

15%

Final Exam

20%

Lab Assignments

30%

*Important Note: You must have a passing grade on both the average for your labs and also for the weighted average of Test 1, Test 2 and the Final to pass the class.

Tests/Final: There will be two on-site tests and an on-site final exam during the semester.The dates for these will be posted as soon as a room can be arranged.Each of these on-sites will have two possible dates for you to attend.You must make arrangements to attend one of these sessions if you are local.If you are not in the Columbia area, please contact me and we can make arrangements for someone local to proctor the test/final.

Late Labs:  Labs will be due each Sunday night at 11:59pm.  This deadline is enforced by the blackboard assignment manager and no late labs will be accepted.If you are sick or have some other extenuating circumstances, please let me know as soon as possible.   Something can generally be worked out.

Quizzes/Homeworks: There will (generally) be a weekly quiz (after the first week) which must also be taken on blackboard by 11:59pm Sunday night.There will also be some homework throughout the semester and it will be announced on blackboard.I will drop one quiz.This is due to the fact that occasionally people lose connection to the Internet, and you are only allowed one attempt at a quiz, and a failed attempt counts as a zero.

Note: Please do not wait until the last minute to upload to blackboard or take the online quiz. Technical difficulties will not be an acceptable excuse for not completing assignments on time or getting them submitted on time.Also make sure to save backup copies of all your work.

If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to drop by during my office hours, or email. If you can't make it to my office hours, talk to me or email and I will be happy to set up a time to meet with you. Also, I tend to be around more than just my office hours; those are just the times I am definitely around. 

If you have any comments or questions about 102 labs or lectures in general, or if it's a matter you don't feel comfortable bringing to me, you may contact Catherine Matthews at cmatthew at cec.sc.edu or call 777-2427.

You are expected to know and abide by the Rule of Academic Responsibility found in the Carolina Community guide. You may to work together to understand course concepts, but assignments are to be individual work. Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated. Anyone found guilty of cheating will receive a grade of F for the class and will have their case passed on to a disciplinary committee for possible suspension or expulsion from USC at the instructor.s discretion.