Lecture exam #2 - reminder

The second lecture exam, covering chapters 3 and 4 of your Computers Are Your Future textbook, is tomorrow morning. Please remember to review your notes between trick or treaters tonight.

Extra credit - chapter 8

For extra credit, refer back to the blog post Extra credit - chapter 1 and then visit the Computers Are Your Future textbook companion website.

Complete the Online Study Guide exercises for Chapter 8: Wired and Wireless Communication and email your results to me. Remember to email yourself a copy as well.

Due Date:
Monday, November 22nd, 8:00am

WebAdvisor - interval 4

Monday is the end of the fourth WebAdvisor monitoring interval. Students with attendance issues, poor homework performance, and/or missing assignments should take this warning seriously.

Note on practice tests

Just a reminder that when you are taking the practice tests (just like when you are taking the official exams), the myItLab software simulation pretty much takes over your computer. You won't be able to click to another window to check your email or to change the track on your media player. This is important to remember since if you try to access another application while you are taking the test, the myItLab software will detect the mouse click or keyboard combination and mark the current test task as incorrect.

Excel exams

The Excel practice test is now available on myItLab.

Please remember from the last test that the testing software is very particular and you must follow instructions exactly in order to receive full credit. As an example, if the testing software requests that you select

Extra credit - chapter 6

For extra credit, refer back to the blog post Extra credit - chapter 1 and then visit the Computers Are Your Future textbook companion website.

Complete the Online Study Guide exercises for Chapter 6: The Internet and the World Wide Web and email your results to me. Remember to email yourself a copy as well.

Due Date:
Monday, November 7th, 8:00am

Reading assignment - chapter 6

Read Chapter 6: The Internet and the World Wide Web of Computers Are Your Future.

Due Date
Tuesday, November 1st, 8:00am

Excel assignment #3

Be sure to read the blog post Using Grader. You will be completing and submitting your homework assignments for Word, Excel, and Access using the Grader module of myItLab.

Late Excel assignments

No late Excel homework assignments will be accepted after 8:00am on Monday, November 14th. Your Excel exam is scheduled for Tuesday, November 15th.

Missing assignments will be marked zero.

Please remember that there are four Excel assignments, worth 30 points each, together more than a test's worth of points towards your final grade. If you haven't done the earlier labs, now is the time to catch up.

Lecture exam #2

The second lecture exam will cover chapters 3 and 4 of your Computers Are Your Future textbook. All exams and practice tests in this class will be conducted online using your myItLab accounts.

Reading assignment - chapter 8

Read Chapter 8: Wired and Wireless Communication of Computers Are Your Future.

Due Date
Tuesday, November 8th, 8:00am

Excel assignment #2

Be sure to read the blog post Using Grader. You will be completing and submitting your homework assignments for Word, Excel, and Access using the Grader module of myItLab.

Elaine Lapham Memorial Scholarship

The Brookdale Community College Foundation has announced that The Elaine Lapham Memorial Scholarship is available for the spring 2012 semester. The scholarship is in the amount of $500.

Excel assignment #1 recap

Quite a few students misread step #5 of this homework assignment. The instruction read

In cell F5, construct a formula that will subtract cell E5 from B5.

The correct formula is

     = B5 - E5

not

     = E5 - B5

WebAdvisor - interval 3

Today is the end of the third WebAdvisor monitoring interval. Students with attendance issues, poor homework performance, and/or missing assignments should take this warning seriously.

Term paper reminder #1

Just a short reminder that term papers are due one month from today. You must upload your single Word file to the dropbox in your myItLab account.

If you have any questions about the requirements or if you are having difficulty with your research, now is the time to contact me so that you still have enough time to complete your assignment before the due date.

Public service announcement #3

Notice to all students:

Though it does not affect our Comp129 class, Brookdale is NOT closed on Veterans Day. If you have Friday classes this semester, you have school on Friday, November 11th.

Brookdale 5K

Notice to all students:


The first annual Brookdale Community College 5K run/walk to raise money for scholarships for the International Center Study Abroad Program is scheduled for Sunday, October 30th at 9:00 at Thompson Park. The cost is $25, and if you register before the 14th it includes a commemorative T-shirt. All of the donations go to the program.

You can download a race application here and a sponsorship form here.

Excel tutorial #1 - spreadsheets

In order to work successfully with spreadsheets, one needs to understand how they are organized. This blog post is designed to provide a working knowledge of spreadsheet organization and to introduce basic terminology you will need for mastering Excel. Scroll to the bottom of this post to see a labeled screenshot of an example spreadsheet.

Excel assignment #1

Be sure to read the blog post Using Grader. You will be completing and submitting your homework assignments for Word, Excel, and Access using the Grader module of myItLab.

First Excel class file

I have typed up the first part of the Excel tutorial for today's class instead of having everyone type the whole thing during class time. The file has been uploaded to Google Docs.

Extra credit - chapter 4

For extra credit, refer back to the blog post Extra credit - chapter 1 and then visit the Computers Are Your Future textbook companion website.

Complete the Online Study Guide exercises for Chapter 4: System Software and email your results to me. Remember to email yourself a copy as well.

Due Date:
Monday, October 31st, 8:00am

Reading assignment - chapter 4

Read Chapter 4: System Software of Computers Are Your Future.

Due Date
Tuesday, October 18th, 8:00am

Word/PowerPoint exam - results

Good news: everyone passed this test! The class average for the Word/PowerPoint exam was 91.1%. One student had a perfect score, nearly half the class earned As, and the lowest grade was a 79.2. It was my observation that the students who did not take the practice test on their own tended to score lowest on this exam. Be sure to avoid this mistake on the Excel and Access exams.

Grade distribution follows:

Lecture #1 exam - results

The results from this first lecture exam were fairly evenly distributed. Your class average for this exam was 56.3 points out of a possible perfect score of 75 points (75.1%, a.k.a. C+). There were no As.

Grade distribution follows:

Extra credit - chapter 3

For extra credit, refer back to the blog post Extra credit - chapter 1 and then visit the Computers Are Your Future textbook companion website.

Complete the Online Study Guide exercises for Chapter 3: Input/Output and Storage and email your results to me. Remember to email yourself a copy as well.

Due Date:
Monday, October 17th, 8:00am

Reading assignment - chapter 3

Read Chapter 3: Input/Output and Storage of Computers Are Your Future.

Due Date
Tuesday, October 11th, 8:00am

WebAdvisor - interval 2

Today is the end of the second WebAdvisor monitoring interval. Students with attendance issues, poor homework performance, and/or missing assignments should take this warning seriously.

Late PowerPoint/Word assignments - last notice

Last minute reminder!

Per the previously posted late notice, NO late PowerPoint and/or Word homework assignments will be accepted after 8:00am tomorrow: Monday, October 3rd. No exceptions.

Your Word/PowerPoint exam is scheduled for this week's class, Tuesday, October 4th.

Missing assignments will be marked zero.