Instructor Information

Name: Fengkun Liu, MS in Information Systems

E-mail:  fliu3@kent.edu   

Office location:  BSA A402 

Office hours: MW 12:15-2:15, TR 4:30-5:30

Office phone:  330-672-1164 (e-mail preferred)

Prerequisite:  M&IS 24053 Introduction to Computer Applications

Students attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisite risk being deregistered from the class.

Enrollment: Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools/Flashfast) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section.  Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Sunday, January 22, 2012 to correct the error with your advising office.  If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

Course Goals:  To solve problems and implement these solutions using the Visual Basic .NET programming language.

Specific programming skills students are expected to learn include: (current programming language is Visual Basic .NET)

• Data Types (String/Character, integer, floating point, date, boolean).  Why there are restrictions on the magnitude of different types of values.  When (not) to use specific data types.
• The purpose of sequence, selection and iteration control structures.  These are the fundamental building blocks of all code.
• Variables (typing, memory allocation).  Why we call them variables.  How their type determines the values they may be assigned.  Why there can be unanticipated problems.
• Arrays (typing, memory allocation) What they are.  How they can be used to reduce program complexity.
• Object-Based Programming
• The principles of structured programming.
• How to use tools such as pseudo-code, flowcharting, etc. in the programming process.
• Language Syntax
• What a compiler (syntax) error is
• What an execution (run-time) error is
• Ability to debug programs they and/or others create
• How to perform data validation
• Naming conventions
• Creating “readable” code
• Reading from/writing to a sequential access file
• The use of procedures and functions
• Writing structured programs

Textbook:  The book for our class is "Programming in Visual Basic 2010," by Bradley and Millspaugh. There are several options for getting this book, as a paperback, or as an ebook. Listed below are a few:

1.     http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Visual-Basic-Julia-Bradley/dp/0073517259/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1313764097&sr=8-16 (Note that Amazon has a buy-back program)

2.     http://www.chegg.com/textbooks/programming-in-visual-basic-2010-1st-edition-9780073517254-0073517259/?autosuggest=1&uqry=visual%20basic

3.     http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Programming-in-Visual-Basic-2010/Julia-Case-Bradley/e/9780073517254

Software:  We will be using Visual Basic 2010 for this class. You can get your free version from https://www.dreamspark.com/Default.aspx.  If you do buy a new book, please do not use the software that comes with the book. Use the one you get from the above site.

7-Zip

You will also need software for zipping files, as our assignments will have to be zipped to be submitted. You can use the 7-Zip software they have on the lab computers. But, again, you will want to have this at home also. The 7-Zip software is available at no cost at: http://www.download.com/3120-20_4-0.html?tg=dl-20&qt=7-Zip&tag=srch . Scroll down to 7-Zip to download the latest version.

7-Zip is quite easy to use. To zip a file, open 7-Zip and find the folder with your assignment in it. Always zip the topmost folder of your project, which should be named something like YourLastNameHW1. Then highlight that folder and click Add. When a dialog box comes up, click ok. The zipped folder should appear in the white area with an extension of .7z. This .7z file is the one you will upload to WebCT.

To unzip using 7-Zip, go to the folder with the .7z file and highlight it. Then click Extract. Again say ok to the dialog box. The unzipped folder, without the .7z extension, should appear. 7-Zip will also unzip files with other extensions, such as .zip.

Course Requirements

6 Visual Basic programming assignments: (25 points hw1, 35 points hw2-6) 200 points

3 Exams: (50 points each) 150 points

Grading Scale

This scale is followed closely. There is no rounding up if you are close.

There is no extra credit.

A         (4.0)                93-100

A-        (3.7)                90-92

B+       (3.3)                87-89

B         (3.0)                83-86

B-        (2.7)                80-82

C+       (2.3)                77-79

C         (2.0)                73-76

C-        (1.7)                70-72

D+       (1.3)                67-69

D         (1.0)                60-66

F          (0.0)                0-59

WebCT (Vista8)

The WebCT Vista8 site, https://vista8.kent.edu , will basically manage the course. The syllabus, assignments, Power Point slides, and other course information will be found there. Assignments will also be submitted there. If you need help with Vista, there is a link to Learning with Vista—Student Training Modules on the MyWebCT page.

E-mail

When there are schedule changes or other announcements, the instructor will e-mail you using your KSU e-mail address. Check this frequently. If you commonly use another address, forward your Kent e-mail to that address. You can do this easily on the Kent Help Desk site at: http://helpdesk.kent.edu/faq/Email/fmail/

To e-mail the instructor use: fliu3@kent.edu . Do not e-mail the instructor at WebCT.

Attendance

Missing class is not an excuse for failure to understand material or complete assignments.  Material covered in class will not be covered again outside of class. It is up to you to read the material and get notes from another student if you miss class. Do not expect any help during office hours or by e-mail if you do not attend class regularly.  

Homework Assignments

Programming assignments are to be submitted to WebCT. Absence from class is not an excuse for not having submitted the assignment. You may re-submit assignments up to the time the assignment is due with no penalty. After that, late assignments will be penalized 10% per day (not per class session). Assignments can not be submitted after one week beyond the due date. 

Make-up Exams

Make-up exams are given only under extraordinary circumstances. Inform the instructor as soon as possible (ideally before the exam). Some form of written excuse for absence from an exam is required.

Academic Honesty

College of Business Policy:

            Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit.  The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense.  It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade (0 points) for the work or course.  Repeat offenses may result in dismissal from the University.

Course Policy:

Academic honesty is expected and required. HELPING fellow students is acceptable, and is actually a very good way to learn the material (particularly with debugging programs). COPYING is NOT acceptable, and will result in loss of credit for the assignment, and possibly failure of the course for all students involved. Follow these guidelines:

All work on the design and basic coding phase of a program should be your own. That is, sitting in a group writing a program together is considered to be copying.

If you receive help with debugging part of an assignment, then you must acknowledge that help in the documentation of that section (your grade will not be affected).

If you give help to another student, then it is your responsibility to make sure that they fully understand the concepts. You may help them to debug the program, but you may not give them code.

If copying programs is suspected, both (or all) students involved will receive zeros for that assignment at the least, and possibly a failure for the course. DO NOT GIVE OTHERS YOUR CODE.

Students with Disabilities

University policy 3342-3-18 requires that students with disabilities be provided

reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content.  If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments.  Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through the Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit www.kent.edu/sas for more information on registration procedures).