UMUC in Europe - Term 1/00-01

Class Times: While you set your own time, I will establish Tuesdays as the official class day. New items may be posted on this day and grading for the previous class’s work will be returned by this day. It is good to get in the habit of checking WebTycho and performing the tasks on a regular basis.

Lecturer: Valerie Mock, Ph.D.

e-mail: IN510@hotmail.com, docmock@hotmail.com

Virtual Office Hours: Tuesdays and other times by appointment

Pre-requisite: All undergraduate prerequisite courses or permission of the lecturer

Course Credit: 3 semester hours

TEXTBOOK: Systems Architecture: Hardware and Software in Business Information Systems, by Stephen D. Burd. Second edition, 1998. Publisher: Course Technology, Cambridge, MA.

 ON-LINE HANDOUTS: You will be responsible for all of the material that is posted on the web, especially that posted by the instructor.

This course provides an overview of basic computer concepts as they apply to MIS professionals. Emphasis is on basic machine architecture including data storage, data manipulation, and the human-machine interface including the basics of operation systems, algorithms, and programming languages. In addition, the basic concepts of data organization including data and file structures are examined. Emerging trends in computer technology and their impact on organizational systems are also discussed. Students will be required to complete programming projects.

 Application Programming Project--Each student will be expected to develop a Request for Proposal (RFP) that describes a unique user situation of the student's choosing. This must involve at least two different activities from a list of activities that will be posted along with the formal assignment memorandum. Once the RFP has been reviewed by the instructor, then the student will be required to program the two separate activities (or modules). There are several assignment due dates for this project, which must be met; however, only one grade is given on the entire project, so students have until the next to the last class session to incorporate instructor comments into the final project. The purpose of this assignment is to help the student understand the overall process while working specifically on some of the topics addressed in the class.

 Group Homework Exercises—There will be several chapter assignments that I would like for you to work as a group. The idea would be to have conversations among 3-4 people to arrive at the best solution. Besides determining the correct answer (or a close proximity to the correct answer), the purpose will be to get some experience in virtual teamwork.

 Conversations--Students will be graded on the quality of their "Classroom" participation. Graduate students are expected to be able to discuss the concepts in the book and demonstrate their application of the materials through discussion of real-world problems. These conversations will be based on one per chapter. Somewhere within the discussions, each student is expected to contribute at least one brief review of a current article relating to the topic at hand.

 Midterm/Final--The midterm and final will consist of matching vocabulary terms (covering the key terms presented at the end of the chapter, short answer essay questions related to the goals listed at the beginning of each chapter, and a comprehensive exam question similar to that actually given on the comprehensive exams. This portion of the tests (worth 100 points) will be graded exactly like the comprehensives; that is: 75% for content, 15% for English and organization, and 10% for references.

 The following policies apply to this class. These policies are generally reflected in the graduate catalog.

 ATTENDANCE POLICY: Regular participation is expected. If I don’t hear from you each week, without prior notification, I will deduct points from your conversations grade. Two weeks after a conversation is begun, I will close the opportunity to participate in that conversation. If there is a quiz or other assignment due during a specific week and you need to miss it, previous arrangements should be made with the instructor whenever possible. Please note that those students receiving tuition assistance from the Federal Government must not miss three consecutive class meetings without prior approval, or the Education Services Officer (ESO) must be notified by the instructor. That means if I don’t hear from you for 3 weeks without prior permission, I will notify the ESO for your location.

ACADEMIC HONESTY: Students are expected to do their own work. Cheating on tests, plagiarism on written assignments, or any other form of academic dishonesty will result in a "0" for the assignment. Note that a D or an F usually results in at least 60 or 50 points, where violation of academic honesty results in none. See the European Division Catalog for the UMUC policy on academic dishonesty and plagiarism.

ASSIGNMENT/TEST SCHEDULES: Students are expected to hand in all assignments and complete all tests on the days they are due. If a student fails to complete any assignment or test, the resulting grade will be a "0," rather than an "F." Any other assignments will be marked down half a letter grade for each week the assignment is late. Quizzes cannot be made-up unless the student had an excused absence. Major tests can be made up only if prior arrangements are made with the instructor.

 CLASS PREPARATION: Students are expected to do the work on a regular basis and read the materials before asking questions or doing the assignments.

 The objectives for this course are listed as "Chapter Goals" at the beginning of every chapter. The questions on the midterm and final will be directly related to these goals, even though the topic may not be covered in class. At the end of the course the students should be able to:

1. Define/describe the basic terms and processes related to computer systems architecture
2. Describe the various types of operating systems and be able to distinguish among them so as to apply the appropriate one to a given situation
3. Explain how the various major components of computer operating systems perform their tasks and relate to the hardware used to perform said tasks so as to be able to use the appropriate component or diagnose problems in a given situation
4. Describe the various types of computer languages (machine, assembly, and high-level) used to perform tasks and demonstrate the use of one or more of these computer languages
5. Illustrate the concepts related to data base and data storage management (both hardware and software) and apply such knowledge in a computer program
6. Illustrate the concepts related to data communications (both hardware and software) and apply such knowledge in a computer program
7. Describe the process for developing applications and be able to apply the process to a real-world situation
8. Describe the technological trends in computer development and discuss ethical issues surrounding the use of computer technology in the global community
9. Be prepared, at an introductory level, for the more advanced Management Information Systems courses that follow

Please note that there are various levels of learning that must take place before a subject matter is fully mastered. These levels (Bloom, 19xx) are: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. An introductory course of this nature focuses on the first three levels, while the more advanced courses focus more on the latter levels of learning. The activities and assignments for this course are designed to help the student know, comprehend, and apply the basic concepts of systems architecture.

In addition to the academic objectives, students are expected to improve their skills in the following areas:

• Critical Thinking: Students should improve their ability to analyze computer user situations and make appropriate suggestions for resolving computer software and hardware needs. The application programming project in this class encourages students to think critically about real-world situations.
• Writing Skills: Students should improve their writing skills through the development of the Request for Proposal (RFP) and formal reporting on the major project and on the mid-term and final.
• Oral Presentation Skills: Students should improve their presentation skills through their oral reports on the major project, class discussions, and group presentations.
• Computer Skills: Students are expected to improve their computer skills by using word processing and programming language(s) for the completion of the assignments in this class. The use of the Internet and e-mail are also encouraged.

 Teaching Philosophy--I believe students learn best when learning is fun and applied to real-world situations and when students are involved in the process. Therefore, students are expected to participate in discussions, work in groups to resolve exercises, assist their fellow students when possible (without doing their work for them), and to ask questions when there is confusion. I believe that every student starts out with an A in the class and through his/her behavior illustrates to me that they are unworthy of an A. As an instructor, it is my job to facilitate the learning process, but I can't do so unless I have feedback as to what may be impeding that process.

 Biography-After obtaining a BA from the University of Chicago in Anthropology, Dr. Mock worked for IBM for 15 years, primarily in the technical writing field as writer, editor, manager, and second-line manager. Her highest position was as the division's publications coordinator in the Systems Architecture Department reporting to the General Systems Division Vice President of Manufacturing. She has worked with the IBM 1800MPX system, the 360 and 370 systems, the system/34, /36, and /38, among others. For several years she was a member of an application development team working in the manufacturing, health, education, and banking industries. After leaving IBM, she worked as an consultant to the IBM Corporation, the American Red Cross, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Time Systems International, and Zygonic Technologies.

 In 1981 she received her MBA from Emory University and completed her Ph.D. at Georgia State University in Management in 1992. Since that time she has been teaching business courses at Piedmont College in northeast Georgia and at Fort Valley State University in central Georgia. She has been a member of the UMUC faculty for two years, teaching in both the MIS and PUAD programs.

 Topics Discussed

 August 21

Ensure access to WebTycho; Obtain syllabus, and complete Student Information Form; If new to WebTycho, examine on-line help and guide (print out if needed) . If you are not able to access your WebTycho class by August 25, contact the Maryland in Europe DE Office dist_ed@ed.umuc.edu.

 August 28

Introduction to course, lecturer, and class members; Architecture overview; Careers and Resources; Systems Administration; Developing an RFP; Computer Systems Security and Physical Environment; Technological Trends; Ethical Issues

Read Announcement and Class Notes; Check out various links; Assignment: Read Chapters 1 & 15; Contribute to at least one Conversation; Study Group discussion on ethics

 HISTORY--History of Computer Hardware; Computer Hardware: processors, functions, and components; Performance Measures and Design Functions; History of Software; Programming Languages; Systems Software; Systems Development

Read Announcement and Class Notes; Check out of various links; Assignment: Read Chapters 2 and 3; Contribute to at least one more Conversation

 September 11

 Data Representation: math, physics, signals, goals; representation of numbers, characters, and functions; memory addressing; data structures

Read Announcement and Class Notes; Check out of various links; Assignment: Read Chapter 4 and Chapter 11, pages 426-439; Study Group resolution of Chapter 4 Exercises

 September 18

Week 5 

Data Storage--Alternatives and Tradeoffs; Storage Devices; CPU Memory Access

Read Announcement and Class Notes; Check out of various links to INTEL and other processors; Assignment: Read Chapter 6; Study Group resolution of Chapter 6 Exercises; Contribute to at least one more Conversation

 September 25

PROCESSOR PERFORMANCE ISSUES--Processors and Instruction Sets; Instruction Formats; Clock rates; of RFPs; CPU registers and word size; Processor Implementation; Future Trends

Read Announcement and Class Notes; Check out of various links; Assignment: Read Chapter 5; Application Program RFP due; Study Group resolution of Chapter 5 Exercises

System Integration and Performance--System Bus; Logical/Physical I/O; Device Controllers; I/O Processing; I/O Storage Device Performance Issues; Application development: Compilation; Support libraries; Intrepreters; Debugging; Programming languages and development tools

Read Announcement and Class Notes; Check out of various links; Assignment: Read Chapters 7 & 11-pages 439+; Study Group resolution of Chapter 7, problems 1&2; Contribute to at least one more Conversation

 October 9

Summary of First Half

 October 23

Data and Network Communication: Overview; Encoding Methods; Transmission Media; Channel and Media Organization; Coordinating Communications

Read Announcement and Class Notes; Check out of various links; Chapter 8 exercises; Assignment: Read Chapter 8; Study Group resolution of Chapter 8; Application Program Module #1 due

 October 30

Distributing Computer Resources--Network services; Network Architecture; Open Systems Integration Network Layers; Standard Network Architecture

Read Announcement and Class Notes; Check out of various links; Assignment: Read Chapter 9; Study Group exercise on distributing systems; Contribute to at least one more Conversation

 November 6

Input/Output Devices and Technology: Keyboards, Pointers, Printers, Displays, Scanners, Optical Devices, Audio devices

Read Announcement and Class Notes; Check out of various links; Assignment: Read Chapter 10; Contribute to at least one more Conversation

 November 13

ADVANCED TOPICS: Operating Systems: Overview; Resource Allocation; Process Management; CPU Allocation; Memory Management

Read Announcement and Class Notes; Check out of various links; Assignment: Read Chapter 12; Application Program Module #2 due

 November 20

ADVANCED TOPICS: Mass Storage Access and Management: Overview; Storage Allocation; Directory Content and Structure; File Organization, Operation, Manipulation, Security, and Administration

Read Announcement and Class Notes; Check out of various links; Assignment: Read Chapter 13; Perform course evaluation; Contribute to at least one more Conversation

 November 27

ADVANCED TOPICS: Input/Output Service Functions; Command Layer; Network I/O

Read Announcement and Class Notes; Check out of various links; Assignment: Read Chapter 14; Group exercise on following I/O commands through the service layers depending on the type of system; Complete project assignment due

 Dec. 2-8

Summary of Course concepts

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