C.S.130

Introduction to Software Tools

Winter 2008

Catalog Description

Many disciplines are finding the need to gather, manipulate, analyze, and graph data. This course will introduce students to software tools that aid in this process. Software that is widely used at Pacific includes: Excel, SPSS, and PowerPoint. Class includes lab projects. Prerequisite: Math 125 with a grade of "C" or better. 2 hours (10 weeks during Fall or Spring terms, 2 weeks during Winter term). Students may not receive credit for both CS 130 and CS 230.

Topics

· Introduction to Networks and Servers

· Introduction to Excel

o Worksheets, Cells, and Formulas

o Absolute vs Relative Cell References

o Built-in mathematical, financial, and statistical functions

o What-if analysis

o Comparison and Logical Operators

o Nested Logic

o Scatterplots & Regression Analysis (linear and nonlinear)

o Exonential and Logarithmic Problems

· Introduction to SPSS

o The concept of a dataset

o Datatypes (categorical, nominal, ordinal, scale)

o Descriptive Statistics

o Tables and Graphs

o Regression Analysis (linear and nonlinear)

o Hypothesis Testing

· Word

o Mail Merge

o Equation Editor

· PowerPoint

Instructor Details

Professor:	Chadd Williams
Email:	chadd@pacificu.edu
Office:	Strain 202
Phone:	(503) 352-3041
Office Hours:	1 pm - 3 pm daily or by appointment

Course Details

Course Title:	CS130 Introduction to Software Tools
Prerequisite:	Math 125 Precalculus with a grade of C or better.
Required For:	CS130 is not a prerequisite for any other course but is required for the Biology major.
Meeting Times:	MTWThF 9:00 am - 12:00 pm (with a 30 minute break!)
Location:	MAR LL12
Textbooks:	None

Course Website

http://zeus.cs.pacificu.edu/chadd/cs130w08

Grade Distribution :

4 Assignments	30%
Midterm	30%
Final	40%

Percent Breakdown:

		92-100%	A	90-92%	A-
88-90%	B+	82-88%	B	80-82%	B-
78-80%	C+	72-78%	C	70-72%	C-
68-70%	D+	60-68%	D
		0-60%	F

Important Dates

Midterm: Wednesday, January 9

Final: Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 9:00 am - 11:30 am

Academic Calendar:

http://www.pacificu.edu/calendar/academic/

Policies

1. Attendance at every class is critical to your success in this course. I expect you to be on time and ready to go once it's 9:00am and that you stay until the end of class. Any missed lecture is your responsibility to make up; just remember, if you fall behind, it may be very difficult to catch up.

2. Anything assigned in this course is to be submitted in the CS130 Drop Box by 9:00am on the day in which the assignment is due.

3. Assignments can be turned in up to 24 hours late with a penalty of 10% of the assigned points. Anything later will NOT be accepted.

4. Make sure to test your solution before you turn it in. You may turn in your solution only once. A request to grade another solution other than the first solution submitted will result in a 10% penalty regardless of whether both solutions are turned in on time or not. Policies 2. and 3. still hold in all cases.

5. No early or late exams/finals will be given.

6. No incompletes will be given.

7. Specific solutions to homework problems should not be discussed with any other students. The solutions should be an individual effort unless otherwise specified on the assignment. If you have questions regarding a particular assignment, please come in and see me.

8. Pacific University has no tolerance for academic dishonesty.  It is university policy that all acts of academic dishonesty be reported to the Assistant/Associate Dean.  Sanctions that may be imposed for academic dishonesty range from an "F" for the assignment, an "F" for the course, and suspension or dismissal from the university.  Forms of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, fabrication, cheating, tampering with grades, forging signatures, and using electronic information resources in violation of acceptable use policies.  Plagiarism is the use of someone else's words, ideas, or data without proper documentation or acknowledgment; it may entail self-plagiarism, i.e. reusing/resubmitting your own work without approval.  Quotations must be clearly marked, and sources of information must be clearly indicated in all student work.  Please consult the Academic Conduct Policies in the A&S Catalog.

9. Neither computer failure, software failure, nor lack of computer access are accepted as excuses for late work; therefore, start on the homework as soon as it is assigned. Further, corruption of software solutions due to bad disk media is also not accepted as an excuse for late work; therefore, always keep a current backup of all of your work on a separate storage medium. Please note that the Computer Science departmental servers are not backed up.

10. I reserve the right to raise or lower your grade based on class participation and attendance. Specifically, I may lower your grade or may officially withdraw you from the course through the fifth day of the semester for poor attendance or participation. Further, your final grade may be lowered by 1/3 of a grade for each day (or portion thereof) of class missed. Please notify me PRIOR to class if you must miss class for any reason. Just sending an email prior to missing class does not guarantee you will be cleared to miss. Only legitimate reasons will be accepted as excuses for missing class.

11. Any important issue pertaining to class such as the need to miss an exam or grade issues will not be discussed via email. I will not even reply to your email if the issue is important; therefore, do not assume that no response means everything is OK.

12. If you are unhappy with something related to the class, then schedule an appointment to see me so that we can discuss it in my office. Complaining in class or out of class to other students gets us nowhere.

13. You may be asked to leave the classroom if you are causing a distraction e.g. cell phone ringing, talking, etc. Please turn off all cell phones prior to the beginning of each lecture.

14. If you have a complaint regarding a grade on an assignment or exam, write a one paragraph description of why you feel the grade is incorrect and deliver it to me. The paragraph must be delivered to me within one calendar week of when the graded material is returned.

15. If you have a documented disability covered under the ADA then services and accommodations are available from LSS (Learning Support Services). If you need reasonable accommodations to fully participate in course activities or meet course requirements, you must contact Edna K. Gehring, Director of LSS , at X2107. She will meet with you, review the documentation of their disabilities, and discuss the services Pacific offers.