CPTE-106 Introduction to Spreadsheets

Using Excel 2007 On-line

Text: New Perspectives on Microsoft Office Excel 2007, Introductory, by Parsons, Oja, Aeloff and Carey, Course Technology, 2008. ISBN-10: 1-4239-0584-9. ISBN-13: 978-1-4239-0584-4.

In addition, Dr. Bruckner made camtasia videos of all the assignments. In case you get stuck, these should be your first recourse for help!

Software: You will need to use Microsoft Excel 2007 for this class. The HSC 116 Lab will be open and lab consultants there may be able to help you with problems you encounter. You may not use Microsoft Excel 2003 for this class. The textbook assumes you are using MS Excel 2007. The final exam will require the use of MS Excel 2007.

Course Description: Creating, editing and formatting documents; creating multiple-page reports; simple desktop publishing; mail merge; creating styles, outlines, tables, table of contents, form letters, mailing labels, and web pages; collaborating with others on a document.

Course Objectives: The major objective of this course is to provide the students with the skills necessary to make intelligent use of a modern spreadsheet program, not only as students, but also as professionals in their chosen fields.

Course Components: This class has one quiz, 14 required assignments with firm due dates, and a final exam. It is administered via eclass. All necessary information and data files are available there.

Data Files for Assignments: Current data files you will need to do the assignments are available to you via eclass. You MUST use those data files. Do not use files from the book web site, previous classes, or any other source. There are three ways to get the data files needed. First you can download the files one-by-one as needed in the assignments. You will then be responsible for saving them where you can find them using your own folder organization. Second and third you can download all the files needed at one time and save them in two different ways, “By Assignment” or “As in Textbook.” See links on the home page. If you download them with the “As in Textbook” method, then the instructions in the book for finding and saving files can be followed exactly. If you download them “By Assignment” then all the files need for a particular assignment will be in the same folder, but you will not use the instructions in the textbook to find and save the files. I think that most students will find that “By Assignment” is the better of the two organizations for this class.

Printing: Printing is not required for any of the assignments. But, whenever printing is called for in a step in the text, you must set up the file for printing. That is, you have to do everything to get it ready for printing; you just do not have to click on the button to actually print.

Previous Work: It is expected that the work done for this class will be current work. No files with work done before Winter 2007 will be accepted for credit. You MUST use the files available only via eclass for doing the assignments #5 - #14. (Assignments #1 - #4 do not require data files.)

Academic Honesty: It is assumed that the work done on assignments is your own. Consider them somewhat like a take-home exam that you are allowed to ask for help on, but must do yourself. This means that you must work through the tutorials and cases yourself and not in conjunction with others. Any assignment submitted which is not your own work, such as submitting a copy of an assignment file not created by you will result in failure of the class and disciplinary action by the University. See page 41 of the 2006-07 Catalog for the procedure which will be followed for Academic Dishonesty.

Two Students – One Computer: In the case of two students using the same computer, it is your responsibility to keep your files separate. If you are sharing one computer, I suggest that you include your name in the file name. For example, if your name is John Doe and the file you download is named Datafile.doc, you should save the file as Datafile-John-Doe.doc, so there is no possibility of getting files mixed up. If the instructions call for attaching Datafile1.doc, then you may attach Datafile1-John-Doe.doc. Make sure that the extension of the file is the same as the one required in the instructions. Files named like Datafile1.doc-John-Doe or Datafile1.John.Doe.doc will not be accepted.

Submit only completed assignments: If you submit only part of an assignment you will not be able to do any more work on that assignment. So attach all the files required before submitting the assignment. I am not normally able to accept assignment via email, so please do not try to email me an assignment.

Late and Missed Assignments: There are two different types of deadlines in eclass, a due date/time and a cutoff date/time. Normally, you only see the due date/time. Assignments not submitted by the due date/time are marked as “Late”. I will not deduct points from assignments that are submitted late, but before the cutoff date/time for the assignment. Assignments not submitted by the cutoff date/time are removed from the assignment list (as seen via the Course Tools Menu). You will not be able to submit assignments after the cutoff date/time. (NOTE: IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO TURN IN WORK AFTER THE CUTTOFF DATE) The cutoff date/time will be included with the assignment in eclass. That is, any assignment not submitted by the cutoff date/time will be considered missed. Absolutely no extensions will be given on missed assignments without a Nurse or Doctors not, or an obituary notice. FOR THOSE WHO ASK WE HAVE SPECIAL NEGATIVE POINTS - ONE FOR EACH REQUEST. But, I will prorate the first three missed assignments (or the lowest grades for those who miss less than three assignments). For example, suppose that you miss the cutoff date/time for Assignments #4, #7, #8, and #12, I will calculate the percentage that you get on all the assignments other than #4, #7, and #8 (note that the 0 score on Assignment #12 will be included in this calculation) and add the percentage of the three missed assignments (i.e. #4, #7, and #8) to your score for the assignments. Of course, you should do any missed assignments in preparation for the final exam.

Dropping or requesting an Incomplete: We commonly have people drop/add a CPTE 10XA/10XB because they didn't start on time. I'll be happy to sign these requests. Just drop by the office and talk to me or the Office Manager. There is virtually no reason you can give me to get an incomplete. Come by and drop the class instead. If you are in the last trimester, drop before the deadline. If you waited until after the deadline (and you are going to get an F) retake the course next semester.

Time to do the Assignments: The normal amount of homework for a college class is two hours of homework per hour of class per week for the average student. This is a one hour class, but we do not meet in class for one hour a week, which means I could reasonably require 3 hours of homework each week for the approximately 14 weeks of the semester giving a total of 42 hours of homework for the class. But, the class is blocked, that is, it is offered over only 4 weeks. This means that I could reasonably require the average student to do ten hours of homework each week. (Just like a 3 hour class that did not meet in the classroom.) It most likely will require you much less time, but if you are a student that needs additional time for computer work, it may require you more time. Note that the videos of all the assignments, in which I read, out loud, all the instructions (but not the white sections of the text) and do all the instructions totals less than 14 hours. I think it is reasonable to expect that it will not take the average students more than three times as long as it did me to do the assignments. Bottom line – it may take you up to 3 hours to do an assignment.

Help: If you need help on an assignment, you should first consult the Videos of Assignments which are available via the Course Contents page in eclass. You will be able to jump to the particular place you are having a problem with and see the steps being done. These videos require a high speed connection to the Internet, so may not be available at all locations. You may also consult with one of the lab consultants in the HSC 116 Lab. They should be able to help you. You may also request help via email. When emailing about a particular problem, please attach a copy of the file you are having the problem with to the email. This allows me to be much more helpful. I am also available in my office during office hours or by appointment for additional help.

Contacting Me: The best way to contact me is via normal email to scot@southern.edu . There may be extended periods of time that I will not be able to reply to phone mail messages. Please do not assume that I know who you are and what class you are in. I have hundreds of students in five different classes, so please identify the class you are in with your emails.

Messages on Submissions: Please do not include messages with your assignments that you intend for me to get. I have readers for grading the assignments so I will not get any messages sent with an assignment. Send all messages via normal email to scot@southern.edu .

The Final Exam: There are two ways you may take the final exam.

1. If you are on campus, you must take the final in the HSC 116 lab. The final needs to be taken on or before the date listed in the course schedule. You will be notified via eclass when the final becomes available.
2. If you are not able to come to campus to take the final on or before the exam date, you will be responsible for obtaining an approved proctor for the final exam. An approved proctor is normally a non-relative pastor or teacher. Getting approval for a proctor and making other arrangements for the final exam should be done no later than 2 week before the final exam date. I prefer to communicate with the proctor via email, but their email address must verifiably belong to the teacher or pastor. Yahoo, GMail, Hotmail etc. address may not be used. I will be happy to communicate with a proctor via snail mail if verification is problematic. If you are using a proctor, you should plan to take the exam no later than 1 week prior to the exam date, to give the post office time to get the final back to me in time for grading.

Grading: Grades will depend on the following table, but for those students that complete all the assignments and the quiz, a weighting heavier on assignments will be used if it results in a higher grade.

Grading Scale*

Grade Break Points

Email: If you do not have a southern email account, get one. A southern email account is a requirement for this class. Each student is assumed to have an active email account that they check daily. You will also need access to eclass. If you can not get into eclass, please contact mailto:eclasshelp@southern.edu , or 236-2086. I cannot help you gain access to eclass.

Need for Assistance: In keeping with University policy, any student with a disability who needs academic accommodations must call Disability Support Services at 236-2574 or stop by Lynn Wood Hall, room 308, to arrange a confidential appointment with the Disability Services Coordinator during the first week of classes. (Students who request accommodations after the third week of the semester should not depend on receiving accommodations for that semester. Legally, no retroactive accommodations can be provided. For more details, visit the Learning Success Services Web site at http://lss.southern.edu/.)

Students whose accommodations requests are approved will be provided confidential letters for them to deliver to their professors for review and discussion about how to implement the accommodations in relation to particular course requirements. Accommodations for disabilities are available only as recommended by Disability Support Services.