SCHOOL
OF LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE
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SLIS J706 - SYLLABUS - Fall 2008
INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES (3)
Instructor - Chris Billinsky
Information technologies in libraries, media centers, & other
information agencies; operation & applications of computers & telecommunications;
database design; online access methods.
Course content will be delivered through Blackboard,
DVD and email. Course discussion will take place through Blackboard
Discussion Forums, with the course listserv serving as backup in the
event of Blackboard outage. Discussion will be asynchronous; there is
not a requirement to be online at a specific time. There will not be
an on-site class.
CONTACT INFORMATION
| SLIS Main Office: |
803-777-3858 or 800-277-2035 |
| SLIS Fax: |
803-777-7938 - not for assignments |
| DEIS Phone: |
803-777-7210 or 800-922-2577 |
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Christyn Billinsky, Davis College - Room 108
School of Library and Information Science
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
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Madonna Stoehr - SLIS Student Services Coordinator for
Distance Education
Madonna provides help with all issues related to Distance Education
and the mechanics of the course.
Examples of questions and issues that Madonna can help with include:
- Course requirements
- How to submit assignments
- Has your assignment been received
- Questions about problems with e-mail lists
- All sorts of course-related issues
- Whenever you have a question or problem, but are not sure whom
to contact
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Richard Davis - Course contact person within DEIS
COURSE
OBJECTIVES
The course is designed to provide a broad introduction to the use of information
technologies in libraries, archives and other information agencies.
Goal 1
To introduce students to the dynamics of information technology as implemented
in libraries, archives and other information agencies.
Objectives - At the conclusion of the course students should be
able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the history of information technology.
- Describe the types of organizations that comprise the information
technology industries.
- Identify providers of electronic information services and describe
the range of information that is available.
- Describe the operation of computer/communications networks.
- Define terms and concepts related to information technology.
- Identify information technology trends that impact libraries,
archives and information agencies.
- Assess and evaluate information technology applications.
Goal 2
To introduce students to the concepts and methods of Internet content
production for libraries and other information agencies.
Objectives - At the conclusion of the course students
should be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the concepts of information
architecture.
- Create Internet content.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the principles of database
construction, access and searching.
Goal 3
To introduce students to the issues and concepts of information policy.
Objectives - At the conclusion of the course students
should be able to:
- Identify the primary issues of information policy
related to libraries and other information agencies.
- Describe legal and legislative aspects of information
policy.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the ethical issues relating
to information policy.
Goal 4
To introduce students to information technology management in libraries
and other information agencies.
Objectives - At the conclusion of the course students
should be able to:
- Select computer hardware and software in a systematic
manner.
- Describe equipment configurations necessary to support
electronic information services.
- Assess and evaluate information technology applications.
COURSE POLICIES AND REGULATIONS
- STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES - Accommodations will be made for
students with disabilities defined by the Americans With Disabilities
Act. During the first week of class, contact the Office
of Disability Services (803-777-6142) if you will require assistance.
- PERSONAL AND ACADEMIC INTEGRITY - As a student of the university
you agree to comply with the University
Honor Code,
Rule of Academic Responsibility, Code
of Conduct, Carolinian
Creed and all other policies of the University of South
Carolina. Violations of any codes, creeds, rules, or policies are
offenses that carry severe consequences.
You are expected to practice the highest possible standards of academic
integrity. Any deviation from this expectation will result in a minimum
of your failing the assignment(s) in question, and may result in additional,
more severe disciplinary measures up to and including referring you
to the Office
of Academic Integrity. Violations of the University's Honor Code
include, but are not limited to plagiarism, improper citation of sources,
using another student's work, and any other form of academic misrepresentation.
All University of South Carolina rules and codes governing plagiarism
are in effect for this course. Further information on the policies
and procedures of the University of South Carolina can be found in
the Carolina
Community.
- WRITING - Writing quality is included in the grading criteria
for all assignments. Elements such as sentence structure, syntax,
grammar and spelling are all considered in assessing writing quality.
Assignments with writing problems will be marked down.
- COMPUTER, INTERNET/WEB AND E-MAIL - All students must meet the
computer and Internet requirements established by the School. Check
the SLIS
Computer and Internet Requirements to make certain that you meet
the requirements.
Students must have daily access to a computer with web access and
e-mail. Students must be reachable by email until final grades are
posted.
Many public schools and work places do not permit the sending or receiving
of Yahoo! Email messages. Students in SLIS 706 must be able to send
messages to Yahoo! Email and receive messages from Yahoo! Email. It
is strongly recommended that you NOT use a public school or work email
account for this course. You can use the email account that the University
provides, or you can open a Yahoo!
email account. Many students find it useful to have a separate
email account that is used just for school.
I will use Blackboard to communicate with you by email (but the sending
email address will be a Yahoo! account). If you change your email
address, you will need to change it within Blackboard
immediately. (You do not need to notify me about email address changes.)
- ATTENDANCE - Does not apply in the usual manner. However, students
must keep current with all course work and materials.
- GRADING - All graded assignments and tests will be assigned a
numeric grade.
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A / 94-100
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A- / 92-93
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B+ / 87-91
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B / 83-86
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B- / 80-82
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C+ / 77-79
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C / 73-76
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C- / 70-72
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D+ / 67-69
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D / 63-66
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D- / 60-62
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F / 0-59
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At the end of the semester these grades are weighted and averaged
to come up with the appropriate final course grade. The University
allows the following final grades to be posted:
A, B+, B, C+,
C, D, F
Your grade is based on the course assignments and tests. It will not
be possible to rework a graded assignment or do "extra work"
to raise your course grade.
- ASSIGNMENTS
- For SLIS706, each assignment will contain specific instructions
on how it is to be submitted. It is important that the specific
instructions are followed for each assignment. Assignments
that are not submitted correctly will be marked down.
- Assignments are due on the date stated. Assignments that
are submitted electronically are due by midnight. Two assignments
and the Grade Sheet are submitted by postal mail. These three
items need to be postmarked (or dropped off at Madonna Stoehr's
office) by the due date.
- Late assignments will be reduced one letter grade. An assignment
that is more than one week late will not be accepted for grading,
and a failing grade will be recorded for that assignment. If you
believe that you will need an extension for an assignment, you
must contact me before the assignment is due - not after the fact.
I know that unexpected problems do occur, and I will work with
you to accommodate your situation. Course "Incompletes"
are only assigned for extremely extenuating circumstances.
- Your grade is based on course assignments, tests and level
of overall participation.
- It is not possible to resubmit a graded assignment or do
"extra work" to raise your assignment or course grade.
- You are responsibe for maintaining a copy of all graded
and returned materials, until the final course grade has been
received and accepted. If you wish to appeal your grade, you must
have copies of your assignments.
BOOKS
AND READINGS
The books are really not required. People who have experience
with technology and web design may already have similar books, or choose
to find the necessary information through the web. The books provide background
and reference information. There will not be specific reading assignments
from any of the books.
RECOMMENDED FOR NOVICES FOR THE WEB DESIGN ASSIGNMENTS:
Sherry Willard Kinkoph. TEACH YOURSELF VISUALLY HTML.
2nd edition. Wiley, 2005. (ISBN: 0-7645-7984-3)
SUGGESTED FOR NOVICES FOR THE FUNDAMENTALS OF COMPUTING TEST:
Paul McFedries. COMPUTERS SIMPLIFIED.
7th edition. John Wiley & Sons, October
2007. (ISBN: 978-0-470-16877-6)
OTHER READINGS:
See the Course
Links Site for reading material available on the
web.
HANDOUTS:
- Course materials and assignments for classes
will be available through Blackboard.
File formats used are PowerPoint, , and PDF. You will need
PowerPoint to use the PowerPoint files and Adobe Acrobat Reader
to use the PDF files.
If you have not used Blackboard
before, consult the Instructions
For Accessing Blackboard.
- DVD for the two web page assignments
-- Instructions for completing the web page assignments will
be distributed as movies on DVD. The
DVD is not self starting. After inserting the DVD in your drive,
you will need to go to it (via My Computer or Windows Explorer)
and click on a file to start it. Start with the Read_Me_First file.
If you cannot get this DVD to play, do now worry. Further instructions
on how to work with this DVD will be given later (with plenty of
time for you to get it working before you need it for the class).
- DVD of Guest Speakers -- Talks by guest
speakers will be distributed on DVD. Some talks may also be available
by web stream. You will be told when to view these talks and where
to find them.
BLACKBOARD ANNOUNCEMENTS, BLACKBOARD DISCUSSION BOARD FORUMS,
COURSE LISTSERV:
Students are responsible for reading all announcements and postings
that appear in Blackboard
Announcements, Blackboard
Discussion Board Forums, and the Course Listserv.
SUGGESTED FOR COMPLETING SOFTWARE COMPETENCY:
The software
competency is not specifically part of SLIS J706, but is a preliminary
for work required in many areas of the degree program. A CD
or DVD containing projects and video instructions was mailed to
each of you along with your letter of acceptance.
- Ruth Maran, maranGraphics. TEACH YOURSELF VISUALLY
MICROSOFT OFFICE 2000. IDG Books, 1999. (ISBN: 0-7645-6051-4)
or
- Ruth Maran. TEACH YOURSELF VISUALLY MICROSOFT OFFICE
XP. John Wiley & Sons, 2001. (ISBN:
0-7645-0854-7)
or
- Sherry Willard Kinkoph. TEACH YOURSELF VISUALLY MICROSOFT
OFFICE 2007. Visual, 2007. (ISBN:
0-4700-4590-6)
SOFTWARE
- Microsoft PowerPoint. Course "lectures"
are provided in PowerPoint format. You must have MS PowerPoint in
order to view the files and associated notes. The PowerPoint Viewer
is not adequate.
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Adobe
Acrobat Reader. Free download. Many course documents will
be in PDF format and must be viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader.
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IrfanView.
Image Editor. Free download. You will need a program that allows
you to crop and resize image files for the web page assignments. If
you use a PC, and do not already have software to do this, IrfanView
is recommended. IrfanView is freeware for private,
non-commercial, or educational (schools
and universities) use. Commercial and for-profit
users of IrfanView are expected to pay for it.
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QuickTime
Player. Free download. QuickTime Player generally
works well to view the movies on the DVD
for the two web page assignments.
If you need the current version of QuickTime Player, download it from
this site.
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VLC Media
Player. Free download. If you experience any problems
with QuickTime Player, I strongly recommend VLC Media Player. VLC
Media Player is a Free and Open Source media player that works with
a number of audio and video formats.
-
Button Studio - Free download. You will need
a program that allows you to design buttons for the web directory
assignment. If you use a PC, and do not already have software to do
this, Button Studio is recommended. Button Studio is shareware that
can be downloaded for a free trial period.
-
SeaMonkey
1.1.13 Suite - Free download. Instructions
for the Directory Web Page Assignment are based on Composer, a free
HTML Editor that is part of the Mozilla SeaMonkey Suite. If you plan
to use the instructions you will need to download and install the
SeaMonkey Suite.
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Installing the SeaMonkey Suite will not replace your current
browser; it will simply give you another browser option.
You can leave your current browser as your default.
- There are separate downloads for Windows and Mac. Make sure
that you download the correct version.
- If given the choice, request the Full Suite -- otherwise you
will only get the browser, and you will not have Composer.
COURSE LINKS SITE -
Fall 2008
Links For Classes - Reading material available on the
web. You are expected to browse/read the items that are check marked.
Other materials are there for digging deeper when you have further
interest.
COURSE
SCHEDULE -
SUBJECT TO CHANGE
- Lecture
Notes and most other course materials will be placed in the Course
Documents and Assignments areas of Blackboard
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Date
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Week
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Topic
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Assignments
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Aug 21
to
Aug 29
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(1)
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Course Introduction
History of Info Tech
Basics of Computers
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Aug 27
Wed
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(1)
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Due: Grade Record Sheet
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Aug 29
Fri
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(1)
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Due: Start-Up Assignment
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Sep 2
to
Sep 5
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(2)
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Basics of Computers |
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Sep 8
to
Sep 12
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(3)
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Basics of Computers
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Sep 15
to
Sep 19
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(4)
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Telecommunications
Networks
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Sep 22
Mon
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(5)
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Due: Test - Fundementals of Computing
(Take Home) |
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Sep 22
to
Sep 26
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(5)
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Internet & WWW |
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Sep 29
to
Oct 3
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(6)
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Search Engines & Strategies |
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Oct 6
Mon
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(7)
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Due: Computer Buying Assignment
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Oct 6
to
Oct 8
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(7)
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Data Structures
- File, Record, Field
- Indexes
- MARC Record Format
- Searching Online Catalogs
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Oct 13
to
Oct 17
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(8)
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Web Content & Design
- Design Issues, HTML, Images |
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Oct 20
Mon
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(9)
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Due: Web Search |
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Oct 20
to
Oct 24
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(9)
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Web Content & Design
- CSS, Favicons |
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Oct 27
to
Oct 31
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(10)
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Web Content & Design
- Web Accessibility (Info Policy) |
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Nov 3
Mon
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(11)
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Due: HTML Coded Web Page |
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Nov 3
to
Nov 7
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(11)
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Web Content & Design
- Copyright & the Web (Info Policy)
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Nov 10
to
Nov 14
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(12)
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Web Content & Design
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Nov 17
to
Nov 21
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(13)
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Computers and Information Systems in Libraries
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Nov 24
Mon
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(14)
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Due: Directory Web Page |
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Nov 24
to
Nov 25
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(14)
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Computers and Information Systems in Libraries
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Dec 1
to
Dec 5
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(15)
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Computers and Information Systems in Libraries
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Dec 5
Fri
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(15)
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Due: Test (Take Home)
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ASSIGNMENTS AND TESTS
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The "Grade Record Sheet" and "Start-Up Assignments"
are for Fall 2008, and can be done now.
The rest of the assignments are from previous semesters. They
are available here to give you an idea of what to look forward
to.
When assignments are ready for you, they will be listed
in the Assignments area of Blackboard.
Assignment criteria will vary, so ALWAYS WORK FROM THE ASSIGNMENTS
FOR THE CURRENT SEMESTER.
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DATE /WEEK
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DAY
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ASSIGNMENT
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%
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ASAP
Aug 27, latest
(1)
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Wed
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Submit (Postal Mail)
- Grade
Record Sheet (pdf)
- Fall 2008 - Can be done now
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1%
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Aug 29
(1)
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Fri
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Start-Up
Assignments (Electronic) (pdf)
Fall 2008 - Can be done now |
2%
|
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Sep 22
(5)
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Mon
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Test - Fundementals of Computing
Take Home |
25%
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Oct 6
(7)
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Mon
|
From a previous semester.
Use only as an example.
Computer
Buying Assignment (pdf)
Sample
- Apple (pdf)
Sample
- PC (pdf)
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13%
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Oct 20
(9)
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Mon
|
From a previous semester.
Use only as an example.
Web
Search (pdf)
Sample
(pdf) |
12%
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Nov 3
(11)
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Mon
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From a previous semester.
Use only as an example.
HTML Coded Web Page (pdf)
- Sample
- with single image
- Sample
- with style sheet & favicon
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Sample - with multiple images held in place by a table
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10%
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Nov 24
(14)
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Mon
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From a previous semester.
Use only as an example.
Directory
Web Page (pdf)
-
Sample
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12%
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Dec 5
(15)
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Fri
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Test - Take Home |
25%
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