Greetings CAPP-300 Students,

Welcome to 'Concepts in Computing.' Another UM term is underway. My name to all my students and colleagues is Phil. It is my pleasure to help you through CAPP-300 this DE Term 2. We need to get to know each other better before we start so I have gone first and shared something of myself with you if you follow the link above. Your first assignment is to post a brief biographical sketch in the Web Tycho Class Conference area under the Main Topic designated for Class Biographic Sketches.

During this first week, please share with your small group (yes, you will be assigned to one on the first day) why you are taking this course and just as importantly, what is it that the other students and I can help you achieve this term. See also Week 1 Individual Assignments and Week 1 Group Assignments.

This is an exciting introductory course to computing, thanks in part to your textbook authors and publisher. Not only do they offer us a computer- and Internet-based way to learn about computers, but they also make it accessible to students with many different backgrounds by relating computing to the arts, humanities, and social sciences as well as business, management, and the physical sciences.

We will use four web sites in this course extensively:

• WebTycho,
• my personal web site (yes, this is it),
• the publisher's site (not quite the url listed in your book, but still The Analytical Engine Online.), and
• a Class / Group Web site on the UMUC European Division Student Server that I will set up in a few days.

So you may find yourself spending a lot of time on the Web.

That is the first thing about this DE course that are different.

The second, which may not be new to some of you, is that during this term we will be using email and email attachments to supplement and complement our other discussions. Hopefully you are familiar with email protocols; have a look at my guidance for sending emails just to be sure.

We can post formatted text documents to WebTycho that do not have graphics, charts, spreadsheets, etc. embedded in them. However, WebTycho cannot handle files within files (whether connected with visible or invisible links). Thus web pages (.html files) with pictures or other images linked to them will have the links broken if posted to WebTycho. Yes, if you have looked at the Tycho tutorial, you know that certain areas take .html files - but they must be one file type only to display properly (all text or .gif or .jpg).

We will can share such embedded file types on the Student Server, as noted above. But we also need a back-up system.

Attachments to email messages are particularly useful for exchanging files which have other files embedded in them such as those produced by MS Office (graphics or spreadsheets within a word processing document, for example). We will from time to time need to pass graphics and formatted narratives to each other when the Student Server is not working. This can be a frustrating process for the uninitiated so please be patient as I confirm that each of us knows how to share complex files via email attachments.

I have posted the course syllabus and various supplemental Guidance files and handouts on this web site. Please read them. The Full Syllabus differs little from my Preview Syllabus for CAPP-300, but I have added a number of hypertext links to help you see the details behind the headlines. Please follow the links so that you understand the full scope of the course. If you do get lost, see my site overview.

We will spend much of this first week confirming our skill with WebTycho and email procedures, both in general and for Distance Education courses. We will confirm access to each other, get to know new colleagues and establish a routine. I have set the stage for this course in the syllabus; after you read it, I want you to discuss with your assigned small group your special concerns about the subject and state your desires for areas we should emphasize over the next four months. You will control the content and conduct of our exchanges, for I will concentrate first and perhaps principally on those concepts you ask me to cover. I will also ask you to comment on certain topics relevant to our subject during the course.

It is your responsibility to post each assignment on WebTycho on time (or elsewhere as designated). Start early. Complete your work in advance so you have a chance to critically review it for content and quality of ideas. If you just hit the cut-off date early in the course, you have an excellent chance of being late on subsequent assignments. Keep a copy of each assignment just in case. If you cannot meet a deadline, please e-mail, fax or call me for a week's extension prior to the due date. The course is sequenced and timed reasonably as it is, and you can expect that if you are late on an assignment, you will just make it harder for yourself to complete the next portion of the course successfully.

I have a flexible personal schedule and work out of my home. See the contact details on this web site for how and when to get in touch with me.

I am frequently out for short periods (that sometimes become longer than I intended), so if your concern is urgent, and I am not in, leave a message on my "answer phone" (hold on for at least seven rings) or fax me your question. Of course, watch out for my email response to you and continue trying to reach me directly by phone. If your email goes down temporarily, use a friends account to email me or fax me to keep in touch.

Please post in the WebTycho Class Conference, Main Topic: Biographic Sketch, your email address, location, and (optional) your telephone number.

Should you be unable to check WebTycho and your email at least once every 48 hours and respond to questions within that same period, please notify me.

If you have a particular worry about your course of study or find yourself in difficult circumstances, contact me right now instead of waiting. (Naturally, should something come up later in the course, get in touch with me at that time.) I want to deal with your concerns now so we can get on with the task at hand - which I view as helping you learn as much as you want to learn. Whether it is difficulty with the study material, finding adequate time or surroundings for your study, personal emergencies - whatever - I am truly here to help you succeed.

Moreover, I want you to be able to share a joyous holiday break with family and friends, conquer the millennium bug, and get all sorts of new ideas for web page design and construction that you will share with us when we start the second part of this course on 15 January 2000.

I look forward to hearing from you concerning questions asked and points raised above. We shall have an exciting and fruitful term with your help.

Yours Faithfully,

Phil

 

Revised 25 January 2000

Phil Richardson; prichard@faculty.ed.umuc.edu