On-Campus

Sections 1 through 5 are available to on-campus students in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Institute of Agricultural Technology during the Fall semesters only.

Via the Web

Section 730 is available to students in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Institute of Agricultural Technology, and non-MSU students via the Lifelong Education program at Michigan State University during the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters.

This course is available 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. The course materials are divided up into the following catagories:

Reading assignments are designed to give you some broad background information about a specific topic. These assignments should be completed before moving on to the Hands-on tasks. Each reading assignment begins with a general objective, individual learning objectives, and a vocabulary list of keywords that will be discussed in the lesson.

Quizzes are designed to allow the student to take a brief test over the material presented in a reading assignments and in the Hands-on tasks. The quiz questions are automatically graded and returned to give you instant feedback on how well you comprehend the material. If you select the wrong answer for a quiz question, the correct answer will be displayed along with a brief explanation. You may take the same quiz as many times as you wish, only your highest score is recorded.

Hands-on tasks are to be completed at your own computer. There are over 160 tasks that allow you to try out some of the commands and software applications discussed in the reading assignments on your own. These tasks are the very same ones that are used on-campus with our credit students and are updated each semester.

Resource materials have been added in some lessons to aid you in completing the Hands-on tasks. Reference materials may include links to other web sites, multimedia examples of specific topics, or more detailed information about a particular subject that goes beyond the introductory material that we cover.

Course Outline
The course contains over 160 hands-on tasks and homework assignments covering the following topics:

Getting Started	Changing Drives Changing Folders Submitting Homework Opening Files Configuring E-mail	Backing Up Files Virus Protection Browser Cache Browser Cookies Browser Plug-Ins
Electronic Mail	Sending an E-mail Reply to an E-mail Tone of Voice Subject Lines Multiple Recipients	Cut & Paste Netscape Mail Eudora Mail Outlook Mail Attachments
Computer Hardware	Shopping for a Computer Components of a PC Connector Ports Data Cables The Power Supply Installing Memory	Installing Adapter Cards Removing Adapter Cards Drive Controllers Hard Drives Formatting a Drive Video Cards
System Software	Desktop Properties Creating a Shortcut Finding Files Files and Folders Creating Folders	Drag and Drop Help Drives and Directories Screen Savers Wildcards and Files
Word Processing	Word Processing Basics Text Appearance Spell Check Thesaurus Other Tools Tables Columns	Footnotes & Endnotes Importing Graphics Embedding a Spreadsheet Linking a Spreadsheet Drag & Drop Word 2000 Menu WordPerfect 2000 Menu
Computer Security	Securing Your PC Anti-Virus Software	ZoneAlarm Firewall Windows IC Firewall
The Internet	Accessing a Host Finger Protocol Ping Protocol Using FTP Anonymous FTP Telnet Protocol	Telnet Journaling Newsgroups Microsoft NetMeeting Internet File Formats Internet Country Codes U.S. State Country Codes
Web Publishing	Searching the Web Creating a Home Page Formatting Text Address Links Background Colors Background Images Font Styles Font Colors Web Images Table Basics Data Tables	Sound Java Text Applets Java Graphic Applets Basic Scripts Advanced Scripts Introduction to Frames Image Maps Animated Images Icon Image Archive Background Image Archive Amp Codes
Spreadsheets	Creating a Spreadsheet Printing a Spreadsheet Text Appearance Simple Formulas Spreadsheet Calculator Multiple Worksheets Creating a Chart Sorting Data	Random Numbers Formulas Embedding a Spreadsheet Linking a Spreadsheet Drag & Drop Importing Data Exporting Data
Image Processing	Paint for Windows Converting BMP Images	Bitmap Images Animated Images
Multimedia	Sound Recorder Editing a Sound File Downsampling Sampling and Quality Streaming Audio RealAudio ToolVox	Audio Codecs MPEG Audio Macromedia Flash Flash Timelines Flash Animations Flash Symbols
Presentation Graphics	Presentation Wizards Presentation Design	Presentation Objects Editing a Presentation
Database Management	Creating a Table Designing a Form Designing a Simple Query Creating a Simple Report TreeNames Example TreeStats Example Simple Query Example	Advanced Query Example Forms Example Fruit Report Example Data Report Example Importing Data Exporting Data
Geographic Information Systems	Archaeological GIS Analysis Mountain Gorilla Research GIS and Landuse Planning	Highway GIS Project New Jersey Radar Imaging
Agronomy Applications	Computer Instruction Research Modeling Research Data	Statistical Analysis Data Presentations Internship Presentations

Getting Help
There are several ways to get assistance in this class if you are having problems. The following methods apply to both credit and non-credit students:

	E-mail: You can always contact me or any of the teaching assistants via E-mail if you have a question.
	One-on-One: Both credit and non-credit students that are located close to the Michigan State University campus are always welcomed to stop by my office during the day for help (no appointment is necessary).
	Telephone: I can be reached via telephone during the day (08:00 - 17:00 EST) at 517-355-0271 Ext. 110. If I don't happen to be in the office, leave a message and your number with my secretary and I will call you back.

Homework Assignments
There are 7 homework assignments that are required for this course. Each homework assignment is taylored to the student's major and all data for the assignments is dynamically generated so each assignment is unique. Assignments are worth 30 points each, points are deducted from the score for assignments submitted late.

Acceptable Homework Formats
The following is a list of the document formats that we will accept for homework assignments. If you are not using one of the software applications listed below, you will need to convert your assignment to a format that we can accept.

Word Processing
	Microsoft Word (English) 2003 or below Corel WordPerfect (English) 2003 or below
Spreadsheet
	Microsoft Excel (English) 2003 or below Quattro Pro/DOS (English) 2003 or below
Database
	Microsoft Access (English) 2003 or below
Presentations
	Microsoft PowerPoint (English) 2003 or below
Graphics
	Windows BMP, GIF, or JPG formats only

On-Line Quizzes
There are 13 on-line quizzes worth 20 points each. Each quiz consists of 20 multiple choice and true and false questions which are taken directly from the reading assignments and the hands-on tasks. There is a time limit for each quiz and points are deducted if the quiz is submitted beyond the time limit. When a quiz is submitted, it is graded automatically and your grade report is updated instantly.

Semester Projects
Depending on the semester, there are PowerPoint slide-shows that each student completes. During the Fall semester, students are required to submit a Mid-Term and a Final project. During the Spring and Summer semesters, student submit a Final project only.

Mid-Term Project

The Mid-Term Project is worth 50 points and consists of a 5 minute, Microsoft PowerPoint presentation of the student's curriculum vitae. Each project will be critiqued and graded by the teaching staff. During the Fall semester, students in sections 1-5 will present their project during their regularly scheduled lab section.

Final Project

The Final Project is worth 100 points and consists of a 10-15 minute, Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. The topic for the Final Project changes each semester. Students work in a group of 5-6 students, with at least one member of each group residing outside of the United States. The project will be critiqued and graded by the other students in the class and the teaching staff. Fall semester groups will present their project to the class during the regularly scheduled lecture periods at the end of the semester. Spring and Summer semester groups will upload their project to the teaching server.

• Access to the World Wide Web
• Web browser
• E-Mail account
• IBM compatible computer
• Windows 9x, Me, NT, 2000, or XP
• Microsoft Office or WordPerfect Office