550 InfoTech Course Site - Summer

Requirements for Introduction to Information Technologies

Online Summer 2024

Prerequisites

Students are expected to have basic knowledge and/or familiarity with:

  • Text editing software (such as Microsoft Word): create documents with Microsoft Word displaying formatted text formatting, lists, alignment, and headers and footer.
  • Spreadsheet software (such as Microsoft Excel): create a spreadsheet with Microsoft Excel displaying the use of formatting (for labels and values), formulae, functions, and basic charting.
  • Presentation software (such as Microsoft Powerpoint or Apple Keynote): create a presentation using PowerPoint that incorporates appropriate use of text and images, textual and basic graphic formatting, and slide transitions and/or custom animations.
  • Web browsing and navigation: use a program such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer or Firefox to browse the web and bookmark sites; use basic and advanced features of a search engine such as Google or Bing.
  • Basic computing concepts: have an introductory level understanding of terms such as processors, RAM, and storage media (hard drive, CD) and peripherals (monitors, printers, etc.).
  • Basic networking concepts: have an introductory level understanding of terms such as Ethernet, WiFi, broadband, narrowband, hub/router/switch, protocols, IP and DNS.
  • Basic computer & network security concepts: have an introductory level understanding of data backups, malware and malware prevention, and safe computing practices.

Textbooks

We will be using W3Schools resources as our "textbook" since they are well-written, concise and free and contain many interactive exercises that will help you learn the technical concepts more easily.

Recommended: Castro + Hyslop: HTML and CSS: Visual QuickStart Guide 8th Edition - Order | Companion Site

Recommended: Nixon : Learning PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript 1st Edition - Order | Companion Site

LinkedIn Learning (previously called LyndaCampus)

  • SC&I is subscribing to a service called LinkedIn Learning that is a school-wide version of linkedin.com/learning, an online training library with many video based training movies. LinkedIn Learning is available for free for students registered in SC&I courses and can be used to learn software, programming skills, video techniques, etc.  
    Titles include: all of MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, etc.), all of Adobe (DreamWeaver, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Animate, etc.), Fundamentals of Video, iMovie, Social Media Marketing, Twitter, SPSS, Google Docs, HTML5, CSS, MySQL, PHP, Python, C/C++/C#, WordPress, etc. Students can watch the videos, follow along with exercise files, and even print a certificate of completion upon completion of a course.
  • Login to LinkedIn Learning (when you first log into LinkedIn Learning, you are given the opportunity to personalize your profile).
  • Remember: you must be logged into LinkedIn Learning to be able to access the linkedin.com/learning videos included in the Lectures page of this course.
  • For more information and access instructions, please see https://it.rutgers.edu/linkedin-learning/. For any difficulties accessing the content of linkedin.com/learning please contact SC&I IT Services at help@comminfo.rutgers.edu.

Software

  • Simple Code Editor for HTML, CSS, JavaScript & PHP coding

Grading

You will be able to resubmit the individual exercises to improve your score based on the provided feedback. Because of this, the shown grading scale is used.
95 - 100 A
90 - 95 B+
85 - 90 B
80 - 85 C+
75 - 80 C

Discussions & Quizzes (15% of Course Grade)

There will be class discussions conducted online and several quizzes:

  • Discussions (7.5% of Course Grade)

    Discussions will be conducted online, either using Sakai or eCollege, because the online format leads to everybody contributing and better comprehension of the content.

  • Quizzes (7.5% of Course Grade)

    Quizzes will be "open book" to help you to check your understanding of key technical concepts and facts. Quizzes will be accessible via Canvas or Sakai.

Individual Exercises (67.5% of Course Grade)

There will be five individual exercises that can be resubmitted based on the received feedback:

  • Exercise 1: HTML & Multimedia – Create Information Resource (12.5%)
  • Exercise 2: CSS –Enhance Information Resource with CSS(12.5%)
  • Exercise 3: Front-End Frameworks– Create Information Resource with Responsive Layout(12.5%)
  • Exercise 4: Open Source, Forms & JavaScript – Identify & Evaluate Open Source Info Tech Tool, Create Form and Validate with JavaScript (15%)
  • Exercise 5: Forms, MySQL and PHP Basics – Create Form and PHP Page to Record Form Data in MySQL Table and to Display Form Data (15%)

Term Project: Dynamic Web – Create Dynamic Website using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP and MySQL (17.5% of Course Grade)

  • The term project brings together what has been covered in this course and what you have practiced in the exercises to create a website with dynamically created content.