Comp Sci 1TA3: Elementary Computing and Computer Use
Course Overview
I took this course in the second term of 2008-2009 year with Prof. John Nakamura. This course covers the overview of a computers system: hardware, software (including the operating system), data representation, data storage and information exchange (including word-processing, e-mail and the Internet). Then, problem solving using application packages (with emphasis on spreadsheet and database applications).
*There is no textbook for this course. All you need is to study the lecture notes and the assignment problems.
Course Breakdown- Midterms (Test 1 = 15% , Test 2 = 18%) - 33%
- Assignment (5 assignments) - 17%
- Final Exam - 50%
Midterms
The midterms are 1 hour long and it involve a lot of memorizing. The lecture notes and the assignment problems are all you need to prepare for the midterms. You will need to know all the acronyms for the computer terms that are on the lecture notes. The questions on the midterms are all short-answer questions. There are some True or False questions that you need to explain if it is false. The questions they ask are very specific so make sure you know all the little detail of the topic. Also, you need to be able to explain and give examples for some questions. Make sure you know how to solve the problems that you do on the assignments because some questions are based that. (in the application part of the midterms)
Assignment
There were 5 assignments in total. The first assignment was worth 1% and it was a giveaway. The remaining four assignments are worth 4% each. The assignments include knowing how to use a Word software, creating a database, using spreadsheet to organize data and calculate the result, and creating a website using HTML with CSS. The assignments could be pretty challenging to people that have little to no experience to database, spreadsheet and HTML. But, the professor would usually post up some links and notes that can help you out. If you read the posted notes before you try the assignments, you should be okay. I recommend you start early on the assignment because if you don’t know understand the assignment, you can go to the professor and ask him. To get perfect on an assignment, you will need to include things that the professor would like to see but not required. You can ask the professor for what he looks for as a criteria to get a perfect mark.
Tutorial
The purpose of the tutorial is to help students out with the assignments and to review the materials that we had learned in lecture. The TA were not very helpful so if you have questions about anything, you should go to the professor.
Final ExamAgain, it was all short answers questions. You will need to memorize all the little details of the lecture notes and be able to give examples. There are also a lot of applications problems on database, spreadsheet and HTML. Make sure you practice a lot and study early. The final exam is worth a lot and there is no room for error.
Professor
Prof. Nakamura was a pretty decent professor. He answers all questions that you ask him. If you have problems with the assignments, he always welcomes you to come to his office. The lecture could get boring but it is important that you go to lecture and take good notes.
Notes
The content and the grading scheme of this course are subjected to change due to the preference of course adminstration by different professor. (This up coming year, the professor will be Mr. C. Anand)
