Welcome to Computer Applications for Business. This course will introduce you to the fundamentals of information technology, with an emphasis on business applications. The course examines computer hardware and software, networking technology concepts, and gives you hands-on experience with electronic spreadsheets, webpage design, and programming applications for problem solving using JavaScript. No prior experience in using a computer is needed--this course is intended for beginners. CS170 Course information and materials are all accessible through Canvas ( https://canvas.rutgers.edu/)

CS170 meets Core Curriculum Goals:

. Mathematical or Formal Reasoning (QR)

. Information Technology and Research (ITR)

Course Dates

• Classes begin on Tuesday, January 19th, 2021

•     Recitations begin Tuesday, January 19th, 2021 and continue through Monday, May 3rd, 2021.

•     Recitations and Lectures are Synchronous or Asynchronous Remote for Spring 2021. See https://rutgers.instructure.com/courses/104674 for      links to specific location details.

Computer Applications for Business (01:198:170) meets for three fifty-five-minute periods a week, two lectures and one recitation. New material is presented in lecture by your instructor. Your recitation instructor (teaching assistant (TA)) meets with you during recitation to review class material, review assignments and exams, explain software applications, and answer questions  related to  lecture,  software  assignments,  programming,  etc.  Questions  are always welcome in lecture, but can also be asked in your small group setting during recitation or through the Piazza tool in Canvas (explained later in this document).

This course will use Canvas, an online class management tool. Students enrolled for this class are expected to login to Canvas using their Rutgers netid. https://canvas.rutgers.edu/ All announcements, additional course resources and assignments will come through Canvas.

Computer Applications for Business requires a considerable amount of computer work, which you must complete on your own time. All assignments are hands-on. As a general rule, you should expect to complete one assignment each week throughout the semester.  You will be completing the assignments using your own computer as we are

REMOTE for Spring 2021. If you have technical difficulties, you should first GOOGLE possible solutions. If you can’t solve your problems, you should meet with your TA or instructor DURING OFFICE HOURS for assistance or send an email to your TA. All contact information is listed in Canvas Course Information Module or can be linked to from the Course Home Page.

Note: Enrollment in CS170 is restricted to pre-business majors (curriculum code 006), Environmental and Business

Economics majors (curriculum code 373), and Sports Management (curriculum code 955). Students other than 006, 373, and 955  majors should register for CS110 - Introduction to Computers and Applications (01:198:110). If you are a computer science major (curriculum code 198), you will not receive CS credit towards your major for the course.

Course Instructors

Course Learning Objectives

After completing this course, the student will be able to:

.     Identify major hardware components of a computer and the function of each; explain the specifications

provided when purchasing a computer.

.     Discuss the positive and negative impacts of innovations in computing/technology on society, economy, and culture.

.     Explain the levels of abstractions that exist in computer hardware and software.

.     Describe the basic aspects of computer networks.

.     Convert numbers among the bases 10, 2, 8, and 16.

.     Explain the representation of data in bits and explain the related impact of storing text, photos, audio, and videos.

.     Describe how to increase/decrease brightness/contrast in digital photos.

.     Identify appropriate compression techniques for given applications and explain the reasoning behind choices made.

.     Identify protocols that govern the internet and WWW (IP/TCP, HTTP/HTML, SSL/TSL) and explain the function/purpose of each.

.     Explain the function of DNS.

.     Explain how and why cryptography, steganography, public key encryption, etc. are used.

.     Write a computer program that solves a problem or completes a task according to given specifications.

.     Identify, explain, and correct errors in a computer program.

.     Trace a computer program or algorithm and describe the program result.

.     Appropriately use variables, decision statements, and loops in a computer program.

.     Informally compare the efficiency among algorithms.

.     Use arrays to store and retrieve data in a computer program.

.     Write reusable methods (functions) to complete specific tasks in a computer program.

.     Implement event driven programming concepts.

.     Identify advantages and disadvantages of big data being available through Internet access.

.     Identify cybersecurity concerns and explain privacy and security as it relates to the information available on the Internet.

.     Explain and give examples of crowdsourcing, mashups, computer simulations and models.

.     Create an interactive website following given specifications.

.     Use Excel to construct formulas, including built-in functions and relative and absolute references.

.     Include appropriate charts and graphs in Excel worksheets.

.     Use Excel pivot tables and VLookup tables to filter and display data.

.     Develop questions that can be answered using data given and refine the answers using available spreadsheet tools.

Topics and Reading Assignments

Listed below is a general outline of topics for the semester. Generally, each topic is covered in one or two lectures. Specific learning goals are posted in Canvas.  Please have any assigned readings done BEFORE class so that you can ask any questions that may arise in response to the material. Additional reading assignments and resources will be posted in Canvas.

Academic Integrity

The Department of Computer Science strictly adheres to the Rutgers University Policy on Academic Integrity, as described on the Academic Integrity at Rutgers website http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/ . Students enrolled in Department  of  Computer Science  courses  are  advised that  all  allegations  of  academic  dishonesty  will  be  fully investigated and any evidence of academic dishonesty will be reported to Office of Student Conduct for appropriate action. With regard to software applications assignments and programming assignments, it is a violation of academic integrity to copy someone else's work or to permit another person to copy your work. While you may discuss programming and software assignments with other students at a general level, all coding, debugging, preparation, refinement, and testing of assignments should be entirely your own work. With regard to exams and quizzes, it is a violation of academic integrity to search out answers on the internet, to use on-line tutors, or to ask any other human (in person or via technology) for assistance. Just as copying or collaborating on an examination is dishonest, turning in a program or software applications assignment which is a clone of someone else’s work is also dishonest. Students enrolled in computer science courses are required to follow department guidelines and responsibilities on academic integrity. Failure to accept these guidelines will result in denial of access to Canvas.

Do not work with others on assignments. This is considered cheating and, if detected, will earn you 0 points for the incident.  If two identical (or VERY similar) pieces of work are handed in, both parties receive a ZERO.

There will be no appeals to this rule. If one student’s name appears on an assignment submitted by another student, both students receive a ZERO. IN ALL CASES, an Academic Integrity Violation will be filed at the

University Level.

Watch the following short videos about Rutgers Academic Integrity Policies.

. Rutgers New Brunswick Academic Integrity: Violation Types

. Rutgers New Brunswick Academic Integrity: Violation Levels and Outcomes

Honor pledge:

All students will need to sign the Rutgers Honor Pledge on every major exam, assignment, or other assessment as follows:

On my honor, I have neither received nor given any unauthorized assistance on this examination (assignment, paper, quiz, etc.).

Canvas Tools

ANNOUNCEMENTS are made through Canvas Announcement tool. Any changes in schedules or other course information your instructors and TAs wish to share with you are commonly shared via this tool. You will get an email indicating when an announcement has been posted. It is YOUR responsibility to read all course announcements.

THE MODULES TOOL in Canvas contains all course resources. You will find the Course Syllabus and Recitation Virtual Locations in the Course Information Module. You will also find the email addresses of the course instructors and teaching assistants (TAs) as well as their office hours and lab support hours in this module. Lecture topics, resources, and study guides, and learning objectives are also posted in the Canvas Modules tool à Readings and Resources by Week.

THE ASSIGNMENTS TOOL is where you find all the CS  170 assignments and where you go to submit your assignments.  You can view the assignment due date and the assignment details here. All of your graded work is

listed in this tool. You will see different “categories” of grades: Assignments, Quizzes, Exams, Extra Credit. This will be explained to you throughout the semester.

THE GRADES TOOL keeps a list of the assignments given and your grade for each assignment, quiz, exam, and extra  credit  opportunity.  Failure  to  submit  an  assignment  through  Canvas  will  result  in  a  grade  of  0  for the assignment in gradebook. It is your responsibility to check your grades frequently and report any discrepancies to your TA and your instructor immediately. Do not wait until the end of the semester to contest any grade.

THE SYLLABUS TOOL links to the official course syllabus and is also populated with all due dates for all graded items as they are posted.

PIAZZA This tool is used for class discussion. The system is highly catered to getting you help fast and efficiently from classmates, the TA, and the instructors. Rather than emailing questions to the teaching staff, you are

encouraged to post your questions on Piazza. If you have any problems or feedback for the developers, email [email protected] .

Find our class signup link at: https://rutgers.instructure.com/courses/104674/external_tools/1590

THE FILES TOOL is similar to a file folder. This main folder contains all files that are linked to by the other Canvas tools. There are several sub-folders in here. The materials for each Module are located in the sub-folder with the same name. You can access the materials directly from the FILES tool without downloading the files.

Course Materials

Required Text

Fluency7 with Information Technology

Skills, Concepts, and Capabilities

by Snyder and Henry

eTextbook version (preferred):

ISBN-13: 9780134449395

ISBN-10: 0134449398

Print version:

ISBN-13: 9780134448725

ISBN-10: 0134448723

Note: the textbook is available at major online book sellers such as vitalsource.com

You do not need

additional textbook

materials (such as CDs,

DVDs, etc.), just the

textbook.

Additional Readings: Will be posted in Canvas.

External File Storage:

You should always make sure to backup all of your work to a cloud-based folder just in case you have “issues” with your computer!

Other Software:

. Spreadsheets: MS Excel 2016 will be used during the semester. Rutgers provides free MS Office – including MS    Excel    -    to     its    students     (https://it.rutgers.edu/microsoft-office/microsoft-office-for-students/)

Assignments #9 – Recitation Project require you to upload Excel files. Files done with Google Sheets or Numbers are not accepted.

. Flowcharting software:

o Draw.io is available free online (https://www.draw.io/)

o  Optional:  Flowcharting  software Flowgorithm is available for free download only for Windows machines (http://flowgorithm.org/)

o MS Word 2016 can also generate flowcharts, but some students find it more cumbersome to utilize

ScarletApps:

ScarletApps is a cloud-based, cross-application, collaborative environment that will provide software applications, website development tools, email, and a portal start page. Using ScarletApps means your files are available from any computer at any time. Tutorials for ScarletApps are available at https://oit.rutgers.edu/scarletapps Google Drive is included as part of this online package.

ScarletMail:

All CS170 students should open a ScarletMail account by the end of the first week of classes.

Information about ScarletMail is located at http://mail.scarletmail.rutgers.edu/.

Notes for using your own laptop

.       Assignments submitted to Canvas must be readable in software used for this course.

. Assignments submitted to&nbs