Important Information for
Students Enrolled in CIS 20 online
Information from College of the Redwoods Distance Education webpage
(http://www.redwoods.edu/Departments/Distance/index.asp):
The Virtual Campus is designed for students who want to take a College of the Redwoods' course, but for a variety of reasons either cannot take the course on campus or prefer the distance education environment. If you have a full-time job, family obligations, schedule conflicts, disabilities, live far from a College of the Redwoods' campus, prefer distance education classes, or even simply want to try something new, an online course at CR may be a good choice.
Online classes have the same course objectives, curriculum, and often the same class syllabus as the classroom sections of the course. Classes are semester-long, beginning with the regular classes and ending during finals' week. The difference is the method of course delivery. For most online sections, learning is primarily through instructor-directed reading, writing, and class participation. Most or all assignments and exams are web-based. To succeed you need to have:
For more information regarding distance education at College of the Redwoods, you can contact Maggie Lynch, the Dean of distance education at Maggie-Lynch@redwoods.edu.
Information Specific to Programming
with Data Structures CIS 20
Online Fall 2009
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Instructor: |
Chris Romero chris-romero@redwoods.edu; phone: 707-476-4366 |
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Welcome: |
Welcome to Programming with Data Structures online. This information is for students who are considering this course or have already registered for the class.. |
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Course Description: |
A study of data structures and the algorithms that proceed from them. Topics include recursion, the underlying philosophy of object-oriented programming, fundamental data structures (linked lists, queues, stacks, trees, and hash tables), and the basics of algorithmic analysis. This is an intermediate programming course using the Java programming. |
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Required Textbooks/Materials: |
Starting Out with
Java from Control Sturctures through Data Structures By: Tony Gaddis and
Godfrey Muganda. 0-321-42102-7 Please purchase your textbook and CD well before the class begins. You will need it beginning the first day of class. |
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Course Availability: |
The course will become available the weekend before CR classes begin in the Fall. |
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Instructor Contact: |
You may contact me at the email address listed above. During the academic year: On weekdays, you can expect a response within 24 hours. At other times, including weekends, I check my email and class website nearly every day. My office phone number is 707-476-4366 where you can also leave a voice-mail message. You can always visit me in person at my Eureka campus office in the Administration Building (AD 100K). During the summer and holidays: I check my email intermittently, usually weekly. |
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Student Contact: |
It is very important that College of the Redwoods has your current email address. You can confirm or update your email address by going to WebAdvisor from the CR homepage, logon, and choose the "student" option. Click on address/phone/email update. |
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On-Campus Requirement: |
There are no requirements to attend on-campus meetings. All exams will be online. |
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Course Requirements: |
Prerequisite: None Recommended: CIS18 and Math 376 |
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Computer Set-Up and Skills |
Your Computer Skills: Online courses require adequate computer skills. You
should be able to navigate websites, open and download files, and submit
files to MyCR. Familiarity with MyCR or another course management tool is
recommended. Go to http://mycr.redwoods.edu/
for more information about MyCR. Username and password instructions
are available at this site. There are also tutorials, guides and contact
information for our distance education support staff provided on the website. Computer Requirements: Most computers and internet providers are adequate.
You will need a browser program and an FLV (Flash Video) (.flv) player
program and speakers (or headphones) to view the brief tutorials I have
provided. I would recommend broadband services through cable, DSL, or
satellite providers. You need to have regular access to the internet at
least twice a week and for possibly hours at a time for 15 weeks. Click
here
for an example FLV player program to download. (Windows XP, Vista) Click
here
for an example FLV player program for the Mac. Click
here
to view a sample vodcast (4 MB file. flv format) Click
here
to listen to the course welcome podcast (.mp3) Plug-ins/Viewers: If you are on a web site that
requires a plug-in or offers a file stored in a PDF format, you can download the files from
one of these sites: Specific Programming Software: This class requires that
the Sun Microsystem’s JDK 5.0 software application be installed onto
your computer from either the textbook’s CD or the Sun Microsystem
website. Appendix D in the textbook
covers JDK installation. You will also need an Integrated
Development Environment (IDE). In addition, install your favorite Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Many of you will be coming from our CIS 18 course where you used BlueJ. BlueJ is perfectly fine to continue to use for our course too. Your student CD includes many other IDEs. If you have never worked with another IDE before, I recommend DrJava. It is straightforward to use and less cluttered than the more robust IDEs also provided. Lastly, a word-processor will be required to prepare your answers to exercises. If you will be using a word-processor other than Microsoft, please save your documents in a compatible format like .rtf. |
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Online Commitment: |
Your commitment will require at least as much time as you would dedicate to a traditional class and greater self discipline. A typical 4 credit hour lecture/lab class will require about 12 hours per week of your time. You will need to read posted lectures (and/or listen to lecture audio files), read textbook chapters, participate in online discussions, complete assignments, write and submit programs, and take online midterm and final exams. Plan to be online at least several times each week. |
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Discussion Boards |
Active online participation
is required. Our class discussions will be more interesting and
meaningful when each student provides comments and personal
insight about the subject matter. The quality of your forum posts
will be a significant part of your final score. You will be required to make one
quality post by Wednesday of each week and make two quality responses to your
peers by Saturday of each week. Please
refer to the syllabus for details on how to succeed with your online
participation. |
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Student Online Readiness |
The online learning environment
is not for everyone. In addition to your commitment, you need to be aware of
what online learning involves. I strongly recommend you visit the following
links to see if online learning is right for you. Lastly, we do offer this
class at the Eureka campus every Spring semester. |
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Registration: |
Registration is easiest online using WebAdvisor. If the class is closed, please do not contact me as I will direct you to WebAdvisor and encourage you to keep trying to add the class. |
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Getting Started:
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On or shortly after the first day of class, go to the MyCR login site at http://mycr.redwoods.edu/ Username and password instructions are available at this site. After you login you will find a link to the class where you will receive detailed instructions on how to proceed. You must participate fully by the end of the first week (Sunday) or you may be dropped from the class. |
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Accommodations: |
If you need accommodations to succeed in this online class you should contact Disabled and Student Services Program at 707-476-4280 and the instructor. This course is designed to be accessible to students who have visual or auditory impairments. |
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Student Resources |