CSIT 105 COURSE SYLLABUS (Sections: 01, 02 & 03)

Visual Basic I (Fall 2008)

SUNY at Fredonia

1.  Visual Basic I: This course is a three-credit course and is given in a modern computer laboratory to provide students hands-on exposure to the following major topics:  Introduction to object-oriented and event-driven programming concepts using the Visual Basic (VB). VB development environment; intrinsic controls and programming structures; data types, declarations, input/output, decision making and loops; formatting; functions and subroutines; program development: graphics and business applications. It will cover first five/six chapters of your text.

Prerequisite: Three units of high school mathematics.  No previous programming experience required.

2.  Course Textbook:  Starting with Visual Basic 2005, 3rd. ed., Tony Gaddis & Kip Irvine (Pearson, Addison Wesley, 2007). Included with the text should be a CD set containing the standard edition of Microsoft Visual Basic.NET version 2005 that can be installed on your own computer if you wish to. Textbook can be purchased from the college bookstore or from publisher's website.

3.  Learning Goals:  This course is intended to give students an introduction to programming with Microsoft Visual Basic (VB), using the .NET (2005) platform. They will learn programming from a task-driven point of view rather than command-driven approach.  The main goal of this course is to design Visual basic applications, which is a two-step building process:

(i) Designing of the Graphical User Interface (GUI): The first part of an application design is to create its GUI, which is done in the “Design Window”. This is a fun part and students always enjoy creating it. It can be done very easily, just by clicking on an object from several choices in the “ToolBox” window, dragging it and then releasing it onto something called “Form” object.

(ii) Writing of the Code: The second part is to write the code of an application, which is done in the “Code Window”. This part needs practice, involves critical thinking and some knowledge of high school mathematics. Most of students will require my help and that is why we will have last 20 minutes of each class period for you to work on building of the application as mentioned in Item 4 given below. If you can master the code part, there is an ample possibility of you after graduating to land job of software engineer in a company where your knowledge of coding and designing of applications can be utilized. Coding part is no doubt is difficult, but I am there to help you out.

4. Learning through Active Learning Activities:  Before coming to class, you must go through the reading material as indicated in each Lab Assignment sheet handout and be prepared for participating in an active learning activity. By working through assignment sheet handouts, students will learn how to design and use VB.NET applications found in the workplace as well as in daily life. Students will design applications like a Wage Calculator, which could calculate weekly or biweekly paycheck of a person working in a small company or in an educational institute like a college/university. Students will also learn to design applications that could compute how much payment one is supposed to make for a Hotel Bill or Restaurant Bill. Instructor will devote first 20 minutes of a class period to teach the lecture part and rest of the class time will be spent by students to work on exercises/tutorials the instructor has discussed in initial 20 minutes duration. Thus, students will be involved actively in the learning process and will not watch the instructor lecturing throughout the class period so as to avoid the boredom. Depending upon the student’s consent, instructor may skip the lecture part altogether, and let the students work independently to solve problems during class time. Students are encouraged to take help of his/her neighboring student in case of having difficulty in understanding a new concept or in coding of an application. Even, they may form a small group of three to four students to tackle a relatively tedious application design and its coding. Students are most welcome to ask me questions during lecture/class time, and are encouraged to actively involve in the learning of course material.  

5. Course Resources:  There is a website for this course, which is password protected. All course announcements, power point lecture notes, assignment handouts and any other information relevant to the course work will be posted on ANGEL.

Course website on ANGEL: https://angel.fredonia.edu/frames.aspx

6. Exams, Quizzes, and Projects: All Exams, quizzes and projects must be taken on the date scheduled. Failure to do so will result in a zero for that Exam or quiz or project grade.  An Exam or quiz or project missed due to absence cannot be made up unless prior arrangements have been made 24 hours before starting of an Exam/Quiz with the instructor and should be validated with a written excuse from the proper authority (e.g., doctor’s note for sickness or a copy of death certificate of a family member/friend in case of death or a written note from your coach if you are an athlete/participate in college supports) will be required before a makeup is considered.

7.  Grading of Assignments and Projects: We will try to complete around ten Lab Assignments, some Quizzes and a Final Project during the course work. All Lab assignments and projects are due at the beginning of class on the dates to be set by the instructor.  Each Lab Assignment completed before deadline will be given an extra credit of two points.  A 15% penalty will be assessed for each calendar day of lateness.  Assignments/projects handed in more than FIVE DAYS late will not be accepted for credit. These Lab assignments and projects are to represent your own efforts at a solution. All parties involved in copying a given assignment shall get zero score. You should spend at least three hours per week outside of class to complete the assignments. Lab assignment and project due dates will be announced in class and posted on ANGEL.  It is your responsibility to keep a track of all course announcements including due dates of lab assignments/projects. No excuse or blame game for missing the deadline date of an Assignment/Project. The grading will be done on the basis of the score obtained in assignments, and projects as shown in Table I and a letter grade will assignments on the basis of criteria as mentioned in Table II.

Table I: It is used for calculating the percent grade 

Table II: This table is used to determine the letter grade.

8.  Class Attendance: Class attendance is highly recommended as all lab assignments and projects are based upon the class work and since during class time you can most easily get help while you work through the lab activities. You are responsible for all the material presented in class and announcements. No excuses of any nature will relieve you from the responsibility of missed announcements.

9.  Academic Honesty: The specific actions in response to incidents of student dishonesty are inclusive of receiving a failing grade for an assignment/project or the course, suspension or dismissal from college. I grades are given only if illness, hardship or any other extra ordinary circumstances preclude the completion of the course.  Here, again a written excuse from proper authority (e.g. a written note from your doctor for sickness or a copy of death certificate in case of death of a family member/friend or a written note from your coach in case you participate in college supports) is required to consider your request. An I grade must be arranged before the final project.

10.   Click here for the Academic Calendar of Fall 2008

       (a) Bring your USB flash drive to class daily. I recommend you use your personal storage space (U:\) on the Fredonia server mainly for backup purposes, which should be done regularly.  Flash is used to do tutorials/assignments in class, but most likely we will use the Drop Box feature in Angel. Any work turned in must be clearly labeled (student's name and lab activity) with solution files saved with the suggested file names from the textbook.

       (b) Textbooks should be brought to each class. Take time to read the required text.  We may do some parts of (or some variation thereof) the tutorials together in class; otherwise it is expected that you will perform the tasks in the tutorials on your own as you read the material. The completed tutorial lessons and assigned exercises will be handed in as indicated on the lab sheets. 

       (c) A large portion of our class time will be used to work on labs, but you will still need to plan additional time outside of class to complete the activities. Refer to the lab sheets for the tutorial assignments and corresponding due dates.  Remember, NO LAB WILL BE ACCEPTED MORE THAN FIVE CALENDAR DAYS LATE!

    (d) Each completed lab will consist of the lab sheet as a cover sheet, printouts as indicated in assignment handout or a folder submitted via ANGEL, CLEARLY LABELED, containing the appropriate files from that chapter. All printouts arranged chronologically, please.   Incomplete labs will not be graded.

Note: This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of instructor.