CSC 100 Computers and Their Uses 3 cr. DII

This course provides an overview of the capabilities, uses and limitations of computers. The major types of software package are discussed: operating systems, word processors, database systems, spreadsheets and communications packages. Applications of computers in areas such as business, education, graphic arts, medicine and engineering are surveyed. The major focus of the course is to present these topics in the context of the impact of computers on functions such as decision-making, information storage, research and personal productivity. The general discussion is reinforced by skills-oriented lecture/demonstrations and assignments using specific software packages. Three lecture hours per week plus laboratory work outside of class. Not open to students who have received credit for CSC 180. This course satisfies the Computer Literacy core requirement.
Prerequisites: High school algebra I & II.

Outline of major topics:

Literacy component (28 lecture hours)

  • introduction to computers (4 lecture hours)
    • what is a computer?
    • why do we use a computer?
    • typical methods of interfacing with a computer (keyboard, touch screen, etc.)
    • typical integrations of computers in the working and personal environments
    • how to communicate with a computer
    • basic terminology (vocabulary list, possibly including definitions, for software and hardware)
    • classification and uses of computer types
  • fundamental capabilities and limitations of a computer (1 lecture hour)
    • Garbage In Garbage Out, software & hardware fallibility
    • evolutionary nature of computer development
    • hardware changes force evolution of software & vice versa
  • software capabilities (1 lecture hour)
    • what is software? where does it come from?
    • categorization of software: application, general purpose and operating system
  • major types of available packaged software (1.5 lecture hours)
    • word processing, desktop publishing, spreadsheets, graphics, communications, database systems, integrated packages, statistical packages, compilers/interpreters
  • applications of computers (3 lecture hours)
    • types of applications: record keeping, information management, decision support, artificial intelligence, personal productivity, research, machine control, computer aided instruction, etc.
    • application areas: business, education, entertainment, graphic arts, publishing, medicine, etc.
  • word processors (2 lecture hours)
    • capabilities, uses, limitations
  • understanding the specific nature and requirements of a problem (3 lecture hours)
    • how the details of a specific situation determine software requirements
    • Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
    • user participation in the SDLC
  • evaluation, comparison, and selection of software packages (2 lecture hours)
    • role of user requirements in package assessment
    • assigning priorities to requirements
    • hardware influences on package performance
    • capabilities, uses, limitations of specific types of software (6 lecture hours)
  • inter-computer communications (1 lecture hour)
    • data communications, local-area networks, distributed systems, information utilities, bulletin boards
  • societal impact of computers (1.5 lecture hours)
    • privacy/security issues
    • computer ethics, computer crime
    • information integrity
    • career opportunities
    • computers for the disadvantaged or impaired
  • selecting a computer system (2 lecture hours)
    • functional description of the hardware components of a computer, and how to use this information in selecting a computer system
  • additional topics (as time permits)
    • basics of algorithm design
    • future possibilities in packaged software development
    • upcoming hardware development

Skills Component (14 lecture hours)

The skills component of this course is an extension of specific subcomponents of the literacy component. For example, the sixth literacy subcomponent deals with word processors as a basic type of software package and focuses on generic uses and capabilities. The students will have developed a basic understanding of what they are trying to accomplish by using this type of package, and therefore the skills subcomponent devoted to word processors can cover a specific word processing package, concentrating on the particular keywords, syntax and function keys necessary to make the package work. Thus, from a functional point of view, students will have had a total of six units (two general, four specific) devoted to word processors.

  • basic computer operations (demonstration) (1 lecture hour)
    • turning on machine, loading operating system, re-booting, diskette usage
  • operating system examples (including DOS, Mac and Windows environments) (3 lecture hours)
    • creating, copying and deleting files and directories
    • disk formatting and copying
    • installing software
  • word processing (4 lecture hours)
    • document creation and backup
    • text manipulation
    • reformatting
    • document import/export
  • other packages (6 lecture hours)
    • communications
    • specific packages chosen as appropriate
      • specific to certain majors/disciplines for dedicated sections
      • generic, chosen to be most generally useful, for open sections

The typical distribution of time will be two "literacy" hours and one "skills" hour per week. "Skills" lectures are conducted in the classroom, using portable equipment.

Assignments, examinations, and grading will be uniform across all sections (with possible exceptions for the discipline- specific skills topics in those sections dedicated to a designated major or discipline).

Bibliography:

Note: The titles marked * in this list are bundled together to serve as the current texts for the course.

  • * Beekman, George. Computer Confluence: Exploring Tomorrow's Technology. Third Edition. (Addison-Wesley, 1999)
  • Doheny-Farina, Stephen. The Wired Neighborhood. (Yale University Press, 1996)
  • * Ewen, Gary Select Lab Series: Projects for Microsoft Windows 98. (Addison-Wesley, 1999)
  • Gates, Bill. The Road Ahead. (Viking, 1995)
  • Gelernter, David. Mirror Worlds, or: The day software puts the universe in a shoebox... How it will happen and what it will mean. (Oxford University Press, 1991)
  • Gilster, Paul. Digital Literacy: The thinking and survival skills new users need to make the Internet personally and professionally meaningful. (Wiley, 1997)
  • * Johnson, Yvonne. Select Lab Series: Projects for Microsoft Word 2000. (Addison-Wesley, 2000)
  • * Koneman, Philip A. Select Lab Series: Projects for Microsoft Excel 2000. (Addison-Wesley, 2000)
  • * Lehnert, Wendy G. Light on the Internet: Essentials of the Internet and the World Wide Web. (Addison-Wesley, 1999)
  • Levy, Steven. Artificial Life: The Quest for a New Creation. (Pantheon Books, 1992)
  • Moravec, Hans. Mind Children: the Future of Robot and Human Intelligence. (Harvard University Press, 1988)
  • Murray, Charles J. The Supermen: The story of Seymour Cray and the technical wizards behind the supercomputer. (Wiley, 1997)
  • Papert, Seymour. The Connected Family: Bridging the Digital Generation Gap. (Longstreet Press, 1996)
  • Penrose, Roger. Shadows of the Mind: A Search for the Missing Science of Consciousness. (Oxford University Press, 1994)
  • Stoll, Clifford. The Cuckoo's Egg. (Doubleday, 1989)
  • Stoll, Clifford. Silicon Snake Oil: Second Thoughts on the Information Highway. (Doubleday, 1995)
  • Stork, David G. HAL's Legacy: 2001's Computer as Dream and Reality.
  • Turkle, Sherry. Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. (Simon and Schuster, 1996)


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