Kishwaukee College Syllabus
CIS 115 - 3001
Internet Fundamentals
2 Credit Hours, Fall 2017

Course Description

This course prepares students with the Internet skills and knowledge needed to work effectively in a modern business environment. Topics include Internet connection methods and protocols, web browsers, search engines, e-mail and other Internet communication tools, social networking, collaboration tools, security risks and tools, intellectual property issues, and job roles and opportunities in the IT field. Successful completion of this course prepares students to take the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW) Internet Business Associate exam. This course is one of three (CIS 115, CIS 118, CIS 140) that prepares students for the CIW Web Foundations Associate Certification. Two hours lecture/discussion/guided lab per week.

Prerequisite: None.

Meeting Time and Place

Lecture/Lab:   A-1374    
Time:9:30 A.M. - 10:45 A.M.Tuesday, Thursday
Dates:8/22/17 - 11/3/17 
Withdrawal date:10/23/17 
Labor Day:9/4/17School closed
Fall break:10/13/17School closed
Thanksgiving:11/22/17 5PM - 11/25/17School closed
Midterm exam:10/3/17during class
Final exam:11/2/179:30 A.M. - 10:45 A.M.

Instructor Information

Instructor: David G. Klick
Office:A-1342
Email:dklick@kish.edu
Phone:815/825-9337
Website:kermit.kish.edu/~dklick/
Backup website:klickfamily.com/david/school/
Desire2Learn:https://kish.desire2learn.com/
Dept. Secretary:815/825-9303 (Shelley Lawson)
Office hours:M 10:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M., 1:45 P.M. - 2:30 P.M.
T 1:45 P.M. - 2:30 P.M., 5:15 P.M. - 6:00 P.M.
W 10:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M., 1:45 P.M. - 2:30 P.M.
R 1:45 P.M. - 2:45 P.M.
other times by appointment

Expected Learner Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  1. identify the responsibilities and tasks of various IT positions
  2. explain the importance of standards in the IT field
  3. discuss Internet history
  4. compare and contrast Internet connection media/services
  5. identify hardware and software used to access the Internet
  6. identify and explain the purpose of common Internet protocols
  7. explain how domain names, DNS servers, and IP addresses are related
  8. describe the components of a URI/URL
  9. install and use multiple web browsers
  10. describe common elements of web browsers
  11. use browser add-ons and plug-ins
  12. download and store files from the Internet using a web browser
  13. identify common file formats found on the Internet
  14. conduct basic and advanced web searches
  15. evaluate Internet resources
  16. explain the components of an email
  17. use email to communicate effectively including sending and receiving attachments
  18. identify and explain the purpose of common Internet/network tools and services including FTP, SCP, Telnet/SSH, VNC, P2P, and LDAP
  19. use compression and decompression software
  20. use common Internet communication tools including IM, chat, blogs, wikis, and social networking
  21. describe common security threats and possible countermeasures
  22. discuss IT project management concepts and terminology

Required Text and Materials

  1. There is no required text. Materials will be found online across the Internet.
  2. Internet access
  3. Other miscellaneous items (mostly software - provided in class or on web)

Breakdown of Course Requirements

10 assignments @ 30 points each300 points
1 midterm exam @ 75 points 75 points
1 final exam @ 75 points 75 points
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Total450 points

Final Grade Determination

A = 90 - 100% 405 points or more
B = 80 - 89.9%360 - 404 points
C = 70 - 79.9%315 - 359 points
D = 60 - 69.9%270 - 314 points
F = below 60%less than 270 points
Grade reports will not be mailed out. Please check KishSOS,
My Student Info, under Academic Profile, Grades, for grade reports.

Course Procedures

  1. Students are expected to attend class sessions on time and prepared (Note: CIS 123 class sessions are optional attendance). Students should bring whatever they need to take notes to every class.
  2. Food and beverages are not permitted in the classrooms or labs. See a more detailed policy at http://kermit.kish.edu/~dklick/foodDrinkPolicy.html
  3. Cellphones, music players, etc. must be turned off in class.
  4. Students are expected to spend time outside of class completing assignments.
  5. A familiarity with computers and the Windows operating system is expected.
  6. Depending on the assignment, both digital and hardcopy versions of assignments may be required for submission. The procedure for submitting digital copies of assignments will be explained in class. Make sure you always keep a copy of all of your assignments. The instructor is NOT responsible for network failures, server failures, or student mistakes.
  7. The instructor answers many questions via email. Due to the high volume of requests, submissions, and questions received via email, the instructor must prioritize responses. Most questions will be answered (or at least acknowledged) within 48 hours. If you do not get a response when you expect one, please keep in mind that your email may have failed to reach the instructor, or may have automatically been rejected by an email client or server. Please try to contact the instructor again and possibly use the phone or an in-person visit if email is failing.

Make-up Policy

  1. Assignments are to be turned in on time. Assignments which are not turned in on time will not be accepted unless individual arrangements are made in advance with the instructor. In unusual cases where late assignments are accepted, the cost of being late is ten percent of the total possible points for every portion of a day late, up to a maximum of three days late. For example, an assignment received twenty-five hours past its due date will lose twenty percent of its total possible point value (because it is two days late). Assignments which are received more than three days (seventy-two hours) late will not be accepted and are not worth any points. Exceptions may be made to this rule if the student contacts the instructor before the due date and makes special arrangements in advance with the instructor. All late acceptance decisions of this nature are left solely to the discretion of the instructor. This rule does not apply once answers to an assignment have been distributed or posted. Assignments submitted after answers have been released are worth zero points even if the answers are posted one minute past the due date.
  2. Answers to assignments may be posted online, handed out in class, or sent via email by the instructor. Once an answer to an assignment has been released, no further submissions for the assignment will be allowed. This rule supersedes all other rules about when late assignments may be accepted. In general, the instructor will try to wait at least forty-eight hours before posting or distributing solutions, but there is no guarantee, so get your assignments in on time.
  3. Tests are to be taken at the day and time scheduled. Failure to take a test at the scheduled time may result in a grade of 0 for that test. In the case of an excusable absence or a genuine emergency, the instructor must be contacted as soon as possible, preferably before the scheduled test, to reschedule the makeup of that test in the Learning Skills Center on the day the student returns to campus.

Attendance Policy

Class attendance is strongly encouraged. You are responsible for whatever was covered in class, whether you are there or not. If you must miss a class, it is your responsibility to contact the instructor and make arrangements for notes, handouts, or announcements that were missed. Although attendance is not counted toward the final grade, there may be coursework which is done during class time which may count toward the final grade and may not be able to be taken outside of class time.

Kishwaukee College Policies and Resources

It is the responsibility of the student to be aware of Kishwaukee College Policies & Resources found on this link: kish.edu/kcsyllabuspolicies

Tentative Weekly Schedule

Please note that this schedule and the topics covered are likely to change. Changes will be announced in class. If you are not able to attend class, it is your responsibility to find out what was covered. A more detailed schedule is provided on the course website. Assignment descriptions and due dates will also be posted on the course web site.

Week Date(s) Topics
1 8/22, 8/24 Syllabus, IT job roles and career opportunities, Internet history, standards
2 8/29, 8/31 Social networking, blogging, IM, chat, effective electronic communication, convergence, HTML and CSS basics
3 9/5, 9/7 Internet technology, types of connections, protocols, DNS, cloud computing
4 9/12, 9/14 Web browsing, browser use and configuration, cookies, URIs/URLs, proxy servers
5 9/19, 9/21 Multimedia on the web, browser add-ons/plug-ins, file formats, downloading files, data compression
6 9/26, 9/28 Databases, searching on the web, search strategies, advanced search techniques, evaluating resources, citing sources
7 10/3, 10/5 Midterm exam (10/3, during regular class time),
E-mail use and configuration, e-mail problems and solutions, netiquette (10/5)
8 10/10, 10/12 Security, encryption, authentication, firewalls, malware categories and detection, countermeasures
9 10/17, 10/19 Internet services and tools: newsgroups, list servers, telnet/ssh, FTP, LDAP, CVS, VNC; EULAs, patents, and copyright
10 10/24, 10/26 IT project management overview
11 10/31, 11/2 Review for final exam if time permits (10/31),
Final exam (11/2, during regular class time)