Syllabus
Time: Monday 4-6:20 pm Huntington Smith Hall 433
Wednesday 6:30-9:30 pm MUGC 323
Course Description:
This course is designed to provide the skills and knowledge to manage a network. It is not meant to be a course in the administration of a LAN. The course focuses are higher-level management issues that impact the delivery of data. The delivery mode of the course is hybrid: in-class and on-line. Pre-requisite: IS 622, or TM 660, or permission
Textbook: Networking in the Internet Age , Alan Dennis
Course Objectives: Upon the completion of the course students will be able to:
Course Format:
The format of this course will be as a hybrid (part in-class and on-line). The methods of instruction will use lecture, on-line and in-class discussion, case analysis, web research, demonstrations, and use of software tools. The class will use Vista as the course delivery tool. Students are required to have an MU account in order to access the materials.
Disability Statement
Any student with a documented disability needing academic adjustments is requested to notify the instructor as early in the semester as possible, and must do so before the mid-term exam. Verification from MU disabled Student Support Services is required. All discussions will remain confidential.
Assignments:
Reading-- Reading will be from the textbook, select material (available for download from Vista), and web sites.
Slides--The PowerPoint slides are to be used for review and to cover additional material not found in the reading. The slide sets will be available in Vista.
Cases—There are mini-cases at the end of each chapter and cases used in assignments. A case will be assigned for analysis (an individual assignment) and require a one page summary analysis.
Project—A capstone project will be team-based and include a proposal as a response to a company’s need for a network design plan.
Discussion--The on-line discussion component allows us to extend our in-class discussion. The instructor will provide students with an introduction to using Vista. The course requirement is to post a response to each thread (discussion topic) at least every other day for a minimum of 3 times per week. On-line discussions will be graded according to the following rubric: Each discussion is graded on number and quality. No participation earns a zero and full participation earns 5 pts with partial contributions earning between 1 and 5 pts depending on the number of posts. The quality of your contributions will be graded on whether your discussions includes analysis of the question, extends the topic's discussion, includes references to the textbook reading for reinforcement of your viewpoint and includes outside sources. A series of quality posts that exceed the minimum number (6) for each discussion can earn up to 10 pts with fewer posts and lesser contributions earning between 1 and 9 pts. No posts will earn a zero. Simple responses are not discouraged but they do not count for the quality component of the grade.
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High |
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Your contributions to each Topic indicate your mastery of the materials assigned. Your responses might integrate multiple views and/or show value as a seed for reflection for other participants' responses to the thread. You provide evidence that you are reading the assigned materials and other student postings and are responding accordingly, bringing out interesting interpretations. You know the facts and are able to analyze them and handle conceptual ideas. |
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Medium |
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Your responses build on the ideas of another participant (or more) and dig deeper into assignment questions or issues. When you make intelligent posts during the week, including some good critique of the course material, then you have demonstrated you have an understanding of the material, are reading posts of your colleagues, and are contributing to the class. Your posts demonstrate confidence with the materials, but may be just a bit off target in one area or another. |
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Low |
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You have meaningful interaction with other participants' postings. Posts that state “I agree” or “I disagree” include an explanation of what is disagreed or agreed upon and why, or introduce an argument that adds to the discussion. However, you may have rambling, lengthy posts that show no sign of having been re-read and refined before posting, and your writing suffers lack of clarity and comprehension. |
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Unsatisfactory |
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You will receive little credit in the week's discussion by just showing up and making trivial comments, without adding any new thought to the discussion. At the low end of the spectrum, no participation gets a "0." If you are not in the discussion, you do not earn any points. |
Please review the sample of a discussion TDA Sample in the first unit.
On-line-- Access Vista at www.vista.marshall.edu. Your computer must be able to display the Vista content and there is an exercise on the Vista web site that can be used to check for the proper settings to enable the student to use Vista. Disabling popups will interfere with the content! Assignments can be turned in via the class drop-box in Vista. The course gradebook (to track your progress) will be available in Vista. Students should check online for new assignments and announcements daily. Lecture slides may also be downloaded from Vista. All materials will be available in Vista. All assignments have a midnight due date and late submissions will be penalized at the discretion of the instructor. Assignments are due into the dropbox by 12 am on the due date. For problems with Vista, please call the MU help desk for assistance.
Grading
Please note that the grading scale is not traditional. Excellent work must be superior in quality and content and the student must be an active classroom, on-line and team participant to earn an “A” grade. The grade of “B” indicates acceptable work with deficiencies in content, quality, or class/on-line participation. Less than a “B” grade is not an acceptable graduate level rating and may place the student on academic probation. A grade lower than “B” in a graduate level class indicates severe deficiencies in content, quality or class participation. An incomplete will not be given unless a documented emergency exists at the end of the semester that prevents the completion of the class. An Incomplete will be given only when all assignments have been turned in and received a passing grade up to the point of the request for the incomplete. The work not completed must have an agreed-upon due date for completion.
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Grade |
Per Cent Earned |
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A |
90 - 100 |
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B |
82 – 89 |
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C |
75 - 81 |
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D |
65 – 74 |
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E |
< 64 |
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Activities |
Points |
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Discussion |
420 |
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Cases |
140 |
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Assignments |
125 |
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Project |
200 |
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Total |
795 |
The standard for written and oral presentations will reflect acceptable business practices. Sloppy or incomplete work will be penalized. No late projects are accepted.
Course Policies
Teams
Each team of 2 students is responsible for learning the material and performing the required work. Teams will be formed by the second week of class. Students may form their own teams or ask to be assigned to a team.
Plagiarism Policy
All work submitted under your name is assumed to be done by you. If it is discovered that the work submitted by you or your group was written by another or if material is copied without proper attribution, the instructor will record an E grade for the course.
Schedule of Events
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Date/Week |
Reading |
Topics |
Meeting |
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1 & 2 8/22 – 8/31 |
Chapters 1 & 2 |
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Discussion topics posted
|
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3 & 4 9/05 – 9/14 |
Chapter 3 |
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Holiday for Monday class No class 9/07 Class meets 9/19 & 9/21 |
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5 & 6 9/19-9/28 |
Chapters 4 & 5 |
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Web/ No classes |
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7 & 8 10/3-10/12 |
Chapter 6 |
|
F2f class |
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9 & 10 10/17-10/26 |
Chapter 7 |
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No class |
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11 & 12 10/31-11/9 |
Chapter 8 |
|
F2f class |
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13 & 14 11/14-11/23 |
Chapters 9 & 10 |
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Holiday for Wed Class No class |
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15 & 16 11/28-12/7 |
Chapter 11 |
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F2f class |