Syllabus: IS 656: Communications and
Network Technologies
Communications & Network Technologies
Department of Information Systems | College of Information Technology and Engineering
Fall 2008
Dr. Patricia Y. Logan
This course begins on August 25, 2008 and ends on December 16,
2008.
Please note that all times are Eastern.
Please see the University Academic Calendar for course withdrawal dates.
Office Hours:
Office: GC 326
Phone: (304) 746-1951
Email: loganp@marshall.edu
Office hrs: On-line daily from 8 am to 5 pm
(Check for Online Now for
chat)
Available by appt or
contact me by MU or Vista email
About me:
I have taught in information systems and computer science a variety of
subjects including software engineering, programming languages, networks,
security, and computer forensics. My
specialization is in information security, computer forensics and networks. I have worked as a software developer, team
lead, and manager in the banking and insurance industries. I am passionate about the opportunities
available in IS/CS and enjoy what I do!
I’m always willing to give career advice or review a resume.
Course Materials and Cost
Book: Network Management
Fundamentals by Alexander Clemm
Cisco Press
- You are encouraged to subscribe to Safari
Online http://safari.oreilly.com/
in order to use the book electronically.
Safari offers this book and thousands more on computer-related
subjects that can be downloaded and read online. Current new subscribers can receive 1
month free and can order up to 10 computer books a month for “check out”
for approximately $20 a month. Larger numbers of books can be accessed
for a larger monthly fee. You can subscribe to the service for only the
length of the class and cancel when the course (or your reading)
ends. You must have a credit card
in order to use this service.
The books can be ordered online at The Marshall University Bookstore or at
any other book seller of your choice for
approximately $70.
MS Project and MS Visio (available on campus in
CITE or at http://msdn03.e-academy.com/marshall_iteng )
MS PowerPoint or viewer for slide
sets.
Technical Requirements
- HELP DESK PHONE NUMBERS:
(304) 696-3200 (Huntington, WV)
(304) 746-1969 (Charleston, WV)
(877) 689-8638 (Toll free)
Course Details
Description from
University Catalogue:
This course is designed to provide the analytical skills and knowledge to
manage a complex network and infrastructure. It is not meant to be a course in network fundamentals. The course focuses are higher-level
management issues that impact the delivery of data. Students should have a basic understanding
of how networks function and the meaning of common network terminology. The
delivery mode of the course is videolink and
online.
Prerequisites:
Pre-requisite: IS 622, or TM 660, or permission of
the instructor.
Objectives:
Upon the completion of the course students will be able to:
- Create and evaluate a network design
- Evaluate competing vendor proposals
- Identify the major issues in network
management
- Evaluate requirements for network hardware and
software
- Describe the planning process for network
enhancements
- Use MS Project and MS Visio tools
- Write a proposal in response to an RFP
- Create and evaluate a network design
- Evaluate competing vendor proposals
- Identify the major issues in network management
- Evaluate requirements for network hardware and
software
- Describe the planning process for network
enhancements
- Use MS Project and MS Visio tools
- Write a proposal in response to an RFP
Course 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
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Per Cent Earned
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A
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90 - 100
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B
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82 – 89
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C
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75 - 81
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D
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65 – 74
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E
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< 64
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Activities
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Points
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Discussion
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300
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Assignments
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100
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Project
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100
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Quizzes
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200
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Total
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700
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The standard for written and oral presentations
will reflect acceptable business practices. APA style is preferred for formal papers in this
course. APA style guides are available online and in the
bookstore. Sloppy or incomplete work will be penalized. Acceptable grammar
and word use are required. No late projects are accepted.
Course Schedule
The course is divided into 4 units corresponding to the 4 parts
of the textbook. Each unit is approximately 4 weeks in length. Units will become available as the course
progresses. See the Home Page for a schedule of events
Exams and Quizzes
Taken with the Assessments Tool.
There are no formal exams in this course but there will be quizzes at the end
of each unit available online that will cover the content from the readings,
lecture, and online discussion. Each
quiz is taken online and will be worth 50 pts. The quizzes may use True/False, multiple
choice, or short essay. All quizzes
are open source. You may consult
written references but the work submitted must be your own. Each quiz will be available for one week,
only (from Sunday to Sunday) beginning on the Sunday of the start of the new
unit. If you fail to take a quiz a
zero grade is recorded. Pay careful attention to the end date and time as the
quiz will no longer be available past this date. In the event of a large-scale outage in the
area in which you live, the time will be extended.
Assignments
Submitted via the Assignments Tool. There will be 5 independent
assignments that involve network design and case analysis. These will be worth 20 points each. A capstone project will be team-based and include
a proposal as a response to a company’s need for a network design plan. You will work with a team to complete the
project and it is worth 100 points.
Late work is not accepted via email. Use Outlook to send yourself an
assignment/quiz reminder so that you do not forget.
Discussions
Discussions take place with the
Discussions Tool.
The on-line discussion component allows us to
extend our in-class discussion. The instructor will provide students
with an introduction to using Vista. There are 15 graded discussions for each week of the course with the
first discussion (un-graded) that will serve as practice and a way to get to
know each other. The course requirement is to post a response to each thread
(discussion topic) at least 3 times
per week. Discussions run from Monday to Sunday each week except
when there are breaks. On-line
discussions will be graded according to the following rubric: Each
discussion is graded on number of posts and quality of the posts. No
participation earns a zero and full participation earns 8 pts with partial
contributions earning between 1 and 8 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 (3) for each discussion can earn up to 12 pts with
fewer posts and lesser contributions earning between 1 and 12 pts. No
posts will earn a zero. Simple responses are not discouraged but
they do not count for the quality component of the grade. The rubric below will be used to assign
quality points.
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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.
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The content of the online discussion will be used for
quizzes so reading posts throughout the week will prepare you to do well on
the unit quiz.
On-Campus Requirements
None.
Course Policies
Teams:
The reality of working
in IT is that you will be doing projects as a member of a team. In many cases projects will be accomplished
with team members in other locations or even geographically distant
locations. There is no requirement to
be physically present to do the team project. The tools of email, phone,
chat, and fax can all be used to communicate between team members. Teams for
the final project will be formed by the instructor. Each team is responsible for learning the
material and performing the required work. The work should be divided between the
students and reflect a joint effort. If a team member stops contributing, it
is obligatory to inform the instructor.
A Note on Plagiarism:
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. Cutting and pasting from
web sites is considered plagiarism unless attribution is given. Entire pages of content cannot be
attributed to someone else and you still receive credit for doing original
work. Be aware that cutting and
pasting is detectable forensically.
Resources
Me:
Don't hesitate to contact me directly with questions or concerns. You can
reach me through the VISTA Mail Tool or if necessary by phone at (304)
746-1951. Please don't let your questions hang out there and simmer. If you
are not sure about something the best thing to do is to ask about it right
away! Something that may seem obvious to me may not be obvious to you at all!
Support Services
Marshall University offers a variety of support services to students
enrolled in online courses:
Marshall University
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