Revised: November
29, 2023
Northern Virginia Community College - Annandale Campus
ITE 140-004N -
Spreadsheet Software I, Spring 2023 (3 credits) - TTh
2:20-3:40PM, synchronous remote via Zoom, Dr. William Pegram, wpegram@nvcc.edu
Web Site
for Class: www.billpegram.com
Instructor -
William Pegram
Bio
Software
Microsoft
Excel 2021 is the focus of this course. Although Excel 2021 is available in the
NVCC open labs, you will want to get Excel on your home computer. Students can
get Excel and other programs for free - see the section on Office 365 at www.nvcc.edu/ithd/students/software.html.
Thus students will typically have Office 365 rather
than Excel 2021. Because Office 365 is an evolving product, there may be some
very minor differences between Office 365 and Excel 2021. This was not a
problem when I've taught this course in the past e.g.
when I was teaching Excel 2019 in Spring 2022.
Transfer
For questions
about how IT courses transfer, visit www.transfervirginia.org
or email iet@nvcc.edu.
Textbooks
Recommended:
GO! with Microsoft Office 365, Excel 2021 Comprehensive, Gaskin, 2020, ISBN
9780137602292. Bookstore prices are print rental $80.99, digital rental for
1825 days $74.99, digital rental 180 days $44.99, digital rental 120 days
$43.96. I've used two earlier versions of this textbook and it was very good.
One advantage of this text over other Excel books is that the order of chapters
in the text is exactly the order of content and homework in this course: 10
chapters in the book, 10 modules in Canvas, one for each chapter in the book..
Teaching Style and Zoom
Most of the
time I will go slow enough so that you can do on your computer what I'm doing
on mine which will be visible to you because I will be sharing my screen (the
rare exception is when I am demoing something and will go faster). This
requires you watching my screen in one screen/window and doing your work on
another screen/window. This is challenging. There are several possible
solutions:
- two
monitors - I tried this obce when I was sitting
in on a course, but never could get used to the second monitor
- one
monitor with two windows (one for watching me in Zoom, the other for
working in Excel
- watching
me on a phone or table and working on your computer in Excel
- watching
the recording, pausing it to work in the application, and repeating this
throughout.
Although #4
may be best for some people, I think attending the Zoom session at the
regularly scheduled time is probably best for most students. Although all
sessions will be recorded and available on Canvas, my personal experience with
webinars since March 2020, is that I am much more likely to watch something if
I watch it live.
Just like in
the classroom, just speak up if something doesn't work or wasn't clear; I
realize this is more difficult than if we were in the classroom.
Zoom
The Zoom
recording will be available within an hour or two after the end of class.
When it is available, I get an email and then I have to publish it before you
can view the recording. You will usually have access to it by 6pm. To
access the recording, click on the Zoom link at the left in Canvas and then the
"Cloud Recordings" tab at the right.
Late Penalty Deductions on Assignments
Unless
otherwise stated for a particular assignment, there is no penalty for late
submission. However, due to the large
number of assignments, students are encouraged to keep up.
The instructor
reserves the right to change the above policy should it lead to problems.
Weight of Various Items in your Final Grade
Discussions
20%
Quizzes (End of Chapter Quiz) 10%
Application Assessments 30%
Critical Thinking Projects 10%
Proctored Assessments 30%
Training (Homework, Simulations, Critical Thinking Quizzes, Practice Quizzes)
0% - one reason to do the training exercises is that it helps you prepare for
things that count toward your semester grade.
Total 100%
Attendance:
I will be
using Quickly Attendance to take attendance during class. I do not use
attendance in assigning course grades. If you miss class, please check Canvas
for any changes to the schedule, including new assignments.
Office Hours
Office hours
will be done through Zoom at the end of class for quick questions or by
arrangement, usally on Friday. The URL for office
hours is posted in Canvas. If you wish to meet with me, email me and we can
find a mutually agreeable.
Communication with Students
For general
class announcements and messages to individual students, I will use Canvas so
make sure Canvas is set up so you see these promptly. Similarly, I suggest
using Canvas to send me a message. If you email me at wpegram@nvcc.edu, please remember to include
your name and class. For messages from the college, sign up for Nova alerts (http://alert.nvcc.edu); if
you haven't already done so - you can get text messages and emails to addresses
you specify.
Academic Integrity
On homework
assignments and projects, students may ask for and receive some assistance from
others, unless otherwise directed by the instructor. Yet those helping a
student should avoid "doing the work" for the student.
Unless
specifically stated in the assignment, students may work together to complete
an assignment. However my experience is that students
who turn in essentially identical work on an assignment tend not to do well on
subsequent tests either because they have not learned the material or are too
reliant on another person.
No assistance
is permitted on the inclass midterms and final and
your use of the computer may be monitored. The college policy on student
conduct is found at www.nvcc.edu/students/handbook/conduct.html
Cheating on a
test will result in a grade of 0 on the test. Cheating on a subsequent test
will result in a grade of F for the course. Cheating may be reported to the
Division Dean and the Annandale Judicial Affairs Officer.
Final Exam
The final exam
is Tuesday, December 12 at 2pm - the time and date are as specified in the
final exam schedule.
Dropping and Withdrawal from the Class:
For a 15 week class, the last day to drop with a tuition refund or
change to audit is Thursday, September 7. Saturday, October 28 is the
last day to withdraw without grade penalty in a 15 week
course. The award of W after the last day to withdraw REQUIRES official
documentation and the Dean's signature which is very difficult to get.
If a student
does not attend at least one class meeting via Zoom by September 7, his/her
class registration will be administratively deleted unless you contact me.
Watching a Zoom recording after the class does not satisfy this requirement
since I am not provided information whether you watch a recording. If you are
administratively deleted, there will be no record of the class or any letter
grade on the student’s transcript. Furthermore, the student’s class load will
be reduced by the course credits, and this may affect his/her full-time or
part-time student status. Tuition will not be refunded.
Disability Accommodation
Please send me
your accommodation form as early as possible.
Student Success Tips
- Although
I do not grade on attendance, some of what I say isn't in the text and it
may be easier for you to understand something if you hear me explain it,
instead of just relying on other sources.
- Don't
fall behind - If you are having problems, let me know. Do the homework on
time.
- Pay
attention to the dates to drop and withdraw from the class.
- As long
as you attend class once, I will not drop you from the class. It is
therefore important that you set up Canvas so that you will see messages I
send to you through Canvas. If you do poorly on early tests, you need to
decide whether to withdraw from the class before the deadline or to
continue in the class. If you continue in the class, you need to continue
to come to class, to do homework and to take the final, otherwise you will
likely fail the course.