William M. Pegram
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Revised: August 25, 2008

Northern Virginia Community College - Annandale Campus

ITP 120 - Java Programming I, Fall 2008 (4 credits)

Section 001: MW 2PM-3:50, Section 002: TTh12-1:50, CT 228
Instructor: Dr. William M. Pegram, wpegram@nvcc.edu, (703)-486-0952 (home)

Web Site for Class: www.billpegram.com

Text: Java How to Program by Deitel and Deitel, Seventh Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. (earlier versions of this text, or Absolute Java, Third Edition by Walter Savitch, ISBN-10: 0-321-48792-3, ISBN-13: 978-0-321-48782-6 should be a reasonably good substitute)

Course Objectives

This course is designed as a programming course with Java as the implementation language. It will stress problem-solving skills and object-oriented design.

Software:

The Java software is free and provided on a CD that comes with the text. TextPad is a convenient tool for working with Java and is available at www.textpad.com

Storage Media

Nothing saved to the c drive will be there after you logoff so you may find it convenient to bring a storage device to class. Alternatively, you can save the file to the c drive and then send an email to yourself with the file as an attachment.

Attendance:

If you miss class, please check the class website for any changes to the schedule, including new assignments.  Being absent from class is not an excuse for not knowing that an assignment was made. When class is cancelled due to inclement weather or instructor absence, assignments will be pushed back to the next class date. I will be keeping the two sections synchronized in terms of content, and you are also welcome to attend class occasionally in the other section, subject to capacity constraints..

Office Hour Schedule:

After class. Other times by arrangement.

Required Email Address

I will email you at the email address on my class list which is normally your VCCS email address. If you do not check this address frequently, I would recommend you set it up for automatic forwarding to an email address you do check more frequently. During the first class, I will show you how to specify a forwarding address. Please remember to include your name in all emails to me since I often can't tell who you are from your email address.

Grading Policy:

Your grade will be a function of 2 quizzes (30%), a final (25%) and homework (45%). Exams will generally be open book, open notes.

Assignments

Late assignments will be penalized.

Academic Integrity

In general, students are expected to follow the Information Technology Student/Policy Ethics Agreement as posted in computer areas and academic integrity standards as set down in the Student Handbook.

Students are encouraged to help each other out. However, on work that is graded, there are restrictions on helping other students: 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.  No assistance is permitted on exams and quizzes.

Students should resist any temptation to simply use code that was written by another for several reasons. Most important of all, this course is designed to be a first course in programming with the idea that most will go on to additional programming courses at a later time. Therefore now is the time to develop the self-reliant skills that will contribute to success in these later courses and for some of you, in jobs. If you copy code now, you are just setting yourself up to fail later on.

Dropping and Withdrawal from the Class:

Thursday, September 11 is the last day to drop the class and get a tuition refunds (use NovaConnect).   Friday, October 31 is the last day to withdraw or to change to audit. Practically all of the people who get an F as a final grade from me are those that stopped coming to class and doing the work but didn't withdraw by this second deadline, even sometimes after email and telephone reminders.

Learning Environment

NVCC is a place for learning and growing.  You should feel safe and comfortable anywhere on this campus.  In order to meet this objective, you should: a) let your instructor, his/her supervisor, the Dean of Students or Provost know if any unsafe, unwelcome or uncomfortable situation arises that interferes with the learning process; (b) inform the instructor within the first two weeks of classes if you have special needs or a disability that may affect your performance in this course.

Fire/Emergency Evacuation Procedures

Students should familiarize themselves with both the primary and secondary routes that are to be used, in case you need to evacuate the building, as well as other evacuation procedures to be followed.

Additional Points to Remember