Computing & Engineering Technology

CTS 1150 Syllabus

Microcomputer Hardware & Maintenance

Fall 2009

 

Instructor’s Name: Jacquelyn Hemmerich

Office Number: 19-145, Bradenton Campus ; 600-610 Venice Campus Thursdays only

Course Hours,Tuesday 6:00pm-8:45pm

Telephone: Leave Messages between 9:00am – 4:00pm @ 752-5484

Email Addresshemmerj@mccfl.edu

Course Web Sitehttp://faculty.mccfl.edu/hemmerj/hemmerj.htm

 

Prerequisites: A fundamental knowledge of DOS and Windows Operating systems

 

Text: A+ Guide to Hardware Managing Maintaining Your PC   Sixth edition by  Andrews

 

Catalog Description:

 

3 hours of instruction a week with a combination of lecture and hands-on lab experience. This course will examine hardware terms, preventive maintenance and basic computer repairs. This non-technical course designed for the average computer user who desires to understand basic troubleshooting techniques.

 

Course Description:

 

To provide an opportunity for students to obtain the knowledge and skills necessary to service microcomputer hardware and supported peripherals, build a computer from parts, and prepare for a successful result on the Comp TIA A+ PC Hardware exam

 

Performance Standards:

 

At the successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:

 

 

1.     Identify basic terms and functions of system modules, including how each module should work during normal operation and during the boot process.

2.     Identify basic procedures for adding and removing field replaceable modules for desktop systems.

3.     Identify common peripheral ports, associated cabling, and their connectors.

4.     Identify proper procedures for installing and configuring IDE/EIDE and SATA drives

5.     Identify methods of upgrading hardware system components.

6.     Identify common symptoms and problems associated with each module and how to troubleshoot and isolate the problems.

7.     Identify basic troubleshooting procedures and how to elicit problem symptoms from customers.

8.     Identify the purpose of various types of preventive maintenance procedures.

9.     Identify issues, procedures and devices for protection within the computing environment, including people, hardware and the surrounding workspace.

10.  Distinguish between the popular CPU chips in terms of their basic characteristics.

11.  Identify the categories of RAM terminology, their locations, and physical characteristics

12.  Identify the most popular type of motherboards, their components, and their architecture.

13.  Identify the purpose of CMOS, what it contains and how, to change its basic parameters.

14.  Identify basic concepts, printer operations, and printer components and service techniques

15.  Identify basic concepts supporting and troubleshooting OS Installations.

16.  Format a hard disk drive and make subdirectories or folders.

17.  Install programs, drivers  and operating systems on a hard disk drive.

18.  List the causes of computer viruses and preventive measures that can be taken to avoid them.

19.  Use diagnostic software and basic DOS commands such as chkdsk, scandisk, defrag…

20.  Take apart a notebook computer and repair it.

 

Attendance Policy:

 

Attendance is mandatory for all scheduled class periods during the semester. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to make arrangements to determine what you missed. If you miss a lab you will lose the points for that lab. No Makeup’s.

 

Withdrawal Policy:

 

In accordance with the Manatee Community College policy as stated in the college catalog, students may withdraw from any course or all courses without academic penalty of a WF by the withdrawal deadline as listed in the Manatee Community College academic calendar. The student must take responsibility for initiating the withdrawal procedure. Students are strongly encouraged to talk with their instructors first before taking any withdrawal action.

 

Statement of Plagiarism:

 

Plagiarism is the use of ideas, facts, opinions, illustrative material, data, direct or indirect wording of another scholar and/or writer—professional or student—without giving proper credit. Expulsion, suspension, or any lesser penalty may be imposed for plagiarism.

 

Standards of Conduct:

 

Students are expected to abide by all Lancer Student Handbook guidelines.

 

 

 

Assignments:

 

Assignments will be completed outside of class. Credit will be given to each person who participated in the assignment. NO credit will be given to work submitted after the deadlines listed with the assignments. NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. All Projects and assignments must uploaded into the drop box for the week, and MUST include the date, assignment title, class information, your name, and G00# for proper credit to be given. You may use Word, Works , or Notepad.

 

Make up Test:

 

There will be no make up tests. Students MUST make arrangements BEFORE a test is given if they will not be able take a test online or to attend class on the day of the test.

 

Discussion Forums:

 

There will be 2 discussion Forums throughout the course. You must participate in the discussion forums

 

 

 

Grading Policy:

 

In this class, students will be evaluated according to performance in the following categories:

  •  Midterm & Final
  • 10 Quizzes shown below to be completed online at home.  
  • 10 Lab activities and hands-on performance in class only
  • A research paper and/or oral presentation
  • online assignments

 

The breakout for grades is as follows:

10 Labs                                                              150pts

21 Assignments (Drop one)                            200pts

2 Discussion Forums                                      25pts

9 Quizzes                                                          225pts

Research Paper &/ or Presentation                  100pts

Mid term                                                     100pts online

Final                                                            200pts online and in class

                                                                   1000pts

 

Grade achievement levels are as follows:

Grade                         Range

A                                             90%+ or 900 – 1000 pts

B                                             80-89% or 800-899 pts

C                                             70-79% or 700-799 pts

D                                             60-69% or 600-699 pts

F                                              0-59% or below 600 pts

 

 

Classroom Etiquette:

Cell phones will be turned off or set to vibrate mode during class. Please show courtesy to the class by restricting conversation to in-class topics, and raise your hand to gain attention when asking a question or raising a point of discussion.

 

Turning in Work:

Be sure to include your name and the course name and section on all work to be turned in.

 

Late Coursework:

All assignments are to be turned in on the due date.

 

Research Project:

Communication skills, both oral and written, are a widely recognized issue in the field of information technology. Many proficient technicians have limited skills in communicating with coworkers and end users. Our goal is to address these issues by having each student provide an oral presentation in class, (hand in requirements) your presentation notes, and/or pp file and list three references. See “Guidelines for Papers and Presentations” for topic ideas and general format rules.

 

 

Research Papers:

 

Success in your career will depend greatly on your written and oral communication skills. Our school recognizes the need for students to develop proficiency in these skills, and requires all students to submit a research paper and provide an oral presentation in this class .

 

Format: 

  • Length - 5 – 7 pages, excluding illustrations and bibliography
  • Margins - 1" left, right, and bottom, 1.5” top
  • Spacing - double-spaced for normal text, single-spaced for long quotes
  • Font Size - 10 - 12 point
  • Font Styles - Times New Roman or Courier
  • Illustrations - welcome if of good quality
  • Cover Sheet - optional
  • Binders - NOT USED

Topics:

PC HARDWARE not covered or CURRENT / FUTURE NEW HARDWARE Technology.

How It Works, How it is used, configured and Installed

See the list of suggested topics below. You will base your presentation on your research paper topic.

 

All works and illustrations used in your paper must be cited; this means crediting the source where you found the information you used to support your work. If you fail to give credit for copyrighted information you present as your own work, which constitutes plagiarism, and will be penalized by a zero for the project.

 

Citing Sources:

  • Works used – This is the source material you used to support your research.
  • Works consulted – You probably looked at many sources before you located usable material, and you deserve credit for this research. Your work will be considered for credit for works consulted; list your preliminary sources as consulted works.

Presentations:

 

·         Display your ability to research and deliver information as a career skill. Creative presentation ideas are welcome; use your imagination!

·         Develop public speaking skills. If you have stage fright, this is the best way to overcome it!

 

 

Format:

  • Length - 10 to 15 minutes. Rehearse and time your presentation
  • Visual Aids - use of slideshows and the whiteboard are strongly encouraged
  • Handouts - acceptable if of lasting value

 

Attribution / Citations:

List your sources in your presentation / Research Paper and offer to share them with the class.

 

Closing the Presentation:

When you have finished your presentation, remember to ask the courtesy question: "Are there any questions?"

  

Suggested Research Paper Topics

1.          Alternatives to Microsoft software

2.          Asset / Inventory tracking

3.          Backup strategies / disaster recovery

4.          Buy or build your own PC?

5.          Customer service and tech support

6.          Deployment strategies (deploying multiple PCs)

7.          End user education

8.          High-speed hardware interfaces (SCSI, FireWire, IEEE 1394, etc.)

9.          High-speed Internet connectivity

10.     History / overview of an operating system

11.     History of the PC

12.     Improving PC reliability

13.     Network client software

14.     Network hardware

15.     Network operating systems

16.     Network topologies (peer-peer vs. client-server)

17.     Optical drives

18.     PC security

19.     PC troubleshooting software

20.     Professional certifications in the IT industry

21.     Cigar, Thumb, external drives

22.     Terminal emulation

23.     Windows Vista tips and tricks

24.   Wireless technology

25.   Elective topic                                                                                       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Course Outline

 

 

 

In Class

 

 

Timeline

Tue

Topics

Reading

Lecture & Discussion

Homework

Labs

 

Quizzes & Exams

8/25

 

  Introducing Hardware

How Hardware & Software Work Together

Chapter 1 

Chapter 2

 

  Course intro, syllabus, & safety issues. Introduction to hardware and software

Odd questions in Chapter 1,

Even questions in Chapter 2.

Lab assignment  

 

 

Quiz Online

Chapter 1 and 2

 

9/1

Pc Repair fundamentals

Form factors and Power Supplies

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

 

 

Electricity and basics to working on a PC

 

Odd questions in Chapter 3,

Even questions in Chapter 4

 

 

No Lab

Quiz Online

Chapter 3 and 4

 

9/8

 

Processors and chips sets

 

Motherboards

 

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

 

  What is a processor and how does it work and selecting a motherboard

 

  Odd questions in Chapter 5,  Even questions in Chapter 6

 

 

Hands On Lab

Build & Trouble Shoot 1G computer

 

 

Quiz Online

Chapter 5 and 6

 

9/15

Managing Memory  

 Hard Drives

Installing

 

 

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

 

 

  Types & features of RAM

Hard drive characteristics & installation

 

 

 Odd questions in Chapter 7

Even questions in Chapter 8

 

Hands On Lab

Build & Trouble Shoot 1G computer

Quiz Online

Chapter 7 and 8 

 

9/22

 

   Supporting I/O Devices

Multimedia

Chapter 9

 

  The multimedia decade

 

Odd Questions in chapter 9

Discussion Forum

 

Hands On Lab

Build & Trouble Shoot 1G computer

 

 

9/29

Devices & Mass Storage

 

Chapter 10

 

Devices & Mass Storage

 

Even questions on Chapter 10

 

Hands On Lab

Build & Trouble Shoot 1G computer

Quiz Online

Chapter 9 and 10

 

10/6

Windows 9x/Me Commands and Startup disk Review                Midterm

 Chapter 15

 

  Dos commands Windows 9x/ME

 

 Odd questions on chapter 15

 Hands On Lab

Midterm

Online Due

10/13

Installing Windows 2000/XP

 

Chapter 12

 

Windows XP installation, application

boot process, etc

Even questions in Chapter 12

Outline for Research

Hands On Lab

Build & Trouble Shoot 1G computer

 

10/20

Troubleshooting & Maintenance Fundamentals 

Chapter 14

 

maintenance & troubleshooting User accounts and policies Backups, viruses, & troubleshooting

 

Even questions in Chapter 14

 

Hands On Lab

Build & Trouble Shoot 1G computer

  Quiz Online

Chapter 12 and 14

 

10/27

 

PC’s on the Internet

 Chapter 18

Internet issues

Even questions in Chapter 14

 

Hands On Lab

Build & Trouble Shoot 1G computer

 

11/3

Security

Chapter 19

Securing your PC

Odd Questions in Chapter 19

 

Quiz online chapter 18 and 19

11/10

Notebooks tablet pc’s and pda’s

Chapter 20 and 21

 

Notebooks troubleshooting

 

Even questions on Chapter 20 Odd questions on Ch 21

Hands On Lab

Build & Trouble Shoot 1G computer

 

Quiz online Chapter 20 and 21

11/17

Vista Intro

Vista Chapter 1

Introduction to Vista

Odd  question on

Chapter 1

Hands On Lab

Build & Trouble Shoot 1G computer

 

11/24

NO Class

No Class

No Class

No Class

No Class

 

12/1

 

Vista

 

Vista Chapter 2

 No Class

Odd Chpt1

Even Chpt 2

Viata Part 2 assignment

  Hands On Lab

Build & Trouble Shoot 1G computer

Quiz Online

Chapter 1 and 2

12/8 

  The professional PC Technician

 

Chapter 22

 

employment

even questions on Chapter 22. Presentations and Research Paper due

 

 

 

12/15

 

Final in Class Portion

 

Final