INFM 201-10
Informatics Technology Foundations
Fall 2019 Syllabus

Dr. Gerry Benoît
Email
Virtual office hours. Send me an email with dates/times that work for you and we’ll have a Zoom session.

Canvas Information: Courses will be available beginning Aug 12, 6 am PT unless you are taking an intensive or a one-unit or two-unit class that starts on a different day. In that case, the class will open on the first day that the class meets.

You will be enrolled in the Canvas site automatically.

Course Description

Analyze and implement web applications using APIs, web frameworks and infrastructure-as-a-service to support web services and web resources. The course is hands-on and moves at a fast pace.

Course Requirements

Calendar:

A detailed course calendar is available from the course site on the first day of the semester. The table below provides a summary of course topics & assignment due dates; it is subject to minor changes and changes will be announced with fair notice.

Grading & Assignments

Labs (30 points, supports CLOs: 1-4)

Students will complete various virtual lab assignments.

Hands-on Projects: (30 points, supports CLOs: 1-4)

Students will complete multiple hands-on projects. These projects provide students with an opportunity to work with APIs. 

Case and Final Projects (30 points, supports CLOs: 1-4)

Case projects provide students with an opportunity to evaluate different computer environment situations and decide on a course of action to remedy problems. The goal is to help students sharpen their decision-making and troubleshooting skills and they will work in a team.  The case project feeds the Final Project

Grading Information 

Grading will be based on a total accumulation of possible 100 points, distributed as follows:

Important Due Dates:

Week 1

Introduction and APIs
Come to class ready to jump in. Please ensure you’ve configured your computer for python 3 in the terminal window, have IDLE or a text editor + terminal window ready to go. Readings:

• Module 1 - APIs
• Python Succinctly, “Configuring your environment for Python”
• Python for Everybody, Chapter 1

Week 2

Web Frameworks Modules
Readings:

• Module 2-3: Web Frameworks
• Python Succinctly, Chapter 1
• Python for Everybody, Chapter 2

Week 3

Coding Experience with Python
You’re welcome to read all the Python chapters or chunk them by week.
Readings:

• Module 4-7, part 1 Python
• Python Succinctly, Chapter 2, 3, 4
• Python for Everybody, Chapter 3, 4

Week 4

Continue with Python.
Readings:

• Module 4-7, part 2
• Python Succinctly, Chapter 2, 3, 4
• Python for Everybody, Chapter 3, 4

Week 5

Continue with Python:

• Python Succinctly, Chapters 5 - 9 inclusive
• Python for Everybody, Chapters 5 - 9 inclusive; 12 - 15 optional

Week 6

Module: Networking

• Module 8
• Introduction to networking - Read all chapters

Week 7

Final Project due the following Monday.

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Course Workload Expectations

Success in this course is based on the expectation that students will spend, for each unit of credit, a minimum of forty-five hours over the length of the course (normally 3 hours per unit per week with 1 of the hours used for lecture) for instruction or preparation/studying or course related activities including but not limited to internships, labs, clinical practica. Other course structures will have equivalent workload expectations as described in the syllabus.

Instructional time may include but is not limited to:
Working on posted modules or lessons prepared by the instructor; discussion forum interactions with the instructor and/or other students; making presentations and getting feedback from the instructor; attending office hours or other synchronous sessions with the instructor.

Student time outside of class:
In any seven-day period, a student is expected to be academically engaged through submitting an academic assignment; taking an exam or an interactive tutorial, or computer-assisted instruction; building websites, blogs, databases, social media presentations; attending a study group;contributing to an academic online discussion; writing papers; reading articles; conducting research; engaging in small group work.

Course Prerequisites

Graduate Standing or Instructor Consent. 

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Analyze the requirements of a computer web application and implement the steps needed for a correct solution using web frameworks.
2. Implement the software development life-cycle from algorithm development based on a problem statement, to coding, testing, and debugging programs in the Python3 language.
3. Understand IP addresses and domain naming conventions.
4. Describe and identify common physical and logical networking topologies.

SLOs and PLOs

This course supports Informatics SLO 4: Use best practices in Web application design and information architecture to design and develop user-centered knowledge structures for the Web environment and to communicate deliverables to project stakeholders.

SLO 4 supports the following Informatics Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs):

• PLO 1 Apply technology informatics skills to solve specific industry data and information management problems, with a focus on usability and designing for users.
• PLO 4 Identify user needs, ideate informatics products and services, prototype new concepts, and evaluate a prototype's usability.
• PLO 5 Work collaboratively in teams and use project management practices effectively to solve user-centric information and data problems.

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Textbooks

Required Textbooks:

• Cannon, J. (2016). Python succinctly. Syncfusion, Inc. Available from https://www.syncfusion.com/ebooks/python

• Severance, C. (2016). Python for everyone: Exploring data in Python 3. Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. Available through Amazon: 1530051126

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Grading Scale

The standard SJSU School of Information Grading Scale is utilized for all iSchool courses:

In order to provide consistent guidelines for assessment for graduate level work in the School, these terms are applied to letter grades:

• C represents Adequate work; a grade of "C" counts for credit for the course;
• B represents Good work; a grade of "B" clearly meets the standards for graduate level work or undergraduate (for BS-ISDA);
  For core courses in the MLIS program (not MARA, Informatics, BS-ISDA) — INFO 200, INFO 202, INFO 204 — the iSchool requires that students earn a B in the course. If the grade is less than B (B- or lower) after the first attempt you will be placed on administrative probation. You must repeat the class if you wish to stay in the program. If - on the second attempt - you do not pass the class with a grade of B or better (not B- but B) you will be disqualified.
  
• A represents Exceptional work; a grade of "A" will be assigned for outstanding work only.

Graduate Students are advised that it is their responsibility to maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA). Undergraduates must maintain a 2.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).

University Policies

Per University Policy S16-9, university-wide policy information relevant to all courses, such as academic integrity, accommodations, etc. will be available on Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs' Syllabus Information web page at: https://www.sjsu.edu/curriculum/courses/syllabus-info.php. Make sure to visit this page, review and be familiar with these university policies and resources.

In order to request an accommodation in a class please contact the Accessible Education Center and register via the MyAEC portal.

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