To Temple College R. Craig Collins > ITSE 1294 > FAQ

FAQ © R. Craig Collins, 2005/6

More questions and answers coming soon... in the mean time, just email me if you need a question answered, and can't find it here, or in the detailed Orientation.












FAQ Brief Answers

What skills do I need to take this class?
*A desire to learn, the ability to make time to do the work, and access to a computer with a CD ROM drive and access to the Internet. See also the details in the Orientation or Is Distance Education For You? or Windows Crash Course

What software do I need to take this class?
*Access to Windows, Microsoft Office, and Internet Access to use D2L (optionally, you may the software that comes with the book). See also the details in the Orientation

What books do I need to take this class?
*The current version of Practical PC, and maybe a Office Reference, such as the Absolute Beginners series. See also the details in the Syllabus or the books section of the Orientation

What do I need to do first?
*contact me at craig.collins@templejc.edu, then see the 'to do' list in the Orientation

What will I be turning in, and how will I do it?
*You will post a reply to a discussion question once a week, taking quizzes in D2L over specific chapters in the Practical PC book, plus your Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files that you create. See also the details of the assignments by clicking the links in the Main Page. Info on the group discussion is here.

I can't log into D2L by Desire2Learn. Why not?
*Until the class actually begins, you cannot log into D2L. Just before the class begins, the school will send an email explaining your account is ready, and how to log in; make sure your pop-up blocker is turned off, as this is how D2L delivers tests, etc.



I am trying to take a quiz in D2L, but it won't let me save answers; what should I do?
*If you can't save answers, immediately close the test window... DO NOT SUBMIT. Restart the quiz, and it should work properly.


When are things due?
*All assignments are due at the end of the week that the assignment is given, aside from the capstone project, which is due at the end of the last week before finals..




I got a little behind, or I didn't do part of a lab, what now?
*Let me know what's up, and just keep working at it. I want you to finish, not give up, and I will work with you. I will always take late material, though I may know a point or two off.

What about tests?
*There are two tests, one mid-term, plus the final, which are taken using D2L.



How do you figure my grade?
Labs are 50% of your grade,
the tests make up 40% of your grade, and
participating, via the D2L discussions are worth 10%.

*Some labs involve D2L chapter quizzes; I just add the total point earned, and divide by the total points available to get the percent... 58 of 60 would be 97%.
*Some labs have an Office component... the lab specifies the value given for certain aspects I requested (Example). Then I do as above, add all the points possible, then divide that into points earned.



When I want to send you files, I see two or three files with the same name, now what?
Many Windows computers are set up to hide known file extensions; this can be very confusing for computer students. To set your computer to display the entire file name:
 • Open My Computer or Windows Explorer
 • Choose Tools\Folder Options... (for Vista users, press the [Alt] key to reveal the Tools menu), then select Folder Options)
Change Folder Options
 • Choose the View tab
 • Click off the check mark next to 'Hide extensions for know file types'
       • Click OK
Change Folder Options Dialog Box
I am playing with the web page assignment, can you tell me a little about changing the way it looks?
First, the body tag defines how everything on the web page will look, colors of text, etc. So the body tag can be modified using bgcolor, to set a background color.

Now, think of boxes of crayons. There are 16 crayons you can use just by saying the name, like black, white, green.

So you can turn your background green by saying <body bgcolor="green"> But your computer can display over 16 million different shades, so words are not enough. So by mixing red, green, and blue, you can actually create millions of colors.

Now, the stupid part. Computers only use 1 and 0 (bits) so the number values can get really long... 24 1s and 0s to be exact... 8 1s and 0s for red, 8 1s and 0s for green, and 8 1s and 0s for blue.

So computer people came up with a shorthand, called hexadecimal, base 16.
(Computers use base 2, people use base 10.)

You count in hexadecimal like this
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C ,D ,E, F, 10.

F is a bigger number than say 2, or 0, so the more F's, the higher the value.

I could explain why all this happens later, but this means you can now use 2 hexadecimal digits for red, 2 hexadecimal digits for green, and 2 hexadecimal digits for blue, instead of 24 binary digits (bits).

So bgcolor=''#00FF00'' means no red (00), a lot of green (ff), and no blue (00).
Think of a room with 6 light bulbs. Two are red, two are green, and two are blue.

If you leave the two red off, turn on both greens full strength, and leave off the two blue bulbs, it would create a strong green light.

My IMED 1316 is all about making web pages, and makes an excellent elective, if this sounds fun.

How can I submit folders or multiple files?
Since lab 2, and others, will require many files to be submitted, and lab 8 may require folders to be submitted,you will zip up your lab files, then submit the single zip file.

How to Zip files

A new file, will be created in the current folder. Submit this single file, which I can disassemble into the component pieces later for grading.
See also Windows Crash Course
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Tell me about these 'Tracking Disks' and the CD-ROM that comes with the Practical PC book.

*A tracking disk is just a small file stored on a floppy disk that can record progress as you work through the Practical PC CD-ROM.

We use the lab quizzes in D2L instead of the CD.

The CD itself contains all the text of the book, plus simulations, short tutorials and quizzes.

NOTE: ONLY THE SIMULATION FEATURES WORK ON THE CD.
NONE OF THE EXTRA FEATURES ON THE CD WORK!
You do not create a tracking disk.



You asked me to do the tutorial, but I don't see it. Where is it? How is it graded?
*Near the end of each unit is a page, such as page 11 in unit 1, labeled Tutorial. There is a button to click called PlayIt! which lets you work the tutorial, and your success is recorded on the tracking disk. You may ignore the points awarded for Tutorials... some computers don't behave on this section; you still must complete the Tutorial.

The CD Quizzes are labeled GetIt!, just below Quick Check A and Quick Check B


What if I don't have Microsoft Office.
*Many full featured Office products can save in a file format that can be read by Microsoft Word, by saving as a .doc file.
This is done in the File/Save As dialog box;
choose the Save as Type option,
then choose Microsoft Word (.doc)
Save As Animation







What do I do when the CD wants to create a tracking file?
You do NOT need to search for, or create a tracking disk, you will use the D2L quizzes...
Choose cancel when prompted to create a tracking disk, and choose continue if warned about tracking