Updated: 2012-01-14 13:08 EST

1 CST8207 - Introduction to GNU/Linux I Index up to index

1.1 Course Description, Course Outline, Timetable Index up to index

From the Course Outline:

This course introduces students to the basic concepts and core functions of the Linux operating system in a stand-alone environment. Students learn basic command structures and capabilities of the Linux operating system, along with the skills required to perform common basic system configuration and management tasks. Typical tasks covered include, but are not limited to installing the operating system, working the command line shell, managing/mounting/creating file systems, file permissions overview, managing and troubleshooting the boot process, task automation, software management and customizing the operating system environment.

1.2 Course Home Page Index up to index

The Course Home Page is located off-campus. You can link to it via the Algonquin Blackboard system or via either link below:

Make sure you find the page for this term, not previous terms! Bookmark both the .com and the .org page locations.

Read the Course Home Page carefully, including the parts about plagiarism and course notes. Note the important dates. Write down on paper the location of the Alternate Web Notes.

1.3 Course Documents on Blackboard Index up to index

1.4 Laboratory work and equipment Index up to index

You must have the following equipment for every laboratory period, including the first. Pick up your CST8207 hardware kit from the campus store before your first lab (you already paid for this kit with your student fees):

Labs are hands-on opportunities to experiment with the theoretical material that you have learned through reading and lectures.

Laboratory assignments will be closely integrated with the theoretical material.

Students are expected to perform initial reading, analysis, and design before their scheduled lab, to take advantage of the limited lab time.

You will not have enough time to do all the reading and the lab work in the same lab period. Some lab work will require additional time outside of scheduled lab hours.

The students’ ability to successfully complete the assigned exercises will directly correlate with their level of success on tests and the final exam.

Much of the Test and Exam material will be based on the skills developed doing the lab work.

NOTE: Knowing the specific answers to lab questions is never as important as knowing how to generate the answers. Copying answers will not enable you to pass the tests and exams. You need to know how things work!

1.5 Course Textbook and Readings Index up to index

There is no required textbook for this course. We have selected some recommended (not required) textbooks for this course; the titles and purchase information are given in the Course Outline. The recommended textbooks are a reliable, comprehensive sources of accurate GNU/Linux information. Motivated students may choose instead to discover and use free Internet resources instead of a purchased textbook. Additional web-based notes will be provided on-line.

You are expected to follow the course outline and keep up-to-date with the reading in the web notes even when specific reading assignments are not provided in class. Ideally, to optimize your understanding of the lecture material, corresponding material should be read prior to the class in which it is covered.

Note that just printing the class notes on paper is no substitute for actually reading and understanding them. Print less and read more!

1.6 Course Handouts Index up to index

1.7 Course Marking Scheme Index up to index

Tests and exams will be based largely on modified lab assignment questions. A majority of the material for each test will come from material covered in the immediately preceding weeks, but material is cumulative and many questions (especially on the final exam) will be based on material covered earlier in the course.

Midterm and Exam dates will be posted on the Course Home Page. Put these dates in your own personal calendar and agenda!

Quizzes - 10%

In-class short quizzes based on previous lecture and lab material.

Labs and Homework - 15%

Laboratory work is assigned weekly. It will be made available online and you will submit your finished work electronically. Assignments that are not submitted by their due dates may not be marked.

Two Mid-Term Tests - 15% + 25% = 40%

Each Mid-Term Test is cumulative, with emphasis on material covered after the previous Midterm Test. For full mark credit, read the Test Instructions for important directions on how to enter your answers on the mark-sense forms.

Final Exam - 35%

The Final Exam is cumulative, with emphasis on material covered after the last Midterm Test. For full mark credit, read the Test Instructions for important directions on how to enter your answers on the mark-sense forms.

2 Instructor Contact Info and Timetable Index up to index

3 Attendance, Attention, and Success Factors Index up to index

Attendance is critical to course success (and to job success). If you know the material and don’t need to come to classes, ask for a Prior Learning Assessment. If you paid to be here, please be here.

If you are in class, shut your laptop, turn off your phone, and pay attention to your lecturer. The person at the front of the room cannot compete with the entire Internet and your personal phonebook for your attention - he doesn’t have the budget. If you’re bored or falling asleep, take notes.

3.1 Take Notes in Class Index up to index

You will need to take notes in class. Not everything I say ends up in these online files. Passing the information through your body onto paper or into a computer helps you remember it, even if you never read the notes later. If you have a question about course content, the first thing I will ask is to see your notes, to see what you wrote down about the topic. Often the answer is there!

3.2 Plan your Workload Index up to index

The overall term workload usually overwhelms students who try to leave everything to the last minute. You need to put in approximately an extra hour per day, per course, to keep up. There aren’t enough hours in a day to catch up in mid-term.

3.3 Submit on Time Index up to index

Late assignments are penalized, usually resulting in a mark of zero. The due date for an assignment is given in the assignment. Read each assignment to know the due date. Not every assignment is due on the same weekday or at the same time; pay attention and record each due date in your weekly calendars.

3.4 Read your EMail Index up to index

You must read your course email regularly.

EMail is a critical component of course delivery for this course. If you don’t read your Algonquin College email account daily, make sure that your forward your College email to an account that you do read. See the link on the Course Home Page.

Test to make sure that your forwarded Algonquin email works! Send yourself a test message. You must have a working Algonquin EMail address for this course (that you can forward elsewhere).

Make sure you add idallen@idallen.ca and alleni@algonquincollege.com to your email white-list, or you may not receive important email from me, especially email with your marks in it. Whitelist me now!

Use your Algonquin College email address to contact me, otherwise your email may be thrown away as unsolicited email spam.

3.5 Find the Answers Index up to index

My job is to help you find answers, not to give you answers. Many answers I give you now will be obsolete by the time you graduate. Helping you find the answer is my job; I do it for you as part of the salary paid me by the College. Actually giving you answers is called “consulting”, and my fee is $250/hr. See me after you graduate.

3.6 Right the First Time Index up to index

Assignments are only marked once. You don’t get a second chance. In the real world, if you don’t get it right the first time, your business (or your employer’s business) suffers. You try not to make the same mistakes again, but you can’t take back the fact that you made them in the first place. Do your best the first time.

My job (your boss’ job) is not to find and correct all your mistakes for you. Finding and learning from your mistakes is your job. The better you do it, the more useful you are as an employee.

4 Plagiarism Index up to index

See the Course Home Page for information on copying and working together on assignments.

You may not copy material from anywhere else without clearing the copying with me and identifying the source, in writing or by email, first. If your submission resembles that of another person, anywhere in the class or anywhere on the Internet, I am required to inquire whether you are the actual author. Cutting-and-pasting from someone else is not solving a problem. Do your own thinking and write your own answers. No cutting-and-pasting.

If I authorize copying, and only if, you must attribute the source of copied material that you use that isn’t yours. Most coursework does not permit copying, group work, or working together on a common answer. Do your own work unless the assignment permits group work.

You earn marks for the new material that you write, not material that comes from other people and other sources (e.g. from me, your friends, or from the Internet). Cutting-and-pasting from an existing answer is not solving a problem. Do your own thinking and write your own answers. No cutting-and-pasting.

A fun tutorial on how to use the Internet to find answers and avoid plagiarism is here: http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/detective/

See also: More Students Misunderstand The Fundamentals Of Plagiarism

5 Your Security and the USA Patriot Act Index up to index

From http://www.algonquincollege.com/its/documents/termsofuse.htm:

Users are advised that some of the College Network’s resources are provided by third parties, who may be located in the United States of America or other jurisdictions. By using the College Network, users acknowledge and understand that, any content or information posted or sent through the College Network may be housed in the United States of America or other jurisdictions and therefore subject to the USA Patriot Act and other applicable legislation and that there may be requirements to disclose such content.

In other words, anything you disclosed to the College - before, during, and after registration - may be sent to the Government of the United States.

6 Lecture Notes for This Week Index up to index

6.2 From the Internet - Education in 2012 Index up to index

6.3 From the Classroom Whiteboard/Chalkboard Index up to index

Author: 
| Ian! D. Allen  -  idallen@idallen.ca  -  Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| Home Page: http://idallen.com/   Contact Improv: http://contactimprov.ca/
| College professor (Free/Libre GNU+Linux) at: http://teaching.idallen.com/
| Defend digital freedom:  http://eff.org/  and have fun:  http://fools.ca/

Plain Text - plain text version of this page in Pandoc Markdown format


Campaign for non-browser-specific HTML   Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional   Valid CSS!   Creative Commons by nc sa 3.0   Hacker Ideals Emblem   Author Ian! D. Allen