Winter 2011 - January to April 2011 - Updated 2011-03-26 05:19 EDT
From the Course Outline:
This course provides students with a basic understanding of computer architecture. The focus of the course is on hardware and its functions, internal encoding of data and instructions, logic circuits, microprocessor instruction execution, levels of computer languages and how they are processed. Basic assembler simulation provides a practical application. Prerequisites: CST8281
2 hours in classroom / 1 hour online / 1 hour in laboratory (per week)
The Timetable page has the full class schedule for all classes and sections.
Midterm and Exam dates will be posted on the Course Home Page. Put them in your own personal calendar and agenda!
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.
Homework and in-class Exercises may appear via Blackboard.
Some course files with publisher-restricted distribution are stored only on the Algonquin Blackboard server. Make sure you get copies of these files before the course ends, otherwise you will lose access to them. Other than these restricted files, everything else is stored on a public web server and will remain available forever in the Internet archives. Google indexes this course (but not Blackboard).
On-line materials require a player for Microsoft PowerPoint slide shows.
There is no formal textbook for this course. The main source of content for this course will be the web-based notes provided on-line.
You will be 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!
In general, in-class handouts are not common in this class since all such material will normally be posted to the web; students are expected to download and read such materials on their own.
Some course files with publisher-restricted distribution are stored only on the Algonquin Blackboard server. Make sure you get copies of these files before the course ends, otherwise you will lose access to them.
Other than these restricted files, everything else is stored on a public web server and will remain available forever in the Internet archives.
For full mark credit, read the Test Instructions for important directions on how to enter your answers on the mark-sense forms.
Homework, in the form of exercises, assignments, and small projects to be picked-up from the web and answered and submitted electronically, will be assigned approximately weekly. Such assignments are to be completed by the given due dates. Assignments that are not submitted by their due dates may not be marked.
Approximately 1/3 of the minor homework assignments will be collected for marking using a random draw. All projects will be marked.
Most marks for minor homework assignments will be based on a written demonstration that a reasonable attempt was made to answer each of the assigned problems, whether or not the correct answers were obtained. (If you don’t answer, or don’t show your work and only submit an incorrect answer, no marks will be awarded.) All homework will be answered fully either in class or online; check your actual answers and your work against the correct solutions provided.
Much of the Test and Exam material will be based on the Homework.
For full mark credit, read the Test Instructions for important directions on how to enter your answers on the mark-sense forms.
Ian! D. Allen - idallen@idallen.ca - www.idallen.com
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!
The Timetable page has Contact Information, Office Hours, and my full Class Schedule. Know how to set up an office appointment with me by email.
The fastest way to email me is via the idallen@idallen.ca address. I forward my Algonquin alleni
email to the above address, but the forwarding doesn’t work well. Email idallen directly.
Did you remember to whitelist my two email addresses?
Attendance is also critical to course 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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
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, I am required to inquire whether you are the author.
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).
These documents have restricted distribution and cannot be put on the Course Home Page.
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!