FORT 120 Forestry Computer Applications

Fall 2009

 

 

Instructor: Dr. Peter Linehan

Associate Professor of Forestry

220 Science Technology Building

Office Telephone: 717-749-6089

Email: pel2@psu.edu

 

Class location and time:

108 General Studies Wednesday 2:00 to 4:50pm.

 

Office Hours:

• Monday 11-12 and 1-2
• Wednesday 1-2
  

• Please come by my office anytime. If I am not free to see you at the moment, we can schedule a later appointment.

• Send me an email through the CMS course web site, Penn State email, or call anytime.

 

Text:

G.B. Shelly, T.J. Cashman, and M.E. Vermaat. Microsoft Office 2007 – Introductory Concepts and Techniques. Course Technology, Thomson Learning. Boston, MA.  (available in the campus bookstore)

 

Equipment Needed

You will need a USB flash drive, with a minimum of 1gb capacity. Larger is better. Most office supply stores are offering them at a discount.

 

Penn State Access Account

For this course you need to sign up and use your Penn State Access Account. You should already have one. If not, go to the computer help desk in the MAC Building. 

Google Account

In addition to Microsoft Office we will be using Google Docs for some of the assignments. If you don't already have one, you will need to open a Gmail account. Go to this address. We will also be creating Google maps in this class and FORT 130, for which you need the Gmail account.

Course Website:

I am using the Penn State online course software, ANGEL, to support this course. Each of you should be automatically registered on the course website. You can find it at http://cms.psu.edu. You will need your Penn State Access account to log in. I will present more details in class.

 

Course Goals: In the past few years, digital data resources have become critical in all aspects of natural resource management. Forestry professionals at all levels must be able to use many types of computer software and hardware devices. You must be able to gather, analyze, manipulate, and communicate many types of data. You must also be able to learn new software on the fly with minimal training. This course will help you get started on this path.

Course objectives: By the end of this course you should be able to do the following:

• Navigate and use the Windows operating system.
• Use email including attachments.
• Use the internet from a personal computer through a browsing program.
• Prepare documents with a word processor.
• Create spreadsheet models for analysis and modeling of forest data.
• Prepare and deliver computerized presentations.
• Create, edit, and publish a simple web page.
  
• Develop and publish to a blog.
  
• Practice safe and defensive computing.
• Use library resources on the computer.
• Search for information using web resources.

 

Another objective is to familiarize you with the variety of software and network resources you have available to you at Penn State, from email to network storage. You also have the entire Penn State Library at your service from any location you are working.

 

Course Schedule

A preliminary course schedule is attached. The detailed course schedule will also be posted on the calendar on the website. The inevitable changes to the schedule will be announced in class ahead of time and posted.

 

Evaluation and Grades: This course is worth two academic credits. The material you will learn here is critical for your academic and professional success. Your progress will be evaluated as follows:

 

 

Uncompleted projects and quizzes count as 0. Projects will have deadlines for completion. Late, unexcused assignments will be penalized.

From time to time there will also be optional extra credit assignments that you can use to improve your grade. More details will follow.

 

Your final grade will be calculated as follows:

 

Assignments

In most assignments you will have to use computer software to solve a problem. Most often you will upload your work to the course website in an assigned drop box. You will also have to write a report on the work you have done. In some projects you may have to present an assignment to the class. Some of the assignments will be from the text and others will be from handouts. 

 

Late assignments

I expect that you will hand in completed assignments on time unless I postpone the work or you make prior arrangements with me. If you find that you cannot complete an assignment on time then you should send me an email telling me how much you have completed and what is your problem with the assignment before the project is due. I am looking for specific information on the difficulties you are having, not just that you couldn’t do it. That way I can help you or we can work out what steps you should take to understand and complete the work. I reserve the right to give a grade of 0 to late assignments.

 

Quizzes

In most classes there will be a quiz during or after the class. It may be on paper or on line.

 

Attendance / Participation

Regular attendance is expected for all forest technology courses. If for some reason you can’t come to class, please contact me ahead of time.

 

Under the policy of the University College, I must report your attendance during the fourth and seventh weeks of the semester.

 

Cell Phones

Please silence or turn off your cell phones during class. This includes internet-enabled and text messaging devices. They can be very annoying when they go off in class; as I have learned from my own phone. 

 

Important Academic Dates

To better plan your academic progress you need to keep in mind these important deadlines.

Penn State Principles

I would like to remind you of the Penn State Principles (http://www.psu.edu/ur/principles.html), which have been adopted by the University:

• I will respect the dignity of all individuals within the Penn State community.
• I will practice academic integrity.
• I will demonstrate social and personal responsibility.
• I will be responsible for my own academic progress and agree to comply with all University policies.

 

Professional Expectations

The forest technology program is designed to prepare you for a career in natural resources when you graduate. You should treat your courses as you would a professional job. I have the following expectations for your performance in class, in the field, and in completing your assignments.

 

1. Come to class on time.
2. Prepare any assigned readings or work ahead of time.
3. Be ready to participate in class discussion or to take an assignment.
4. You will not smoke or chew tobacco during class and outdoor labs.
5. This class takes place in a computer lab. Your work stations have active internet connections. During class I ask that you refrain from using email, instant messaging, or browsing other websites. I don't mind if you do this before or after instruction is completed. If I see you doing any of these things during instruction time, I will ask you to leave and you will get a zero for that day's quiz.
6. Please don’t bring food to class.
7. Drinks are allowed. It is better to use cups with lids.
8. Please remove hats and caps in class to improve the professional atmosphere.
9. Please stow your backpacks and book bags under your desk or outside the class so that I can reach people around the class room.
   

Academic Integrity

When you hand in assignments I assume it is your own work. Cheating and plagiarism is wrong. I may assign a grade of zero for assignments where I know cheating or plagiarism has occurred. I can also assign a grade of 'F' in the course because of this infraction. For group projects and research assignments, we will discuss ahead of time what constitutes doing your own work and what is cheating.

 

Here is the University College Academic Integrity Policy that we will follow: https://teamworks.campuses.psu.edu/uc/Academic%20Programs/UCpolicies.pdf

The College of Agricultural Sciences has a helpful website on this topic: http://academicintegrity.cas.psu.edu/

 

Computer Usage

Computer systems have become very powerful and indispensable tools in all our lives.   It's becoming hard to remember how we did things before the computer age.  As with all good things there are also negative uses of this new technology, including software piracy, network hacking, and the creation of viruses. In this course we will follow the University's computing policies which can be found at http://its.psu.edu/security.html  

 

Official Academic Policies

The official academic policies for Penn State are listed on the Faculty Senate website: http://www.psu.edu/ufs/policies/

 

Services for Students with Disabilities
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. If you have a disability-related need for reasonable academic adjustments in this course, contact the Disability Contact Liaison, Kendra Wolgast, located on the first floor of the General Studies Building in the Student Success Center. She can be reached at 749-6045 or kmw24@psu.edu. For further information regarding the Penn State Office of Disability Services, please visit their web site at http://www.equity.psu.edu/ods/. Instructors should be notified as early in the semester as possible regarding the need for reason-able academic adjustments.

Flu Information

Special Fall 2009 Flu Protocols -In compliance with Pennsylvania Department of
Health and Centers for Disease Control recommendations, students should NOT
attend class or any public gatherings while ill with influenza. Students with
flu symptoms will be asked to leave campus if possible and to return home
during recovery. The illness and self-isolation period will usually be about a
week. It is very important that individuals avoid spreading the flu to others.

Most students should be able to complete a successful semester despite a
flu-induced absence. Faculty will provide students who are absent because of
illness with a reasonable opportunity to make up missed work. Ordinarily, it is
inappropriate to substitute for the missed assignment the weighting of a
semester's work that does not include the missed assignment or exam. Completion
of all assignments and exams assures the greatest chance for students to
develop heightened understanding and content mastery that is unavailable
through the weighting process. The opportunity to complete all assignments and
exams supports the university's desire to enable students to make responsible
situational decisions, including the decision to avoid spreading a contagious
virus to other students, staff, and faculty, without endangering their academic
work.

Students with the flu do not need to provide a physician's certification of
illness. However, ill students should inform their teachers (but not through
personal contact in which there is a risk of exposing others to the virus) as
soon as possible that they are absent because of the flu. Likewise students
should contact their instructors as quickly as possible to arrange to make up
missed assignments or exams.