Course Syllabus

PLS 21-Application of Computers in Technology

Winter 2025

Plant Sciences,

CATALOG DESCRIPTION:

Computer skills for the classroom and workplace. Hands-on application of computer software: spreadsheets, database management, web design, word processors, presentation, photo/video editing, data analysis. Considerations for identifying and selecting appropriate software, hardware, networks, and information security practices in businesses applications.

COURSE OVERVIEW:

This course is designed to teach important computer skills that you need as an undergraduate student as well as later in your career, especially if you will be working in a field that involves technology. The lectures focus on providing context such that you will be able to make educated decisions regarding when and why to use particular hardware or software, whereas the labs will focus on teaching you how to use one example piece of software for each topic. In various instances, examples will be provided regarding how the information can be used in agriculture and business applications.

COURSE HISTORY:

Why is this a Plant Science course (given the fact that there is very little Plant Science contained in the course material)? The answer lies in the fact that many years ago we taught a course on the use of microcomputers specifically for agricultural applications. Over the years many students who were not in any of the Plant Sciences majors began taking the course because of its reputation as being extremely useful for any sort of college work that involves computers. The professors teaching the course gradually shifted the course to be more general-purpose as students from many majors began enrolling. Soon we   had a course that hundreds of students wanted to take each quarter. Many majors realized that this course was a lot easier for their students than to have them sign up for a heavy-duty computer science class, so many majors now list PLS21 as a degree requirement. One thing to be aware of is that EVERY student already has some significant amount of computer-use background. This is now a requirement for being admitted to UC Davis. Our greatest challenge as instructors is that our clients (you students) consist of many individuals who have only rudimentary knowledge while others are experienced computer users. We aim to make this course useful for everyone.

TEXTBOOK & SUPPLIES:

Textbook: Rainer, R.K., & Prince, B.: Introduction to Information Systems. 9th  Ed. Wiley.

Nordell, Stewart, Wood, Easton & Graves. Microsoft Office 365: In Practice, 2019 Edition: McGraw-Hill. ISBN:1260079902

The e-textbook is optional and available through the Bookshelf or Module tab in our Canvas page. It has a link to Wiley's vital source online book distribution page. The book contains text pertaining to the lecture material and outlines (with images and some text) the lab workshops. The textbook provides an additional source of information should you choose to use it. If you don’t care about having the book, then feel free to opt-out. The instructors do not receive any “perks” when students purchase the textbook, it is purely for your benefit.

Lab sessions are held in IET computer labs on campus. Make sure you use the lab you were scheduled to use (i.e., Mac or PC). If you were enrolled in PLS 21 V, you will need to either use your own computer (Mac or PC) and install the software covered in the course, or remotely log on to the campus computers using your own computer.

IET Virtual Labs: Students can access computer labs remotely via virtuallab.ucdavis.edu

(http://virtuallab.ucdavis.edu) . Note that this is only available for PC/Windows computers, and virtual   lab access is only available during certain time periods of the day. During the school day there are a very small number of spare computers that allow remote connections on a first-come, first-served basis.

However, these computers are often in use. So you might need to try again later. There are more stations available after 8pm (Mon-Thu), after 6pm (Fri), and on weekends.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

· Discuss software and hardware requirements for a small business

· Create spreadsheets for basic data analyses, data presentation and developing reports

· Develop a database, manipulate data and generate reports

· Edit images and videos for communicating content with the public

· Use a programming language to analyze data

Equity Statement

This course is designed to be facilitated through an equity lens. We acknowledge that students enrolled in this course come from diverse academic, cultural, and economic backgrounds. Our goal is to provide the highest quality of instruction by embracing diversity while addressing equity gaps in this class. To this end, assignments and activities in this course are intentionally structured to provide clear linkages between students’ lived experiences and their educational goals.

We acknowledge that we do not know the best way to serve all students in our course. Hence, we invite you to help us build a learning environment that best serves your learning goals and preferences. To accomplish our goal, we invite all students to work with us to create a positive and supportive learning environment that is based on open and timely communication with your TAs and your instructor.

CLASS FORMAT:

The PLS21 is a lecture/lab course, and the curriculum consists of 10 weeks of content. HOWEVER, commensurate with the number of units of the course, there will be fewer than 10 weeks of instruction in PLS 21 (if we used every class period and every lab period to its fullest, then this course would be a 4-   unit course). One significant benefit that you will see from this approach is that we will be finished with PLS21 before the end of the quarter.

There are two lecture sessions and one lab session each week (except when there is a holiday). The lecture sessions are led primarily by your instructor and supported by the TAs. The lab sessions are led primarily by your section TAs and supported by undergraduate interns.

For PLS 21V there are no in-class lecture or lab sessions. Students are expected to read lecture materials (slide decks, handouts etc.), watch video lectures and complete their lecture activities in a virtual setting. Lab sessions for PLS 21V will be led by section TAs and students are expected use UC   Davis virtual computer labs or their personal laptops (if they have the appropriate software) to complete their assignments.

Lecture:

Lectures will take place twice a week (except for holidays) in the assigned classroom. These lectures will be led by your instructor and supported by your Head TAs. Slide decks for each lecture will be published  on canvas at the beginning of each class.  Lecture exams (midterms) will be administered during class time. Please see the class schedule and plan accordingly. If you have any questions about the lecture content or exams, please contact your instructor via email (g[email protected]

(mailto:gssellu@ucdavis.edu)). Please schedule some time to meet with your instructor during office hours (See first page of syllabus).

Lab:

Lab sections meet once a week during your scheduled lab time, during which TAs provide instruction on   how to use a specific piece of software to complete lab homework. Your TAs have scheduled office hours during which you could meet and discuss any questions you may have related to the lab material. A group of 20 to 30 students (the exact number changes each quarter) are involved in helping you learn the hands-on course material. About ten of these students are graduate Teaching Assistants (TAs) hired specifically to give you instruction during the lab period. The others are student interns who enjoyed the course so much in a prior quarter that they wanted to be involved in teaching the lab sections. During your lab, if you have questions, you can chat with an intern to help answer your questions. Note also that your TAs and interns provide extensive office hours outside class time to help you understand the course material and complete your lab homework.

Communication:

Communication for the class will usually occur through Canvas. Please take a minute to learn how to set up Canvas notifications (link here: https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Student-Guide/How-do-I-set-my-Canvas-notification-preferences-as-a-student/ta-p/434), and make sure you have them set appropriately. It is critically important that you carefully read all Canvas announcements for the course.

Please contact your instructor, Dr. Sellu for all lecture related questions (no need to copy the TAs) and contact your section TA for all lab related questions. You can contact the instructor through email ([email protected]). Please use a subject line starting with “PLS21” . If you do not receive a reply within 24 hours, please follow-up again in case the email was missed or went to junk.

If you find that you need to contact someone other than the TA that is responsible for your lab session about PLS21, and if it is about lab, then contact one of the head TAs (with CC to your regular TA - unless you feel that you need to correspond in confidence). You may also email Dr. Sellu ([email protected]) as needed.

The Head TA responsibilities include (i) oversight of overall grading in lab, including lab grading appeals, grade book finalization, etc. (ii) overall attendance and scheduling issues (i.e., lab switching, making up  a missed lab etc.).

Grading:

20%

Lab Homework

15%

Weekly Lab Quizzes

15%

Lab Autotutorials (5% each)

20%

Lab Final Exam

30%

Lecture Midterms

100%

Total

Letter grades:

A+ (100-97.0%), A (96.9-93.0%),A-(92.9-90.0%), B+(89.9-87.0%), B (86.9-83.0%), B-(82.9-80.0%), C+ (79.9-77.0%), C (76.9-73.0%), C- (72.9-70.0%), D+(69.9-67.0), D (66.9-63.0%), D-(62.9-60.0%), F

(59.9-0.0%)

The grading scale is the default UC Davis scale. The UC Davis Canvas gradebook will be used, and it   will calculate averages and course grades consistent with the percentages above. Please note that we  make every effort to assure accuracy of grading. But sometimes mistakes are made; so, we need your  help. Please look at your scores each week and verify that the numbers are correct. If you feel that a     mistake has been made, then please bring this to the attention of the person who did the grading within two weeks of the when the grades were assigned. Also, at the end of the quarter please verify all your   grades prior to the final lab exam and be sure to initiate any appeals prior to the last day of instruction.

Grades are not curved. In rare instances there may be issues that require adjustment of student grades on a particular assignment or exam, but in this case your grade would only be increased and never

decreased.

MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS Lecture Midterms:

During the quarter there will be two lecture exams, the first will be roughly halfway through the quarter and it covers all lecture material and reading material covered to-date. The second exam will cover all   material taught in the course after the first exam. Be sure to attend lecture to learn the exact dates.

These exams will be based explicitly on the lecture material covered by your instructor and the assigned readings. You are strongly encouraged to review the weekly ungraded lecture study guides to prepare     for these midterms. Your lecture exams will be administered in person (for PLS 21) and online for PLS 21 V students. For PLS 21 V students, please ensure that you have reliable internet connection

and a computer with access to the requisite software before you begin each exam. You are encouraged to give yourselves enough time to complete the exams.

Autotutorials:

There are three Autotutorials in this course. These autotutorials are based on concepts introduced in lecture but there are no associated labs to help students practice these concepts. The autotutorials

provide an opportunity for students to practice these concepts on their own using online tutorials. Since these are self-paced/self-taught activities, students will be given 11 days to complete each of these

autotutorials instead of the 4 days usually assigned for lab homework.

Lab Homework:

Lab homework will be assigned to you on the day of your lab. You have 4 days to complete the homework with the final deadline before the next lab for which you are registered. Your homework will be due 4 days after your lab time at 11:55 PM for full credit. (Example: If your labis on Tuesday, your lab homework is due Saturday 11:55PM)

Lab Quizzes:

Lab quizzes are based on the lab materials covered by your TA, the lecture and assigned textbook

reading from the previous week. These are short quizzes administered during each lab section meeting   (starting with the second week); on each quiz you will find a few questions related to the previous week’s lecture material and most of the questions will be from the previous week’s lab material. In the event you cannot attend the quiz, please obtain permission from your TA to make up the time. You must email your TA, 24 hours prior to the scheduled quiz time if you want to make it up. If you have questions regarding    this policy, you may contact your TA or one of the head TAs

Lab Final Exam:

There will be a final hands-on lab exam administered during the last week of the course. Your lab exam will be administered in class except if you are enrolled in PLS 21V. Students enrolled in PLS 21 (In- person class) will take their lab finals during their normal lab time. For PLS21 V students, your lab final will be scheduled at different times in collaboration with your TA. This exam will cover all the lab instruction. To be successful on the lab final, students are encouraged to review the study guide and all  lab homework and quizzes for the entire course before attempting the final lab exam. If you are enrolled in PLS 21V please ensure that you have reliable internet connection and a computer with access to the  requisite software before you begin the exam. You are encouraged to give yourselves enough time to complete the exam.