EEES 2500: COMPUTER APPLICATIONS in ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Spring 2005: 9:00 to 10:40 -  Tuesdays in  ROOM 3051 BOL
Dr. Don Stierman, Instructor

Link to final exam - if you need this reactivated, see me.

Grades have been posted to the computer, you should be able to look up your grade on the Web.

The objective of this course is to introduce EEES students to software we use routinely in our professional activities.  Students will be expected to use this software in several future courses.  Bookmark this page! 

Links to exercises will be activated just before class time each week.  Prerequisite: EEES 1010, EEES 2100 or permission of instructor.  Environmental Science majors who have taken EEES 2010 will probably qualify.

There is no textbook.  However, each student MUST have an active e-mail account for submitting completed assignments.  I prefer UTAD but so long as your service supports large attachments we will not have any problems.  If you do not use UTAD and have problems, that is your problem, not mine.  In addition, each student must dedicate a USB Flash Drive or ZIP disk (250 Meg recommended) to course-related file management and bring this electronic disk or ZIP diskette to each class meeting beginning March 15.  Note - you will not need this data storage until after Spring Break ("H" drive will hold data files used during the first weeks of this course) so watch for sales on USB storage at OfficeMax, Best Buy or other commercial outlets.  Also, you will probably find the USB device more reliable and more useful (many computers do not have ZIP drives, many have USB ports). 

It might be useful to store data from this class in one location beginning Week 2 and, of course, your "H" drive folders can always be copied to the USB memory stick (or whatever).  Last year some students had H-drive problems (thank you, EIT Services).  Do not delete files until you are certain that you will not need them again - possibly not until after the Final Projects.

Evaluation: Your final grade will be based on weekly assignments (60%), professional conduct in computer use (20%) and a final project (20%).    Assignments are DUE at NOON on the Monday following each class.  Assignments that arrive late will be penalized 1 letter grade per week.  Submissions that do not meet minimal standards will be returned, to be resubmitted after they are improved and revised.

Topical outline  

January 11: Getting started. See additional instructions for Week 1 below.

January 18: Introduction to Excel (spreadsheet).

January 25: Moving up in Excel.

February 1:  Introduction to Surfer. 

February 8: More about Surfer.

February 15: Microsoft Word (beyond basic word processing: equation editor, tables, images and word art).  I will also help those who had problems with advanced operations with Surfer.

February 22:  Introduction to Adobe Illustrator (guest instructor)

March 1: More Adobe Illustrator (same guest instructor)

March 15:  WEB resources

March 22: Digital camera and flatbed scanner (demonstration), and, Photoshop.

March 29: PowerPoint

Check out what other students submitted

April 5: Introduction to Access.

April 12: More Access

April 19: Introduction to ArcView

April 26: ArcView II. - see message below before opening this page.

Have you another test scheduled for 10 to noon on May 4?  If no one objects, I can keep the "due" window open beyond 10 AM.  If keeping this window open until noon is unfair to you, please inform me and I will not provide others with an unfair advantage.  Just as those who have not performed to standards and make final projects necessary have not been named, any person whose needs require the window to close at 10 AM will not be released to the public.

May 4 (Wednesday): 8 to 9:50: FINAL PROJECTS (Excel, Word, Surfer, Illustrator, Photoshop, ArcView, Access)).   Note: if all students submit work surpassing minimally acceptable on time for the entire semester, the final exam will be cancelled. Students consistently submitting superior work - always on time while solving most trivial computer problems on their own - might be awarded a vacation from the Final Projects.  Let your work speak for itself - I have a low tolerance for lobbying or marketing.

Outcomes: Students will learn to use Excel to organize, process and display data.  Students will learn, when given a data set, to plot contour maps and surface representations through using Surfer.  Students will learn to properly edit, label and display such graphics and to print hard copies of optimized results.  Students will learn to write documents using Microsoft Word, to use a variety of fonts and styles, to insert special symbols, and to format their composition.  Students will learn to send and receive files and messages via networks.  Students will learn to draw and color simple maps using Illustrator, to edit and improve maps through use of a variety of line types and fill patterns, and to print hard copies of optimized results.  Students will learn basic operations of database software Access and geo-referenced database ArcView.  Superior students will learn to integrate applications.  

Each week you will receive an assignment specifying what you are to submit as evidence of your progress.  The Final Project will require you to use elements of Excel, Word, Surfer, Illustrator and ArcView to process and display data sets downloaded from a location TBA.  I will display solutions to Final Projects on the Web, but you will have to know the basics of the software in order to make your images look like my images.  All links to weekly instructions will remain active during Final Project so you will be able to look up and refresh your memory - if you've done it before, you will be able to do it again.

Professional conduct  

1.      Thou shalt use the cluster for scholarly endeavors – thus willst thou live long and prosper - and shalt not consume thy precious hours in the computer cluster playing games.  

2.      Thou shalt check spelling and preview documents and graphs on screen, and print not thy errors, lest thy haste become evident to the entire world as thy paper is wasted.  

3.      Thou shalt share thy gifts of wisdom and knowledge – but not thy files - with thy neighbors so that all may develop skills and achieve excellence.  

4.      Thou shalt follow all instructions issued by the Network Administrator, whose words are more sacred than mutterings of even thy Professor in matters of thy account and the Network, and inform him of breakdowns and problems.  

5.      Thou shalt not print and immediately recycle what can be read just as well on the monitor.  

6.      Thou shalt not soil thy keyboard with dirt, food or drink.

7.      Thou shalt not open or download files that might infect thy workstation or the Network.  

8.      Thou shalt not display on screen that which thou wouldst hesitate to show to thy mother or potential employer.  

9.      Thou shalt not share thy account with the unauthorized.  

 Week 1: bookmark the syllabus page on the Web.  Answer the questions posted on the Web (link above, date of lecture) and send me your responses by e-mail.  Search the Web (out there beyond the Utoledo domain) for an impressive photograph with a geological or environmental theme.  Capture that photo (right click mouse button on photo, "save as" .jpg or .gif format to your "H" drive), then attach it to an e-mail message to Dr.D. along with a brief message on where you found the photo and why you thing the photo “impressive”.  If your e-mail account is not working, the Network Administrator or Laboratory Teaching Assistant will have to be contacted and the problem resolved.  Most weekly assignments are to be delivered to me attached to e-mail.

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