These are the specific instructions concerning your Concepts examinations and the required documents under the Concepts Tab of the Portfolio:

I. Software

The software for some of the work you will do in the Concepts area of CIS 100 is on the CD-Rom included in the New Perspectives in Computer Concepts (8^th Edition) textbook. If you are using the VolState computer labs, put your CD in the CD-Rom drive and click on the “New Perspectives” icon. If you are using your own computer, put your CD-Rom disk into the CD-Rom drive and wait a few seconds. If the program does not start automatically, click the Start button, select Run, and type D:\start, and then click OK. See page O-11 in the Concepts text for more information.

II. Tracking Disk

Your Tracking Disk is either a floppy disk or a “flash drive” that contains results of all of the activities that you do on the CD-Rom. You will create a Tracking Disk only once. To create a Tracking Disk:

1. Format a diskette (if necessary) and put your name, student number and section number on an external label on the diskette. Put the diskette in the floppy drive or insert the “flash drive” in an available USB port.
2. Start the New Perspectives CD-Rom.
3. Click on Book on CD
4. The program will ask, “Do you want to check for a tracking disk?” Click on Yes.
5. The program will say “Tracking disk not found”. Click on Create.
6. The program will ask which tracking location should be used; you will select either the A:\ drive or the E:\ drive depending on whether you have elected to use a floppy disk or a “flash drive.” [It is important that you ascertain before each session where the Tracking Disk is used that the program is tracking your progress to the proper drive depending on whether you are using a floppy disk or a “flash drive.” Failure to do so may result in lost data and the requirement to repeat the work.]
7. It will ask you to enter information:
1. First Name
2. Last Name
3. User ID (this is your student number in this format 101-01-101)
4. Section Number (in this format CIS 100-###)
8. After the Tracking Disk is created, click on OK.

Be sure to have your tracking disk in the floppy drive or the USB port every time you are use the New Perspectives CD-Rom. The program may ask, “Do you want to check for a Tracking Disk?” Always click on Yes.

It is very important to protect the contents of your Tracking Disk. You should either 1) make a regular backup copy of the diskette or 2) print out the contents of the Tracking Disk after completing each chapter (see below for printing instructions). Regular print outs are your best protection against the failure of a floppy disk, in particular or the loss of a flash drive.

III. Assignments

Read chapters 1 - 7 of New Perspectives in Computer Concepts and do the following assignments for each chapter:

A. CD-Rom Assignments

• New Perspectives Lab Assignments: These are found on your CD-Rom. Click on Open a New Perspectives Lab to see the lab assignments grouped by chapter. Select the appropriate assignment. Throughout the lab you will be asked questions based on what you have just seen and read. The results of these will be stored on your Tracking Disk. You must score a minimum of 70% on your Lab Assignments. If you do not score this minimum, you should study the material and do the Lab Assignment again until you score 70%.
• Chapter Tests: These are found on your CD-Rom. Click on Open the Electronic Textbook. Click on Practice and then select the chapter on which you wish to be tested. You must score a minimum of 70% on your Chapter Tests. If you do not score this minimum, you should study the material and do the test again until you score 70%. You are required to take two (2) practice tests on each of the seven chapters. Each time you select a chapter to take a practice test you get a different set of questions.

These assignments must be turned in as follows:

1. The printed contents of your Tracking Disk. Click on Tools, and then Tracking Disk (or it may say Tracking Data, depending on the version of the CD) to display the contents of your tracking disk and then click on Print. It will look something like this:

#	Quiz	Date	Points Earned	Points Possible	Score
1	NP5 Lab: Operating a Personal Computer	05/14/2006	17	25	68.00%
2	NP5 Lab: Operating a Personal Computer	05/17/2006	20	25	80.00%
3	NP5 Chapter 1 Practice Test	05/24/2006	2	10	20.00%
4	NP5 Chapter 1 Practice Test	05/25/2006	8	10	80.00%

Your assignments must be turned in no later than one week (one day for Maymester) before the day of the final examination. There is a large amount of material in the Concepts portion of this course. These lab assignments and tests in the Concepts area will take between 30 and 45 minutes each to complete. Inasmuch as there are 30 assignments (16 labs and 14 Practice Tests), procrastination is not advisable.

IV. Final Examination

The final exam on New Perspectives in Computer Concepts consists of 14 short essay questions. Of the 14, choose 10 questions to answer. Type the questions in bold face, skip a line and type your answer in regular font. Each answer must contain a minimum of 100 words, but no answer should exceed 175 words. Add a header to each page of the document with your name aligned to the left, CIS 100/[your section number] aligned center, and Final Examination aligned to the right. You have from the day you receive the questions until the day scheduled for the final in your section to complete the test. Remember, however, that the Tracking Disk print out showing successful (70%) completion of the labs and Practice Tests must be turned in before you can receive the questions. If you fail to complete the labs and Practice Tests before the due date, you will receive a grade of zero on the final examination. You have two weeks (two days in Maymester) to complete each of the seven chapters of the Concepts materials during the semester. This is more than adequate for completion of the material, at least during a full term semester. There will be no exceptions to the rule that you will receive a zero on the final examination for failure to complete the labs and Practice Tests on or before the due date.