ITNW 1425 Fundamentals of Networking Technologies

Course Syllabus

Instructor Name: Fidelis Ngang

Tel: 713-718-5552
Office: Spring Branch, Room 900L
Email: fidelis.ngang@hccs.edu
Website: tc3.hccs.edu/NgangF

Course Reference 57490 Course Level Beginning

Number (CRN)

Course Description: Introduction to the fundamentals, basic concepts, and terminology of networks. Topics include
the access and use of the Internet and networking hardware and software, including current
developments in networking.

Course Must be at college-level skills in reading, writing, and mathematics

Prerequisite(s)

Course Semester Credit Hours 4.0 (Lecture 3, Lab 3)

Credit Hours (SCH)
(Lecture, Lab)

Course Internet Total Course Contact Hours 96

Location/Times

Instructional Guide to Networking Essentials, 6th Edition. Author: Tomsho, Tittle & Johnson. ISBN: 1111312524.
Materials Publisher: Cengage.

Instructional Distance (100%) Type of Instruction

Methods (select one) Lecture/Lab,

Course Length (number of weeks) 16 Weeks

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 Course Requirement, Policy, and
Course Calendar

Instructor's Required Materials: This course requires the use of:

Requirements
1. Adequate hardware including a 1 GHz or faster CPU, 1GB or more of RAM, graphics
card with 128 MB of memory, 4 GB of disk storage space and handle multimedia
items (sound and maybe a microphone [suggested but not required this semester]).
2. Window Vista or Windows 7 operating system
3. Internet Explorer version 7 or 8 (your web browser software)
4. High speed Internet access (DSL or cable - dial up will NOT work)
5. REAL PLAYER software (which is free) (if needed),

Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty (aka., cheating) is taken seriously. All work
must be done independently. You may always ask your instructor for help. You can even ask
friends and family for help in order to gain a better understanding of certain concepts.
However, you must start and finish the work independently. If you are sharing a computer
or book with another student, you must keep your work in separate folders, and start and
complete the work independently. It is very easy to determine if files have been copied and
modified, etc… Copying a file from another student, and then making minor changes to that
file is cheating

Acceptance Guidelines: Not all people are well suited for independent study. Are you / Do
you?

1. Be self motivated or self starter: This usually means having completed at least 6
credit hours of college and having a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better. Exceptions
must be approved by the instructor.

2. Meet the course prerequisites: This means being ready for ENGL1301 and
MATH1314 (i.e. no remediation needed) and high school computer literacy or
equivalent.

3. Already be familiar with microcomputers by having used:

a. Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000 Pro, Windows XP or
Windows Vista
b. A word processing software product
c. A spreadsheet software product
d. An Internet browser
e. Files and folders. This means that you should be able to create, rename,
delete, locate, move and copy files and folders. You should also be familiar
switching between the icon view and the details view in My
Computer/Windows Explorer. A basic understanding of the above file
management skills is required.

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 4. Have access to computer resources:
a. either, have adequate hardware with software installed on a computer at
home or work including adequate Internet access with DSL or cable speed
b. or, be able and willing to use open lab times provided by the college to
complete the course.

I expect to have regular contact with you during the semester. Most of this contact will be
electronically within the Blackboard Vista environment. Most interaction will be via the
Announcements, Discussions and Mail tools and the grading of lab assignments.

Professor Participation: I will normally enter the course via Blackboard Vista every business
day (Monday thru Friday unless it’s a Holiday), however for a variety of reasons (sick, out of
town, computer broken, internet connection not working, etc.) I may not enter the course on
a given day. Often I will enter the course more than once on a business day. I will usually
enter the course on Saturday morning, but not always. Sometimes, I will enter the course on
Sunday. Thus, it might appear that you have 24/7 instructor response and you could
wrongfully expect immediate response to all your needs. I will try to respond quickly and you
should normally have a response within 3 business days, so don’t panic if you don’t get a
response in 30 minutes. In recent semesters, I have tried to grade all papers within 2 to 3
days after they are submitted by students. I will read all Blackboard Vista “Mail” every time
I enter the course and normally will respond that same day. Once in a while a student’s
question requires a couple of days for me to research his question to allow me to formulate
a good (correct) response.

Information for Students with Disabilities: Refer to “Standard CSCI DE Course Information”
part of the syllabus.

Final Grade: Your final grade will be posted by the Registrar and are available shortly after
the end of the semester. There is no other official method of posting a student’s final grade.
Final grades will not be given over the telephone by either the professor or any HCCS
employee. If you need an official transcript, see the registrar and request a transcript be sent
after posting of the grades for the semester.

US Mailing Address, Telephone and Email Address: Make sure that your address is correct
on your student ID card and that HCC has your correct telephone and email information.

Detailed Course Evaluation: There will be a 1,000 point system used to determine the grade
for this course per the following:

Class Schedule: The below due dates are established so as to prevent

“Procrastination” on your part. It is “strongly suggested” that students set
a regular study schedule. This will allow them to complete materials on or before the “Due
Date”. Students that work ahead will be able to handle unexpected situations that will occur
in their life. Not working ahead might cause them to miss the due date for a Learning
Module. Assignments not received and quizzes not taken by the “Cut Off Date” for a
Learning Module will not be received and will be given the grade of zero.

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 If you are having problems completing course materials on time (by the “Due Date”), chat
with the instructor. If you have over scheduled your life (working 40 hours a week and
taking 15 credit hours of college instruction), have computer problems (my computer is
broke and I don’t know when it will get fixed) or don’t have a textbook (too poor to buy one
until payday)

However, under unusually circumstances (death or illness in the family and other items that
greatly disrupt your life), the instructor might be willing to accept late materials. But the
time to chat with the instructor is when something is “Due”. Don’t wait until the “Cut Off
Date” to announce that you have a problem and would like some consideration; again – you
might not get much sympathy.

Instructor Detailed Course Evaluation:

Grading Criteria There will be a 1,000 point system used to determine the grade for this course per the
following:

Item Percent
Exam #1 20% or 200 points
Exam #2 20% or 200 points
Homework Assignment/Quizzes 30% or 300 points
Final Exam (Exam #3) 30% or 300 points
Total: 100% or 1000 points

The Final exam will be taken on campus. Students are required to take
all Exams (Exam #1, Exam #2 and the Final Exam).
Based on the weights above a final percent will be calculated with grades awarded as
follows:
A - 900 to 1000 points (90% to 100%)
B - 800 to 899 points (80% to 89.9%
C - 700 to 799 points (70% to 79.9%
D - 600 to 699 points (60% to 69.9%
F - 0 to 599 points (0% to 59.9%)

Note: For those interested, the Excel formula used to calculate the final grade for the course
is as follows: (Exam #1 Grade) + (Exam #2 Grade) + (Home Assignment Grade) + (Final Exam
Grade).

Course Calendar
Start Date Topic Due Date
Aug 27 Chap 1 - Introduction to Computer Networks Sep 3
Sep 3 Chap 2 - Network Hardware Essentials Sep 10
Sep 10 Chap 3 - Network Topologies and Technologies Sep 17
Sep 17 Chap 4 - Networking Media Sep 24
Sep 24 Chap 5 - Network Protocols Oct 1
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Oct 2 - 5 Exam 1 (chap. 1 – 5) Online
Oct 8 Chap 6 - Network Reference Models and Standards Oct 15
Oct 15 Chap 7 - Network Hardware in Depth Oct 22
Oct 22 Chap 8 - Network Operating Systems Oct 29
Oct 29 Chap 9 - Introduction to Network Security Nov 5
Nov 5 Chap 10 - Supporting a Small Business Network Nov 12
Nov 13 - 16 Exam 2 (chap. 6 – 10) Online
Sunday, Nov 20 - Saturday, Nov 26 Thanksgiving Week – Take a little Break!
Nov 19 Chap 11 - Network Administration and Support Dec 3
Dec Chap 12 - Enterprise and Wide Area Networks
Dec Chap 13 - Solving Network Problems
Dec 3 - 9 Review for Final Exam
Dec 10 Final Exam (chap. 1 – 11) On Campus, Closed-Book (Spring Branch or Katy Campus)
Note: It is recommended that you read the final two chapters (12 & 13) of the textbook; however you will not be
tested on that content.

Learning Objective, Students Learning Outcome, and

Program Spec

Note: This section of the syllabus provides the general course learning objectives, the expected students
learning outcome, the course scope in terms of the department program, and the instrument used to evaluate
the course. If you have any question, contact the instructor or the department.

HCC Grading Scale

Grade GPA Points
A = 100- 90 4 points per semester hour
B = 89 - 80: 3 points per semester hour
C = 79 - 70: 2 points per semester hour
D = 69 - 60: 1 points per semester hour
59 and below = F 0 points per semester hour
IP (In Progress) 0 points per semester hour
W(Withdrawn) 0 points per semester hour
I (Incomplete) 0 points per semester hour
AUD (Audit) 0 points per semester hour

IP (In Progress) is given only in certain developmental courses. The student must re-enroll
to receive credit. COM (Completed) is given in non-credit and continuing education courses.
To compute grade point average (GPA), divide the total grade points by the total number of
semester hours attempted. The grades "IP," "COM" and "I" do not affect GPA.

Course Student Learning 1. Identify network transmission media.

Outcomes (SLO): 2. Identify the characteristics of OSI, Model, network topologies and protocols.
3. Identify the functions of a network operating system
4. Distinguish between centralized, client/server, and peer-to-peer systems;

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Learning Objectives
Student Assignments
Student Assessment(s)
Program/Discipline
Requirements:
Academic Discipline/CTE
Program Learning
Outcomes
SCANS and/or Core
Curriculum Competencies:
Access Student Services
Policies on their Web site:
Access DE Policies on their
Web site:
Access CE Policies on their
Web site for non-credit
classes:
Competencies:
Computer Science Technology Department
5. Distinguish between Local Area Networks (LANs) and Wide Area Networks (WANs)
6. Identify the components used to expand a LAN into a WAN.
Refer to the Curse Calendar
Assessment criteria under development for the following:
1. Identify network transmission media.
2. Identify the characteristics of OSI, Model, network topologies and protocols.
3. Identify the functions of a network operating system
4. Distinguish between centralized, client/server, and peer-to-peer systems;
5. Distinguish between Local Area Networks (LANs) and Wide Area Networks (WANs)
6. Identify the components used to expand a LAN into a WAN.
Instructors will use syllabus that will satisfy CurricuUNET requirements and improve on-
going assessment of student-centered learning and teaching.
Install, configure, upgrade, and troubleshoot personal computer operating systems.
Install, configure and troubleshoot networking hardware, protocols and services.
Manage and maintain Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Environment/Network
Infrastructure.
Demonstrate knowledge in General Security Concepts, Communication Security,
Infrastructure Security, and Unified Communications
C1. Allocate Time
C5. Acquires and Evaluates Information
F7. Creative Thinking
C7. Interprets and Communicates Information
C15. Understands Systems
C18. Selects Technology
HCC Policy Statement
http://hccs.edu/student-rights
Distance Education and/or Continuing Education Policies
http://de.hccs.edu/de/de-student-handbook
http://hccs.edu/CE-student-guidelines
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