MANSFIELD UNIVERSITY
CIS 3330 COURSE SYLLABUS

revised 8/26/2006

GENERAL INFORMATION

Course number: CIS 3330
Credit/Contact hours: 3
Term: Fall, August 29 - December 14, 2006
Course title: Computer Organization
College website: www.mansfield.edu

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Instructor name: John Phillips
Instructor office location: Elliott 205 C
Instructor office hours: online at http://faculty.mansfield.edu/jphillip/
Instructor telephone: 570-662-4554
Instructor e-mail address: jphillip@mansfield.edu

COURSE INFORMATION

Course Description

Overview of computer hardware, computer structure, machine representation of information, instruction codes, addressing, concepts of digital logic, microprogramming and assembly language programming.

Prerequisites: CIS 1104

Textbooks

CODE: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software, Charles Petzold, 2000, Microsoft Press, ISBN: 0-7356-1131-9.

Computer Organization and Design Fundamentals, David Tarnoff, 2006, Lulu.com, ISBN: 1-4116-3690-2. This book is available online for free from http://www.lulu.com/content/138292 as a PDF file. Or you can purchase a hardcopy at http://www.lulu.com/content/138273.

Software

This software will be installed on the computers in the Elliott 207 computer lab. However, you may wish to download and install copies on your own computer. The software is free.

MultiMedia Logic Win32 Kit - download at http://www.softronix.com/logic.html

8086 Microprocessor Simulator - download at http://www.softwareforeducation.com/sms32v50/index.php.

Equipment and supplies

Access to the Internet is required either using your own computer or by using a computer in the school's computer lab. Presentation materials and other supplies may need to be purchased for your project. You should keep at least 2 separate backup copies of all work you do on a USB key, diskettes, or other suitable media.

Course Website

http://www.mnsfld.edu/blackboard.cfm for the Blackboard class discussion board

Course Outline

  1. Introduction, history, number systems, information representation
  2. Logic, gates, combinational circuits
  3. Memory, flip flops, clocks
  4. CPU design, control logic, machine code
  5. Computer system design
  6. Assembly language
  7. Technical report writing topics
  8. Presentation topics
  9. Teamwork and professional/community service topics

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course the student will be able to:

Class schedule

TuTh 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM in Elliott 206

Grading scale and policy

In general the following policy will be used on subjectively graded work such as essays and projects. Work that meets the stated requirements and is of average quality will earn a C grade. Work that goes beyond the basic requirements will in general earn anywhere from a C+ to a B grade. Work that is very good and exceeds the instructor's expectations will in general earn a B+ or A- grade. Only the most outstanding work will earn an A grade.

(Refer to the Mansfield University Catalog for grades that can be awarded.)

A >= 90%
B >= 80%
C >= 70%
D >= 60%
F < 60%

In addition, the instructor may choose to further differentiate grades with plus and minus subdivisions as outlined in the catalog.

 

Course Item

% of Grade

Assignments and quizzes

20

Individual project report and presentation

20

Service-oriented team project report and presentation

10

Midterm exam

20

Final exam

30

Assignments will be posted on Blackboard and/or announced in class. You may work together with other students on the assignments as long as each student is doing his or her own work and you are just getting help from each other on problem areas. Copying another student’s work is not allowed and would be considered plagiarism. If you get help from a person other than the instructor you must include the details of this help in writing on the assignment.

Quizzes are typically unannounced closed book and timed although an occasional open book and/or open notes quiz may be given. Electronic devices such as laptop computers, calculators, and cell phones may not be used during a quiz. Neither early quizzes nor late quizzes nor makeup quizzes will be given, however, your 2 lowest quiz grades will be dropped to allow for any unavoidable or excused absences.

A final project will be required. It will be an individual project and will include a written report and a presentation to the class.

You will have several service projects to choose from where you will work as part of a team to solve a department, school, or community CIS-related problem. You will document your service project with a report and presentation.

The exams will be closed book. Electronic devices such as laptop computers, calculators, and cell phones may not be used during the exam.

Attendance and participation will help me decide borderline cases when I assign final grades. For example, a student with an 88% or 89% final grade would probably be assigned a B+ grade. However, if the student had nearly perfect attendance and steady active well-prepared participation throughout the course then I would consider bumping the grade up to an A-.

Late work policy

A late assignment, project, report, presentation, or exam will automatically lose one letter grade unless it is an unavoidable officially excused and documented emergency absence. No work other than the final exam will be accepted after the last day of classes.

Instructor's expectations

This course places an emphasis on out-of-class experimentation, research, and reading. You will need to go beyond the textbook and draw from the extensive resources available on the Internet and within the MU library. You will need to spend a large amount of time exploring the course topics in a hands-on environment, either on your own computer or in the computer lab. Please allocate plenty of time in your schedule for this course.

Methods of instruction

This lecture course has a large homework component. You will need to do considerable reading and studying from the textbook as well as from course notes and Internet sources. It can be very helpful to read ahead and mark any sections that you do not understand or have questions about so that you can ask for clarification during the lectures. Many assignments will require the use of simulation software that will be made available to you for download. Or if you prefer, you can do the assignments in the Elliott 207 computer lab. Feel free to ask questions during lectures, during office hours, or on the class discussion board about any material you need clarified.

Unique requirements of the course

This course requires previous programming experience. In addition, I assume you have knowledge of algebra, technical writing, oral presentations, and general computer skills. Considerable time will be required to do the reading and complete the assignments. Please do not take this course if you do not have the time it will take to keep up with the work.

Attendance

If a student must miss a class due to documented illness or other excusable reason, the student must:

In order to avoid prolonged delay of make-up of the work, a faculty member may, at her/his discretion, give the make-up work and hold it for grading until after the written excuse is received.

Note that make-up quizzes will not be given in this course. Instead, the two lowest quiz grades will be dropped to cover excused absences.

Bad Weather / Instructor Illness Policy

On days that we have icy or snowy weather, the instructor may choose to hold class on-line. This will be announced online on Blackboard. Likewise, should the instructor be sick, please check Blackboard for assignments and/or alternative online class activities.

Academic Integrity

Feel free to help each other solve problems encountered on the assignments. Browse other students' posted work, on-line web sites, and other books for ideas. However, do be careful; if you copy another's work and you do not give credit for it that is plagiarism. In general, any work you submit should contain your own work and not someone else's. It would be especially bad to copy another student's work and then make a few changes to it and submit it as your own. Please do not do this. If you are in doubt then discuss the situation with your instructor.

Syllabus statement for students who may have “exceptionalities:"

Any students with documented psychological or learning disorders or other significant medical conditions that may affect their learning should work through Mr. William Chabala in our Counseling Center (101 Hemlock Manor, Phone: 662-4695; e-mail wchabala@mnsfld.edu) to provide me with the appropriate letter so that I may serve their particular needs more effectively. If you have an exceptionality that requires class or testing accommodations, Mr. Chabala will work with us to identify and implement appropriate interventions.

Withdrawal Policy for Individual Courses

The last day to withdraw from a College course with a "W" grade is published in the Academic Calendar. It is the responsibility of the student to complete and submit the necessary forms to the Registrar's Office. An official withdrawal would entitle the student to a grade of "W" in the course.

Syllabus Change Policy

The instructor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus and course timeline as the course progresses.


COURSE TIMELINE

Week

Outline

1

CODE: Read chapters 1-6

2

Labor day, no CIS3330 class on Tuesday as your MWF classes meet
CODE: Read chapters 7, 8, 15, 9
Number systems and information representation

3

CODE: Read chapters 10-11
Boolean algebra
Multimedia Logic simulator - logic gates

4

CODE: Read chapters 12-13
Binary arithmetic
Multimedia Logic simulator - adding/subtracting machine design

5

CODE: Read chapter 14
Flip-flops, 8-bit latch, 2-to-1 selector, ripple counter
Multimedia Logic simulator - adding machine with storage

6

CODE: Read chapter 16
RAM design, 8-to-1 selector, 3-to-8 decoder
Multimedia Logic simulator - RAM control panel

7

CODE: Read and re-read chapter 17 as it is the key chapter of the book
Midterm Exam
on Thursday

8

No Class Tuesday – Fall Holiday

Design of the MUCPU
Multimedia Logic simulator - building the MUCPU

9

MUCPU assembler design using a high-level language
Individual technical projects assigned

10

CODE: Read chapters 18, 19
Intel 8085 architecture and programming

11

CODE: Read chapters 20, 21
Intel 80x86 architecture and programming

12

CODE: Read chapter 22

13

No Class Thursday - Thanksgiving holiday

CODE: Read chapters 23, 24, 25

14

Team service project presentations

15

Individual technical project presentations and project report

16

Final Exam