Something to check, a word of advice, & a warning

Something to check:
If you've already submitted an Excel Capstone project, please go into Blackboard and see if your submission is still valid. If it isn't, resubmit.

I added some instructions to the projects, and I get a warning message - but I am not clear on how that affects files already submitted. Please let me know what happened!

A Word of Advice:
Do NOT wait until October 9th to start these projects. They WILL take a long time to figure out.

Once you've done myITlab chapter One, then work on Capstone Project 1. etc. etc.

Your brain will thank you.

Warning:
I WILL take points off for late projects (you can actually turn it in 23 hours past the deadline).
I will NOT tell you when you submitted a shortcut instead of the actual file this time - your grade will just be a zero on that one.

Excel Capstone Changes!

Found a couple more errors or unclear things in the Excel Capstone projects.

Excel Capstone 1:
The top paragraph mentions having a monthly income of $1800 - but the data sheet you're given has $1600. Ignore the $1800 figure - use $1600.

Excel Capstone 2 (these have already been covered in class):
In the datasheet you download, delete the line that says "Pinder 319765 30".
Step H says to use an IF function to calculate your bonus if 2 more Excaliburs were sold. Do NOT use an IF statement for this - not necessary!

Excel Capstone 3:
Step C: "Calculate the total sales for each store" - i.e. figure out the number of tapes rented at each store
Step D: Calculate not only gross profit and cost of sales for all teh stores combined, BUT ALSO for each individual store.

Excel Capstone 4:
The instructions don't tell you WHERE to put those charts. Please put them in a new worksheet - that'll save me some scrolling around as I grade 240 projects!

Note re: Excel Capstone 2

I'm going to put a note on this in the Capstone project, but:

Step H tells you to use an IF function to calculate your bonus if you sold two more Excaliburs. For this, you do NOT need an IF function! You just add up the sales as if you sold 2 more, then calculate the bonus.

myITlab: Ch. 2 Project Exam - ERROR TO NOTE

On the first TWO questions, the lab has you type in a formula to calculate the cost of a trip, including insurance, and including taxes.

It doesn't like it if you type in
=(F4*$B$11) + F4
(where F4 is a total, and B11 is the tax or insurance rate)

It DOES like it if you type
=F4 + (F4 * $B$11)


Yes, they give the same result in Excel. myITlab just doesn't like it.
Make a note of this before you start that exam!

Notes re: Capstone projects

PPT 1 & 2 have now been graded and posted.

CHECK YOUR GRADE! I have had a few people send in shortcuts instead of their file (remember, shortcuts have a .lnk extension, while powerpoint files have a .pptx extension).

If indeed you did that, you have until the next clas to email me your file. Send to my MERCER email account, please, and indicate which section you're in (stet or csb). That will save me some time!

I was also surprised at the number of people who turned in nothing. This is not a good way to keep your gpa up.

Now that we are in the swing of things, some "rules of the road" and some fatherly advice:

1. You know what the due date is. (Check the syllabus or a previous blog entry). It ain't gonna change. Plan around it.
2. If something comes up, email me. Never hurts to ask for dispensation (go look it up).
3. TRIPLE-check what you are submitting BEFORE you hit the submit button.
4. You can still submit files for 24 hours after the deadline. For powerpoint I didn't take any points off. From now on, however, turning in late costs you 15% - i.e. 3.4 ould be the highest grade you can make on that project.
5. Once it's closed, it's closed. I ain'ta gonna accept 'em no more - unless there was blood, a hospital, or suspender-wearing kangaroos involved. (Seriously, if there's a major life thing happening, let me know)
6. QUADRUPLE-check yourself as you create the project. Follow the instructions!
7. NEVER EVER trust the numebrs. Quintuple-check them.
8. To err is human. To really screw things up takes a computer. This is extra true for Capstone projects.

Useful Thing Presentation List & Schedule (11/09/10 update)

Useful Thing of the Day Presentation Signup

10:40 STET
Already Covered [or already spoken for] ratemyprofessor.com ehow.com howstuffworks.com sports-reference.com Galileo [Tarver Library online resource] LiveStrong.com Pandora.com Easybib.com Yahoo Answers IMDB.com SparkNotes.com artofmanliness.com jambase.com newsmap.jp GuerillaMail.com Playlist.com LonelyPlanet.com Crayon.net owl.english.purdue.edu [Purdue Online Writing lab] Traderumors.com Easybib.com - as in bibliography Stumbleupon.com SuperCook.com - recipes and more DayTrotter.com - indy band site datpiff.com - mixtape site moviefone.com iGoogle - custom start page freerice.com - help out  hungry people
1
2	26	-Aug
3	31		Steven V	Greg C
4	2-Sep	Sept	Pun B
5	7		Brad A
6	9		Olivia W
7	14		Scott C
8	16		Tremayne W
9	21		Melissa Lam
10	23		Joey U
11	28		Michael L
12	30		Anthony S	Wole' O
13	5-Oct	Oct	Lucie P
14	7
15	12		Ben N	Nikki A: StumbleUpon
16	14		Jonathan C
17	19		John A	Jack M
18	21		Shardae S	Michael H
19	26		Bradley H
20	28		Shelley Osborne
21	2-Nov	Nov	Daniel Q	Michael L
22	4		Charlie F	Michael E
23	9		Chris C
24	11		Jasmine D
25	16		Toby O	Derek W
26	18		Kristal H
28	30		Varnica S	Nicoleta M.
29	2-Dec		Marilyn F
30	7		Camila N
31	9
9:25 CSB
Already Covered [or spoken for] iPhone Apps USAjobs.gov Stumbleupon Technorati.com BibleGateway.com FilesTube.com ESPN Mobile WebMD.com Mint.com Pandora.com ESPNMobile Google Apps inventor Craigslist.org
	Date		Name
1
2	Aug 26
3	31
4	2-Sep
5	7		Chih C
6	9		Victoria F
7	14
8	16		Jeffrey C
9	21		Taylor C
10	23
11	28
12	30		Colin B
13	5-Oct
14	7		Cole M
15	12		Cassie R
16	14		Jibri B
17	19		Tom O
18	21
19	26		Tin N
20	28		Chandler B
21	2-Nov		Hannah T
22	4		Sara Hyde
23	9		Stephanie C
24	11		Luke K
25	16		Chandra B	Evan B
26	18		Hunter S
28	30		Jarett Z
29	2-Dec
30	7
31	9

Groove, OneNote demos

KEEP THESE LINKS - YOU WILL PROBABLY NEED THEM.

Check to see if you have these tools by going to Start-->Microsoft Office, and look for Groove and oneNote in the list. These are NOT mandatory - but if you have them, it would be good to know what they do!

Groove
http://office.microsoft.com/assistance/asstvid.aspx?assetid=XT100627131033&vwidth=700&vheight=530&type=flash&CTT=11&Origin=HA101672641033

OneNote
http://office.microsoft.com/assistance/asstvid.aspx?assetid=XT100627291033&vwidth=700&vheight=530&type=flash&CTT=11&Origin=HA101672671033


These tools are good tools when researching and collaborating on a project. The CSB labs are all equipped with them - however, I'd suggest NOT using them in the labs, since the data is stored on the individual PC. I presume the Stetson labs have it as well.

My initial impression is that Groove is used for teams to work together. OneNote is used more by an individual to keep a whole bunch of stuff organized - and it integrates with Outlook quite nicely (especially if you use Outlooks calendar and task lists).

I don't have Office 07 - What do I do?

I had someone in a situation where they were needed to work on a Capstone proejct away from their "areas", and the computers inq uestion only had Office 03 on them.

Microsoft has a "compatibility pack" that can be downloaded and installed into Office 03 so that it can read and write Office 07 files (docx, xlsx, pptx, etc.). Granted, this information would not have helped the person in question this last weekend (because the computers wqere probably locked down, and they would not have been able to do any installs).

The Office 2007 Converters are located here.

---

There are also a TON of additional downloads/extensions/spare parts you can add to Office 03 AND 07.

Surf to Office.microsoft.com --> Downloads
Scroll down, click on the "Office 2003" or "Office 2007" tab.

You should see a bunch of stuff you can download. For Office 07,. I STRONGLY suggest you download the PDF thing - it will add the capability of saving your do as a PDF file, very handy when mailing something to someone who doesn't have Office, and you just want them to read it (not make changes).

Capstone Project Grading & about all the electronic gradebooks

1. Regardless of what Blackboard says, the Capstone projects will be graded on a scale of FOUR points.

4 = Fairly close to perfect
3 = Some problems noted
2 = Some serious problems noted
1 = Your turned a file in, but there wasn't much there
0 = You turned nothing in.

When I see problems I'll add a note to to your entry. If you don't know where to find that, let me know and I'll demo it in class.

All of the original projects that were copied over to my sections were marked as being worth 3 points. I decided to make it a 4 point scale, but this was after several people had already done some of the Powerpoint projects. If I change the scoring on those projects, those people would lose their entries - and I thought it would be less hassle just to leave them alone. All of the projects beginning with Excel and later are marked as being worth 4 points.

Bottom line is that the Blackboard gradebook will say your score is 4 out of 3 - when it reality it would be 4 out of 4.

2. You've noticed, I'm sure, that there is a gradebook inside myITlab, AND one in Blackboard. Use these ONLY to keep track of your individual scores on an individual project. Pay no attention to the "averages", "final grade", etc. I am NOT using either gradebook.

"Real Soon Now" I will be posting to Blackboard an Excel spreadsheet for you to use to track your grades. It is MUCH easier for me to set that up compared to setting up either of the web-based gradebooks. I'll post a blog entry when that happens.

Powerpoint Capstone Project Errors/Problems

Here is an admittedly rough outline of the problems we've found in the Powerpoint Capstone projects:

1. Project 2 - After downloading and renaming "Business Growth Design Template", the instructions tell you to use the template named "Business Growth". That actually means to use the thing you just downloaded as your template.
2. Project 2 - there are several places where you are told to download a specific piece of clip art - generally it is difficult to find what they specify, especially since the text they tell you to search for includes the file extension with no period (i.e. WMF). Solution: Search for those particular words. Select a piece of clip art that fits - your choice.
3. Project 2, step 5d - There IS a "Calibri Opulent" font scheme. Note this is not a font, but a font scheme.
4. Project 3, step 2e - pastel mustard color. Think mustard at the grocery store, and pick a color kinda close.
5. Project 3, step 2e - "3D Style 7 shadow effect". This is vague, because there are 2 places to select 3D shapes, and none of them are labeled "Style 7". Solution: Pick some sort of 3 dimensional shape that proves to me you know how to put a 3D shape with a shadow.
6. Project 3, step 4h - "grey fill radiant". This is deep in "Huh?" territory. Let's change this to "fill with a gray gradiant of some sort. Make it look nice."