Faculty Contact Information:
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I can be contacted Monday - Friday, 0800-1600 at (01423) 844364. Nights and weekends (until 1900) at (01535) 646256. Additionally, I can be contacted using the e-mail address at the top of this syllabus.
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Consultation:
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I am normally available for consultation 15 minutes before and after class, or by appointment.
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Required Texts and Readings:
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White, C.(2002). Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach (2nd ed.). Boston: Thompson Course Technology.
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Supplementary Readings:
The standard for papers in the graduate program is the APA style. All participants in this course and all graduate INSS, MGMT, PUAD, and ECON courses should have a copy of the style guide:
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition. Washington DC: Author.All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library at http://www.umuc.edu/library/. The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available. The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students' research and writing skills.
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Recommended Journals:
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Publications of the various professional societies (such as ACM -- the Association for Computing Machinery, the IEEE Computing Society, and the various management professional societies) are strongly recommended. In addition, there are many trade journals (such as eWEEK) that MIS professionals should become familiar with, many of these being published both weekly and on-line.
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Course Description:
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3 semester hours credit. Prerequisites: Either INSS 510, INSS 520, or permission of the Program Director. Provides analysis of data communications technology and its application within the public and private sector enterprise. Gives an in-depth view of the communications environment, data communications and telecommunications equipment, and local and wide area networks. The student is involved in case studies of communications systems design in educational, industrial, governmental, and military environments.
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Course Goals:
Upon completion of the course, participants should:
1. Understand the different network topologies, and their advantages and disadvantages.
2. Understand issues involved in network security and data integrity.
3. Understand the strengths and limitations of the Internet.
4. Discuss the roles of IT professionals in network design and maintenance.
5. Be able to research current topics in networking.
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Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to:
1. Discuss the evolution of networks and the Internet
2. Explain the hierarchical, layered structure of a typical network architecture
3. Describe emerging network technologies and assess their capabilities, limitations, and near-term potential
4. Discuss important network standards in their historical context
5. Describe the responsibilities of the layers of the ISO reference model
6. Explain how a network can detect and correct transmission errors
7. Illustrate how a packet is routed over the Internet
8. Discuss the fundamental ideas of public-key cryptography
9. Summarize common authentication protocols
10. Summarize the capabilities and limitations of the means of cryptography that are currently available
11. Explain the different roles and responsibilities of clients and servers for a range of possible applications.
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Grading Information:
Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
A 90%
B 80 – 89%
C 70 – 79%
F Below 70%
Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade F(a) is used to designate academic failure. F(n) is used to designate failure for non-completion. Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog, available in your local Education Center or online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs.
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Course Requirements:
Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society.
The requirements for this course are:
20% - Closed book/closed notes midterm examination.
20% - Closed book/closed notes final examination.
30% - Major reasearch paper (topic TBD)
20% - Oral/visual presentation of research paper
10% - Minor research assignment
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Description of Course Requirements:
Midterm and final examinations will be of the essay type and will generally be 2.5 hours in length each. The examination process in this class will assist you in developing the writing and critical thinking skills necessary for successfully passing the comprehensive exam required of all graduate students. The examination questions used for this course will either be taken directly from past comprehensive exams or written as though to be included on a comprehensive exam. Exam questions will come from both in-class discussions as well as the text book. Students are expected to read the textbook in preparation for these exams.
The student will also be required to prepare a major research paper on a management-related topic dealing with telecommunications. The topic will be selected by the student and approved by the instructor. The paper will be written in the APA style, including citations and will be approximately 15 pages in length. The student will also prepare an oral and visual presentation of approximately 10-15 minutes in length to present to the class. A minor technical research assignment, consisting of a one-page paper will also be required to complete this course. Topics for the minor research assignment will be technical in nature. Again, the student will select the topic and it will be approved by the instructor.
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Course Schedule:
This schedule presents 16 units or modules, with each unit corresponding to a regular three-hour weekday meeting. Note, this is only a plan and may be changed by the instructor to facilitate course progress.
Initial meeting:
* Introductions
* Review of syllabus
* Clarification of goals, objectives and requirements
* Orientation to subject - Introduction to computer networks and communications.
* Students are expected to have read chapter 1 of the text prior to this meeting.
* Class discussion
Second meeting:
* - Discussion: Fundamentals of data and signals
* - Students are expected to have read chapter 2 of the text
Third meeting:
* - Discussion: The Media: Conducted and Wireless
* - Students are expected to have read chapter 3 of the text
Fourth meeting:
* - Discussion: Making Connections (to the network)
* - Students are expected to have read chapter 4 of the text * - Students should have major and minor research topics approved by the end of this meeting at the latest
Fifth meeting:
* - Discussion: Multiplexing: Sharing a medium
* - Students are expected to have read chapter 5 of the text
Sixth meeting:
* - Discussion: Errors, Error Detection and Control
* - Students are expected to have read chapter 6 of the text
Seventh meeting:
* - Discussion: Local Area Networks: The Basics
* - Students are expected to have read chapter 7 of the text
Eighth meeting:
* - Midterm examination, closed book/notes, 2.5 hours
Ninth meeting:
* - Review midterm results
* - Discussion: Local Area Networks: Internetworking
* - Students are expected to have read chapter 8 of the text
Tenth meeting:
* - Discussion: Local Area Networks: Software and Support Systems
* - Students are expected to have read chapter 9 of the text
Eleventh meeting:
* - Discussion: Introduction to Metropolitan and Wide Area Networks
* - Students are expected to have read chapter 10 of the text in
Twelfth meeting:
* - Discussion: The Internet
* - Students are expected to have read chapter 11 of the text
* - Minor research paper due
Thirteenth meeting:
* - Discussion: Telecommunciation Systems
* - Students are expected to have read chapter 12 of the text
Fourteenth meeting:
* - Discussion: Network Security
* - Discussion: Network Design and Management
* - Students are expected to have read chapters 13 and 14
Fifteenth meeting:
* - Student oral and visual presentations (15 min each)
Sixteenth meeting:
* - Final examination, closed book/notes, 2.5 hours
* - Major research papers due
* - Course evaluations
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Academic Policies:
Please refer to the UMUC - Europe Graduate Catalog, available online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs/index.html or from your local Education Center, for information on the following:
Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities
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Faculty Bio:
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James Helton has been teaching with the University of Maryland since 2001. He is a senior programmer engineer/analyst with Lockheed Martin, and has designed/developed several small and medium-sized systems within the military, government, and civilian environments. He obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Computer Information Systems in 1997 and his Master's Degree in Management Information Systems in 2000.
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