IST335: Multimedia Systems
Course Syllabus - Fall 2003, MWF 11:00 am – 11:50 am, PH 200

Instructor	:  Brian M. Morgan
Office	:  Prichard Hall 212
Phone Number	:  (304) 696-6469
Fax Number	:  (304) 696-6533
Office Hours	:  MWF: 9:00 – 11:00 MW: 2:15 – 3:00 TR: 8:00 – 9:30 TR: 2:00 – 3:00    Other times by appointment ONLY
E-Mail	: brian.morgan@marshall.edu

Textbooks:  
The following textbook combo is required for the course:

Multimedia Concepts, Enhanced, by Jim Shuman; Course Technology; ISBN: 0-619-11052-x, 2003.
Flash MX Complete, by Lindsay, Patel, and Shuman; Course Technology; ISBN: 0-619-01766-x, 2003.
ISBN as a Combo, available in the bookstore – 0-619-21108-3

Computer Requirements:
Supplemental materials can be found contained within the WebCT environment (http://webct.marshall.edu/). I will be sending class announcements, updates, etc. using your WebCT account (will discuss during the first lecture). Access to a WWW browser is required (Netscape 4.7 or higher or Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher) and Adobe Acrobat Reader (available for download through the course WebCT site). You will also be required to obtain a copy of Macromedia Flash MX and Macromedia Director MX for application development projects. These software packages can be obtained on a free trial basis from the Macromedia Sampler CD contained within the textbook combo package, or downloaded from http://www.macromedia.com/software/.

Course Description:
This course provides students the opportunity to learn about computer-based multimedia, multimedia literacy, and major concepts of multimedia including the why, development, uses, elements, issues, and tools used to create multimedia applications.

Credit:
The course is three (3) credit hours. It includes classroom lectures, presentations, exams, and projects. Students will participate in projects that illustrate the implementation of concepts in general applications.

Pre/co-requisites:
NONE

Desired Objectives/Outcomes:
By the end of this course, you should be able to:

- Discuss problems and solutions related to the delivery of multimedia, such as portability and accessibility

- Discuss and evaluate different models of multimedia presentations, including graphics, animations, and digital video;

- Design a multimedia system taking into account implications of interactivity

- Explain the techniques and difficulties associated with the digital representation of multimedia information

- Discuss hardware and techniques used to capture and edit various forms of media for insertion within a multimedia system

- Discuss the limitations (and solutions) imposed if a distributed multimedia system operates over a network such as the Internet

Instruction method:
There will be 3 contact hours of classroom lecture per week. Projects covering the major topics are part of the course. Students may work on their assignments in Prichard Hall 200 where the full version of Macromedia Flash MX is installed.

Evaluation method:
Evaluation of student's performance will be based on the quality of your performance on projects, presentations, and exams.  

Grading Policy:
Final grades are based on your performance as indicated below.  

Midterm Exam	25%
Final Exam	20%
Semester Projects	40%
Class Presentations	15%

Assessment of Projects:

The grading of all laboratory programming projects will take into account the following:

1. Although the most important attribute of a program is correctness, grading will take into consideration such items as time and coding efficiency, documentation, etc.

2. Although interactions with other students are encouraged, you must compose your own answers, unless otherwise noted.

Individuals who utilize other people’s code, thoughts, or ideas must provide appropriate references to said resources. Failure to provide such documentation will result in a failing grade for the assignment, and may result in a failing grade for the course.

In determining the overall grade for a project, you can expect the following grades based on performance:

A – Excellent work that meets and/or exceeds all of the requirements for a given project, code compiles and works for multiple test samples, all code and associated files are well-documented, and the code is written efficiently.

B – Good work that meets all of the requirements of the assignment, but may have errors in documentation or coding, or contains code that may not work with all possible data samples.

C – Average work that meets all of the requirements of the assignment, but is missing one or more of the items in its entirety that is mentioned in terms of an A grade.

D – Below average work which fails to meet one or more of the requirements of the assignment.

F – Unacceptable work which fails to meet two or more requirements for an assignment, or has code that will not compile and execute.

Final letter grades are determined based on the following grading scale, or on the basis of an acceptable contract made between the individual student and the instructor on the first day of class, due no later than the beginning of the second class meeting. This contract can not be amended once that it has been accepted by both parties, meaning that a student will either accept the grade achieved by the contract or by the grading criteria contained within this syllabus:  

90-100%	A
80-89%	B
70-79%	C
60-69%	D
Below 60	F

The instructor reserves the right to change these values depending on the overall class performance and/or extenuating circumstances.  

Policy Statement:
Programming Assignments: The course includes a number of homework programming assignments. All assignments are due BY THE BEGINNING OF CLASS on their due date and must be submitted through the WebCT Dropbox. NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Exams: There are two exams: The first will come during Week 7 and cover material from the discussions on multimedia concepts. The second is your comprehensive Final exam (as scheduled). Exact dates and times of exams will be announced in class. Anyone with an overall score of 95% or above heading into the final exam will be exempt from that exam.

Make-up Exams and Late Penalty: Make‑up exams will not be given except under unusual circumstances and satisfactory written justification. Any student who misses an exam due to an unexcused absence will receive a grade of zero for that exam with no opportunity for make-up or substitution. University excused absences or those occurring with a good reason will be excused. Make up exams must be taken within one week of the original scheduled date. The decision whether to give a make up exam rests with the instructor.

Passing grade: Programming assignments and exams are required parts of the course and must be satisfactorily completed to pass this course. A student must have a passing grading in each area. A failing grade on a component may result in a failing grade in the course.

Attendance Statement:
As with last semester, I am NOT making class attendance mandatory. However, I will keep a record of who is attending and who is not. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to catch up on material missed, and it will not be the responsibility of the instructor to catch you up on material missed during office hours.

Withdrawal Policy:
The University withdrawal policy is followed in this course. The last day to drop an individual course for the Fall of 2003 is October 31, 2003.

University Holidays:
The class is officially dismissed on the following dates:

Labor Day: September 1, 2003

Thanksgiving Break: November 26, 2003
November 28, 2003

Topics and Methodology:
The following outline delineates the tentative class schedule with topics to be addressed during the course. Please note this is a tentative schedule and it may change upon class progress:

August 25	Review of Syllabus Introduction to WebCT
August 27	MC – Unit A
August 29	MC – Unit B
September 3	MC – Unit C
September 5	MC – Unit D
September 8	MC – Unit E
September 10	MC – Unit F
September 12	MC – Unit G
September 15	Class Presentations
September 17	Class Presentations
September 19	Class Presentations
September 22	Class Presentations
September 14	MC – Unit H Assign Director Project
September 26	MC – Unit H
September 29	MC – Unit H
October 1	MC – Unit H
October 3	Review for Midterm Exam
October 6	Midterm Exam
October 8	Flash – Unit A
October 10	Flash – Unit B
October 13	Flash – Unit C
October 15	Flash – Unit D
October 17	Flash – Unit D Flash Project Proposal Due (5%)
October 20	Flash – Unit E
October 22	Flash – Unit E
October 24	Flash – Unit E
October 27	Flash – Unit F Director Tic-Tac-Toe Game Due (15%)
October 29	Flash – Unit G
October 31	Flash – Unit H
November 3	Flash – Unit H
November 5	Flash – Unit I
November 7	Flash – Unit I
November 10	Flash – Unit J
November 12	Flash – Unit J
November 14	Flash – Unit K
November 17	Flash – Unit K
November 19	Flash – Advanced Action Scripting
November 21	Flash – Advanced Action Scripting
November 24	Time to work on Flash Project
December 1	Time to work on Flash Project
December 3	Time to work on Flash Project Final Flash Project Due (20%)
December 5	Review for Final Exam
December 9	Final Exam, 10:15 AM – 12:15 PM

For each topic discussed in the textbook, specific experience of other students and the instructor will be discussed to enhance the characteristics involved. Programming projects for the course will be based on the chapters we discuss in the textbook. Additional material may also be covered in the class.

Every student is responsible for all materials presented in class, including lectures, notes, and handouts. Students are also highly encouraged to work through the end of chapter exercises in the textbook to help with difficult concepts. In case you are not present for a class, it is your responsibility to contact the instructor and receive information about the material presented in that class. Class attendance is very important.

Effort Required:
As a 300-level course, a considerable amount of work and research effort is required of the student. For every one hour in class, the student is expected to put in an effort of at least 3 hours outside the class for studying and completing assignments and projects. Upon background and preparedness, some students may have to put in additional effort.

Communication:
The Bulletin Board facility of WebCT and private E-mail will be used to make any general announcements, last minute changes, etc. It is mandatory that you monitor your WebCT course messages at least once a day.