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CMIS 214 is a three-credit introductory course designed to help students “learn the many features you can build into Windows-based business applications using C# (pronounced C Sharp). Students will be introduced to related tools and technology, and you will explore applications programmed with these tools.” It is important to note that this “course is not intended to provide an exhaustive study of C# Windows programming as this is well beyond the scope of a single course. However, once you complete this course students will have a good foundation to enable you to continue to develop these skills.” The course itself requires CMIS 245 or COMP 200 or COMP 210 as pre-requisites.
Who Should Take This Course and Why
For this course, we had the opportunity to interview Gary, a student who recently completed this course at AU. When we asked Gary why he took this course, he stated, “Programming is becoming a popular field around the world. Jobs that I once could not apply for due to their location, I am now able to because of the remote option. What I love most about this field is the ongoing learning it offers me. AU has been amazing, it has allowed me to take courses in the programming field while working, I just love it.”
When we asked Gary who he would recommend this course to, he stated, “Absolutely everyone. Regardless of your field, having programming and computer skills is imperative in this generation. Whether it is simply to troubleshoot your own computer issues or for a career change or simply to learn more, it is absolutely worth your time.” For those looking for an elective in programming or to learn more about custom applications with C#, this is the course for you!
Course, Assignments and Final Exam Details
This course itself uses custom built online material, including a course website and multimedia presentations. The course also includes a reference textbook that is provided for additional background material. Each of the seven units includes theory and practical tutorials and hands-on activities for students to learn the material. The reference textbook uses the C# programming language within the Visual Studio for Windows Desktop programming environment, part of the Microsoft .NET architecture. The online course material uses Visual Studio, which is a proprietary product available from the Microsoft site. The knowledge and skills students develop in this course can easily be adapted to other programming environments. The reference textbook provides extensive coverage of the C# language and includes many code fragments to illustrate the topics.
The course is divided into seven units beginning with an Introduction to Visual Basic; followed by Objects and Properties, Decision Logic/ Repetition/ Procedures/ Arrays and Collections in C#; and wrapping up with Objects, Classes, Inheritance, and Polymorphism.
The course consists of four assignments. Assignment one is divided into two parts and is worth 10% including a practical exercise worth 8% and an online quiz worth 2%. Assignment two is also divided into two parts and worth 20% in total, including two practical exercises worth 16% and an online quiz worth 4%. Assignment three is worth 20% and is similar to assignment two. Finally, assignment four is worth 15% and contains one practical exercise worth 13% and an online quiz worth 2%. Students are required to complete an online discussion worth 5%. The online discussion requires five messages from at least three units to be done before the final assignment or writing the final exam. There is a final exam for the course that is done online and worth 30% of the overall mark. The final exam consists of multiple choice and short answer questions.
When we asked Gary about his overall experience with the course he mentioned, “this is definitely a moderate to heavy duty course. But after taking it, I learned so much and the practical exercises gave me the chance to really understand the content better. I immediately was able to apply what I learned towards the work I was doing.”
How to Be Successful in the Course
Student’s Advice for the Course
When we asked Gary what his advice for the course is, he stated, “Don’t procrastinate, or at least try not to. Obviously, we all know it’s much easier said than done. There is quite a lot of assignment work so spreading it out will help a lot and give you the time to process and understand the content.” He also elaborated, “Programming is really about practice and experience. It is really important for anyone interested in the course to know, although reading the material is important. Don’t shy away from practicing and doing it. Even if you are wrong, it is absolutely okay. You learn from your mistakes.”
When we asked Gary about his experience with the course coordinator or tutor, he stated, “I didn’t contact them very much as the course gave me essentially everything I needed. YouTube is simply a life saver. Many people have done videos on this content, so if you’re stuck, either YouTube it or visit GeeksforGeeks.”
Questions?
If you have any further questions regarding the course, please do not hesitate to contact the Course Coordinator at business-support@athabascau.ca. Happy studying!
