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IT-5320: Frequently Asked Questions

May I take this course if I only have access to an Apple computer?

No
ALL data, instructional aids and assignments are Microsoft based.
You will most likely NOT be able to complete assignments on a non-Windows based PC.

Who can answer questions about this course?

Email questions about this course to your instructor.
The Faculty Information page lists your instructor’s email address and office phone.

What time are the weekly assignments due?

Projects and exercises must be uploaded to the Drop Box no later than 11:55 PM on the day they are due.

Can I test out of this course?

No
Sorry, no test out is available.

Should I be signing into the website a minimum number of times each week?

No.
Feel free to sign into the website anytime that you need to.

I don't have Microsoft Access on my home PC. Do I really need it?

Absolutely yes
Access 2007 or newer is required.

I don't have Microsoft Excel on my home PC. Do I really need it?

Absolutely yes
All raw data files are provided in MS Excel2007format.

Where can I find the Product Key for Access 2007?

After you have downloaded the Access 2007 software...
Log into the MSDN free software site.
Go to My Software.
Click on the Invoice Number for Access 2007.
On Order Details, click the Download link.
The Serial Number (Product Key) will display.

I cannot access my Blackboard courses or see my grades. What happened?

Per Dr. Monica Posey - Academic Vice President, in an email dated 1/19/2012.
To achieve a higher response rate, students will now be required to complete their course and instructor evaluations. At the end of the term, students must complete the evaluations in order to access their Blackboard courses and/or see grades in Blackboard.

What are the software requirements for this course?

The software requirements for this course are Version 2007 (or newer) of MS Access, MS Word, and MS Excel. There are many avenues available to obtain this software. The free version of Access from the MSDN site is somewhat difficult to install and does not include Word or Excel. The $59.95 version isn't much better than the free version, but does include all of the required components. The bookstore sells a complete version of Office 2010 on DVD (preferred), but it is expensive. Simply put, you get what you pay for. The bookstore DVD version is the quickest, easiest install. The $59.95 is a little trickier. The free version can be a real pain, and remember, does not include Word or Excel.

To succeed in this class, you must have this software installed on your home computer. If you rely on the PCs in the labs on campus, you will be regularly locked out (or kicked out) of these labs and your assignments will suffer. If you do not have this software installed by the end of the first week of class, you are strongly encouraged to drop the class and register for it again when you have the software successfully installed.

Is Exercise 1 a Graded Assignment?

Yes, but it does not count toward or against your average (zero weight percent).
EX1 is there to help get you acclimated to the database and to Blackboard.
I will enter a grade, along with comments outlining errors and mistakes (if any).
Exercise 1 is part of the Attendance/No Show requirement. See the Attendance and Participation Policy elsewhere in this document.

File Names for Documents Uploaded (Sent) to the Drop Box

In a file name, characters A-Z, a-z, 0-9, period '.', and underscore '_' are all acceptable. Special characters (@, !, #, $, %, ^, &, *, etc.) are NOT supported in file names.
You WILLbe able to upload assignment files tothe Drop Box if the file contains special characters, however the instructorWILL NOT be able to download the file from the dropbox (a download error will result).
To be safe, makesure that your file names include ONLY Letters,Numbers, and theUnderscore characterbefore sending your file to the Drop Box.

If you upload a file to the drop box, it will be graded!

After you upload a file to the drop box, I will download it and I will grade it.
This includes files uploaded before the deadline.
If you find a mistake and want to upload a replacement file, be sure to check the grade book first. If a grade has been entered, don’t bother. If no grade has been entered, you may upload another file. The last uploaded file will be graded. However, I will grade only ONE file per assignment.
Additional files uploaded after I have entered a grade will be ignored.
No fooling.
No exceptions.

Blackboard Three Hour Session Time Limit

All Blackboard sessions are purged every three hours. Students need to log out of Blackboard and then log in again immediately before beginning a test or quiz or submitting an assignment. This will give you a fresh three hour session.
May I use my personal or corporate email to communicate with my instructor or advisor?

No.
All email communication from your instructor or advisor will be addressed exclusively to your cincinnatistate.edu email address.
Your instructor has blocked the receipt of email from free email services like Hotmail and Yahoo. If you email your instructor or advisor from your personal or business email account, there is a good chance that they will not receive your message.
Always correspond with your instructor or advisor using your CincinnatiState student email account.

When watching a video, the video freezes or repeatedly restarts prior to completion.

In most instances, this is a problem with your local machine or your Internet connection.
To solve the problem, try the following;
Close all instances of your browser, restart Blackboard, and try the video link again.
Restart your computerand try the video link again.
Use a different computer on the same Internet connection and try the video link again.
Use a different computer on a different Internet connection and try the video link again.

If after attempting ALL of the above fixes, the video fails at exactly the same point each time, contact your instructor with the URL of the video and the exact time (MM:SS) where the problem occurs.

I worked 15 hours on that Project! Why did I receive such a bad grade?

Obviously, your instructor doesn't have any way of knowing how long you spent working on a project. Each project is graded based on criteria established in the project requirements. In this class, you don’t receive credit for your "effort" (earning an A for effort is a grade school thing). Here, you receive credit for what you produce.

More importantly, the fact that you worked a huge number of hours on a project and still received a failing grade is actually the real problem. If you spent only a few hours working on it (aka you phoned it in) and earned a bad grade, that would be understandable. On the other hand, if you worked on a project for a week and really, really worked hard on it and still received a bad grade, then maybe you need to consider a different technology. Such a futile effort is often an indication that you’re just not cut out for this type of work.

I will be out of town during the term and won’t have access to the Internet. Will that be a problem?

Prior to booking your travel, be sure to confirm that you will have daily access to the Internet.
I have no problem if you choose to travel or vacation during the term when this class is in session. However, if you choose to do so be sure to note that you will not be excused from any assignment, any deadline, any last minute email or instructions. Failure to turn in an assignment or to complete a test because you were not able to access the Internet is no different than waiting until the last minute to do the same and having your home Internet fail due to a power outage, service interruption, etc.
Online classes are very convenient, but there are requirements for these classes just like the requirements in face to face classes. Never assume that you will receive ANY special treatment or accommodation just because you happen to have enrolled in an online class.

How do I add a Field Description?

When in table design mode, the optional Field Description may be added to help describe the field.

Given existing Excel data, how do I determine the length of a text field?

Insert a temporary column beside the column to be measured.
Enter a formula utilizing the LEN function (length) to measure the length of the adjacent cell.
Fill the remaining cells.
Sort by the temporary length column, in descending order, to determine the maximum text length.

I am having trouble importing Excel data into an existing Access table.

Importing Excel data into an existing table is always a pain and is usually not done.
You should import the data into a new table, and then modify the data types as needed.
Make sure your Excel data is clean and the fields are named correctly before importing.

In the Project 1 Users table, do I need to put a DeskCalendar field in it?

Yes, you will have a DeskCalendar field (Numeric - Byte) in the Users table.
1 = Yes, 0 = No, Null = Unknown or Blank.
Add a Description for the field (Access - Design Table), listing the possible data entries (1 = Yes, 0 = No, Null = Unknown or Blank).

In the Project 1 Users Table, do I need an EditTextbooks field?

The Users table should include an EditTextbooks field.
Numeric - Byte data type with 1 = Yes, 0 = No, Null = Unknown or Blank.
Add a Description for the field (Access - Design Table), listing the possible data entries (1 = Yes, 0 = No, Null = Unknown or Blank).

Do I need to populate the zlu_Tables with data for Project 1?

For P1, don't worry about populating the lookup tables with data.
Just build the Table structure for the zlu_Tables.
We will populate the tables with data in a later project.

Should I Zip my project file before uploading it to the Drop Box?

No
Please do not zip any files before uploading them to the Drop Box.
You should, however, alwaysCompact and Repair the file before uploading it.

Before uploading databases to your Drop Box, be sure to;

a) Compact and repair the database

b) Use the following naming conventions. . .

Exercise 1: EX1_LastnameFirstname.accdb
Project 1: P1_LastnameFirstname.accdb
Project 2: P2_LastnameFirstname.accdb
Midterm Exam: ME_LastnameFirstname.accdb
Project 3: P3_LastnameFirstname.accdb
Project 4: P4_LastnameFirstname.accdb
Final Project: FP_LastnameFirstname.accdb
Final Exam: FE_LastnameFirstname.accdb

Do not ask questions in the Comment Area when sending a file to the Drop Box.

No, I cannot see your Drop Box comments.
No, I cannot respond to questions asked via the Drop Box comment.
If you have a question or comment, please send me an email.

When I attempt to send a file to the Drop Box, why do I receive this error?

Solution: Close the file you are attempting to send before sending it to the Drop Box.

I don't have WinZip, but my operating system has been extracting the .zip files just fine. Will I need to zip my database files before sending them to the Drop Box?

No.
If your OS unzips the files, that's great. No need to get WinZip.
Never zip a file before uploading to the dropbox.
Do, however, Compact and Repair the database prior to sending the file to the drop box.

What is the meaning of the ListOrder field in the zlu_tables?

A typical zlu_table includes an AutoNumber TableID, TableCode (typically an acronym), Description, ListOrder, and Active field.
A client will often prefer that the Items in the table be displayed on the web in a certain order.
i.e. when the Race Table populates a dropdown box, the client may want the Not Disclosed item to list first. Then, the remaining items will list, starting with Other, then African American, Asian, etc. The ListOrder field is used for this purpose.
In the above example, ListOrder values would be; Not Disclosed = 1, Other = 2, African American = 3, Asian = 4, etc.

How do I split the Contact Name in the CompanyContact Data of Project 2?

Use these fields; Salutation, Firstname, Middlename, Lastname, Othername
Put the oddball stuff in the OtherName field (company name, titles, etc.).
If there are two contact names, I usually keep the first one and toss the 2nd.
Add credentials to the lastname (Smith, CPA or Jones, MD) or put them in the OtherName field.
I recommend spending about an hour cleaning up the Contact names.
Some students spend WAY too much time messing with it (and miss other important stuff).

Remember, I'll look at the Contact Name split for about 15 seconds.
It is important, but only a tiny portion of the entire project.

I imported the Excel data into Access and many of the "dates" simply disappeared.

If the date data disappeared, then it was not interpreted as a real date by Access. Access got confused and tossed it overboard resulting in an empty field. In general, if you want to import the most data without error, save the Excel file as a CSV (comma delimited), then import that single sheet into Access. Comma delimited data is real clean. Excel data tends to include too many "hidden attributes" that ultimately get dropped in translation.
If the date displays as #########, drag the column divider and make the column wider. Access won’t display part of a date in the datasheet mode.

Explain to me what a NULL value is. Isn’t it the same as a blank?

Say you have an empty data field in a data record (Address1). If the field has no data, that would be like a glass with no liquid in it. However, the glass is not truly empty. It has air in it. Take the same glass, cap it, and pump all of the air out of it; to a perfect vacuum. That would be the equivalent of the Address1 field filled with a NULL. It is actually less than leaving it blank. NULLs were really important in the old days when storage space was expensive (or limited, like in NASA spaceship computers). These days, storage space is really cheap, but database old timers still prefer to use NULL whenever they can.

When I click the eTextbook button, the page will not display properly.

To fix this problem, you will need to adjust your Internet Explorer Security Settings.
See the recommended setting below...

Recommended Internet Explorer - Internet Options: Security Settings

On the Internet Explorer Menu, Click Tools...
Click Internet Options...
Click the Custom Level... button.
Enable - Allow status bar updates via script (to see the Quiz and Exam Timer in Status Bar).
Enable - Display mixed content (to view the eTextbookpage without error).

I encounter an error when I import zip code data into Access.

When you import data, Access tries to interpret the datatype based on the 1st few records (number, text, currency, etc.). To the Access software, a 5 digit zip code looks like a number, so it makes it a Number. Then, a few records down the list, it encounters a dash or letters (like in foreign postal codes). It ignores what it considers to be "bad data" in these records, pops up an alert, and creates a table with the “bad data”.

Solution: Add a few Text Characters (I use ZZZ) in the zip code of the 1st record (i.e. ZZZ45223). Import the data and Access will make the zipcode a text field. Then, after the import is complete, remove the ZZZ from that 1st zip code in Access. This procedure tricks Access into making the Zip Code a text field. The technique works for any field that you want to fool (force) Access into setting a datatype. Alternatively, if you know a field should be a Number, but the 1st few records are blank, add a 0 (zero) to the first record before the import. Access will make that field a Number data type.

How do I purchase an eTextbook for this class?

You can purchase the key code for an eTextbook at the campus bookstore, or you can purchase it online via PayPal. Warning: Do not purchase a key through the campus bookstore web site. In most instances, it will not be delivered before your first assignment is due.
To purchase a key code online, click on the eTextbook Menu link in Blackboard, then click on any Lab Assignment link. For example,Lab Assignment: Exercise 1
Make sure the dropdown matches your online course and click the button.
After you purchase the key code, you will receive an email with a receipt number. This receipt number is NOT the eTextbook key code.

Within 24 hours, you will receive a separate email with your eTextbook Key Code.
After receiving your key code, enter just your Username (not your full email address), a password, and your 20 digit eTextbook key code and click the Login button.
After registering your eTextbook Key Code, you will only need your Username and Password to access the eTextbook materials.

Will I have access to the eTextbook materials after this class ends?