AG138:
Meeting Times, Location, & Course Delivery Details
Contact Information
- The student will be able to perform essential skills in the manipulation of data for producing letters, documents, and reports including resume preparation, technical writing, and mail merge.
- The student will be able to build simple excel spreadsheets, charts, farm reports, and user-friendly records and accounting to be used for calculations and rations.
- The student will be able to create Google Docs, Sheets, sides, and forms using the Google Workspace.
- The student will be able to create presentations using the principles for effective presentation design.
- The student will be able to develop a professional web page.
- The student will be able to demonstrate the use and development of GIS database applications using ArcReader and CropScape.
No textbook is required for this course. The necessary materials will be provided to you in Blackboard and in class. You will need access to a computer with the latest version of Microsoft Office installed and a good internet connection. If you have a laptop, please consider bringing it with you to class. The machines in the computer lab work great, but sometimes there are random issues with access to the MS Office suite, especially the desktop version, due to the ever-changing “permissions” structures imposed by the Windows operating system.
Tentative Weekly Schedule
Subject to change! This is just to give you an idea of what’s ahead. It will most likely be adjusted as we work together throughout the 8-week term. Assignments and grades will be posted in Blackboard. Please check your Wilmington College email daily for updates to this schedule.
Planned Topics
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Week 1 Monday 1/13 – Friday 1/17 | First class meeting: Monday 1/13/2025 Introductions and syllabus, pre-test, file handling in OneDrive, Farmers Market: Excel tables and formulas |
Week 2 Monday 1/20 – Friday 1/24 | No Class Monday 1/20: MLK Day Continue exploring formulas, multiple tabs, and graphs in Excel |
Week 3 Monday 1/27 – Friday 1/31
| Develop a quality PowerPoint presentation
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Week 4 Monday 2/3 – Friday 2/7 | Advanced formulas and data visualization in Excel; explore the Web Soil Survey tool and use it to prepare a report in Word |
Week 5 Monday 2/10 – Friday 2/14 | Prepare professional letters and flyers; explore templates in Word and their application to the business side of agriculture
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Week 6 Monday 2/17 – Friday 2/21 | Prepare an Invoice in Word or Excel; explore uses for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a professional setting |
Week 7 Monday 2/24 – Friday 2/28 | Research soil conditions of local properties using Web Soil Survey site; download and analyze data on Clinton County and Ohio crops using CropScape website and tools in Excel |
Week 8: Final Exam Monday 3/3 | Final class meeting: Monday 3/3/2025 Written response to 12 questions based on the work we've done to date. |
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to...
- Organize and transfer files between desktop and cloud storage in Microsoft 365.
- Access and effectively use Microsoft Office products, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, in both the web and desktop environments.
- Design and maintain spreadsheets to track crop production and sales.
- Create effective business correspondence, including proposal letters and invoices.
- Design and produce compelling marketing materials, including flyers that can be printed or uploaded to a website.
- Prepare an effective slide presentation.
- Locate and analyze publicly available data on land usage, crop production, and soil conditions.
- Make effective use of artificial intelligence (AI) in a business setting while still maintaining integrity to one’s own work and ideas.
Grades
The expectation for each assignment will be clearly spelled out in advance, as will the due date and the points possible. The course grade is determined by adding up the number of points earned and dividing by the number of points possible to arrive at a percentage.
Here is how each general category of work will count toward your final course grade:
Attendance and Class Participation 10%
Assignments and Projects 60%
Final Exam 30%
This is the grading scale, based on your overall percentage in the course. I do not give +/- grades.
A 90% or above
B 80% – 89%
C 70% – 79%
D 60% – 69%
F 59% or less
Instructor Course Policies
Classroom Policies
To create an atmosphere of mutual respect where learning can take place, the following policies will be in effect at all times:
Attendance and Engagement is required at all class meetings. If you must be absent, be sure to email me ahead of time, and understand that you are still responsible for coursework due and material covered that day. Absences may be made up by scheduling an office visit or Zoom call with me. Please see the current Student Handbook for the college attendance policy especially as it pertains to excused absences.
Effective Communication is vital for academic success. Check your college email at least once a day for messages from me, other professors, and college officials.
Classroom Etiquette. Please arrive on time, stay for the entire hour, and avoid interrupting others when they are speaking. My only request is that you be respectful toward each other. Students who are unwilling to comply with this request will be asked to leave the classroom.
Health and Safety. We will follow the guidance and health protocols given by the college. If you feel like you’re getting sick, please do not come to class! Instead, contact the Health and Wellness Center immediately so they can help determine what you need. Remember, attendance may be made up by visiting my office when you’re better, or by scheduling a Zoom meeting with me.
Work Expectations. A minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work is expected for each hour of in-class time. Before coming to class, you should have reviewed the assigned materials and completed the required work. Be sure to turn in all assignments by the due date. If you know you will be absent, such as for a college sponsored event or a planned medical procedure, then you are obliged to complete your assignments ahead of time and arrange to make up any in-class activities.
Academic Integrity. Most of the assignments done in this class will be collaborative in nature, but you are still expected to do your own work. Always acknowledge any assistance you receive from another person or from AI. Any instance of cheating (e.g., blindly copying another’s work or the product of AI and passing that off as your own work) will result in a zero (0) for the assignment. A severe enough instance, or a repeated pattern of cheating, will result in a grade of “F” for the course as well as referral for judicial review. Please see the current Student Handbook for the college's Academic Integrity policies as they pertain to examinations, plagiarism, classroom behavior, and the process for handling academic misconduct charges.
Institutional and Program-Level Policies
All exams will follow the Final Exam Schedule. Students scheduled to take three or more final examinations on one day may request to arrange their examination schedule, so no more than two exams occur on one day.
Requests for early or late exams are considered only under extreme circumstances. Prior to the exam period, the student must file a written request on the Early/Late Exam Form available in the Student One Stop Center, Academic Records, and on the WC portal. The form must be signed by the Instructor and the Academic Dean, approving the alternate exam time. This process must be completed prior to the scheduled exam period.
Out-of-class Work Expectation A minimum of 2 hours of out-of-class student work is expected for each hour of in-class time for traditional face-to-face courses. For online and hybrid courses, the combination of face-to-face time and out-of-class work should be equal to 3 hours per credit hour per week. |
Instructional Course Delivery |
Academic Integrity Policy The use of generative AI is prohibited except where expressly allowed in assignment instructions. |
Academic Misconduct - Examples [10/24]
ACADEMIC CODE OF CONDUCT
This policy is directly related to the first Testimony, which is part of the Student Code of Conduct. “I will practice personal and academic integrity.” The initial responsibility for dealing with academic misconduct lies with the individual faculty member in whose classroom or course of study the offense occurs. The responsibility includes determination of the consequences for the offense. The goal is for faculty to confront cheating and plagiarism, to teach ethical behavior, and to provide an appropriate consequence based on the nature of the incident. Faculty are encouraged to explicitly address academic misconduct and its consequences in the course syllabus.
EXAMPLES OF ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT
A. Examination offenses include, but are not limited to, the following:
1.Taking unauthorized materials into or out of the examination room.
2.Leaving the examination room without authorization before completing an examination.
3.Talking in the examination room without authorization.
4.Discussing the examination outside the examination room during the course of the examination.
5.Attempting to observe the work of another student.
6.Taking an examination for another person or permitting someone else to do so.
7.Collaborating improperly by discussion, joint research, or joint effort in any way expressly prohibited by the instructor. This includes using a cell phone or other device to access information from another source or another student.
8.Improper knowledge of contents of an examination - No student shall knowingly acquire unauthorized knowledge of an examination or any part of an examination, or solicit, offer, or give information about any part of an examination.
B. Student work offenses include, but are not limited to, the following, which are expressly prohibited in the absence of prior written approval of the instructor or instructors involved:
1.Resubmission of work - Submitting work which has been previously submitted for credit.
2. Plagiarism - Submitting work done wholly or partly by another, including the unattributed copying of all or parts of a published work or internet document. Using generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) sources to produce work (when not expressly permitted) is also a form of plagiarism. Some instances of plagiarism are the result of ignorance rather than dishonesty. When plagiarism is encountered, the instructor should be sure that the student knows proper procedures for attributing content.
3.Prohibited sources - Consulting material or persons contrary to the directions of the instructor.
4.Improper collaboration - Engaging in any discussion, joint research, or joint effort of any kind expressly prohibited by the instructor.
5.Deception - Misrepresenting the authenticity of sources, citations, or principles in any written work.
6. Sharing work – Students who share their work with others are responsible for how that work is used. For example, if a student shares a paper with another student to help him or her understand an assignment, and that student submits the work as their own, the author of the paper shares responsibility for the plagiarism committed by the other student.
D. Other misconduct - Engaging in any other improper conduct as specified by the instructor.
E. Lying – deliberately providing false information relevant to academic matters, such as misrepresenting the inability to take an examination because of illness.
F. Disruptive or disrespectful classroom behavior – causing a disturbance in the classroom, interrupting instruction, speaking rudely or threatening students or faculty.
Class Attendance Policy |
ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
Students with Disabilities
In accordance with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973), Wilmington College provides access through reasonable accommodations to students with documented physical and psychological disabilities.
Students who wish to access Services need to meet with the Director of Accessibility and Disability Services and provide verification of their disability. To register with Accessibility and Disability Services, students submit an Application for Services. In addition, the student must provide the Disability Verification form accompanied by current disability documentation from a licensed professional. For more information, contact the Director of Accessibility and Disability Services at accessibility@wilmington.edu or 937.481.2444, 114 Robinson Communcation Center.