Course Syllabus

Spring 2025 | CIS-1350-VO01 - Desktop Operating Systems

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Thomas Burl
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Deb Grant

General Education Requirements

VSCS Digital and Technical Literacy

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

In this course students install, manage, repair, configure, and troubleshoot microcomputer operating systems. User management, physical and workstation security implementation, and mobile operating systems are discussed. This course covers concepts found on the CompTIA A+ and Linux+ certification exams. Recommended prior or concurrent learning: Introduction to Computer Science or equivalent skills.

Essential Objectives

1. Explain technology terms and acronyms using plain language.
2. Demonstrate the ability to install, manage, repair, configure, and troubleshoot microcomputer operating systems including Windows and Linux.
3. Identify names, purposes, and characteristics of the primary operating system components (e.g., registry, virtual memory, and file systems) and discuss the use of raw text editors for editing such files.
4. Demonstrate the ability to navigate, configure, and customize graphical user interfaces (CLI, GUI) to display and retrieve system information.
5. Explain concepts and procedures for creating, viewing, and managing disks, directories, and files, and compare modalities, themes, and desktop environments/window managers.
6. Describe support methodologies for mobile operating systems and applications.
7. Explain procedures and utilities used to optimize operating systems such as virtual memory, hard drives, temporary files, service, startup, applications, troubleshooting, and performance.
8. Discuss basic boot sequences, methods, and utilities for recovering operating systems.
9. Discuss options for installing and configuring operating systems, drivers, and devices in a physical system, virtualized environment and in the cloud, including package managers.
10. Discuss different configuration options for GUI themes and “window managers”.
11. Explain the process of maintaining a secure computing environment via updates, firewall, filesystem permissions, encryption, and physical security.
12. Describe the difference between open-source and proprietary systems, when each is appropriate, and how to acquire open-source software and operating systems such as Linux.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV computer recommendations Support page.

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

This course only uses free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials. For details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Prohibited: The use of generative AI is not allowed in this course, with the exception of spellcheck, grammar check and similar tools. This course rests in the value of students engaging in the learning process without relying on AI-generated content. Students will develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills independently, owning their learning journey from start to finish. If you use these tools, your actions would be considered academically dishonest and a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.

Methods

This course uses uCertify as the primary learning source. uCertify is an interactive web resource. Course readings, quizzes, and labs will be completed in uCertify.

The course has three papers that will adhere to APA style.

The course has two projects relating to the installation and configuration of a Windows and Linux operating system.

Evaluation Criteria

Category	Weight
Quizzes (10)	20%
Labs (10)	20%
Papers (3)	30%
Projects (2)	30%

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Missing & Late Work Policy

• In an academic environment, adhering to deadlines is crucial for maintaining the integrity and structure of the course.
• As a policy, late work is not accepted to ensure fairness and to encourage students to manage their time effectively.
• Submitting assignments on time allows instructors to provide timely feedback and ensures that grading is consistent for all students.
• Exceptions to this rule are made only in rare and extenuating circumstances, such as serious personal emergencies or documented medical conditions.
• In such cases, students should proactively communicate with the instructor as soon as possible to discuss potential accommodation.
• This policy helps foster a disciplined and equitable academic environment for all participants.

If late work is accepted, it might incur a penalty at the item, category, or course level.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity

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