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CATALOG
DESCRIPTION: Is one of two courses required to prepare the student to
take and pass the A+ certification exam. This course deals
with A+ core hardware objectives. The objectives include
identification of basic terms, concepts and functions of system modules, and
basic procedures for adding and removing field replaceable units. A
review of portable system components, identification of system resources,
and other detailed information concerning PC architecture, hardware and
standards. Meeting all course requirements will place the student in
an excellent position for taking and passing the CompTIA A+ core hardware
certification examination.
MAJOR COURSE LEARNING
OBJECTIVES: Upon successful completion of this course the student
will be expected to:
| 1 |
Identify basic terms, concepts, and functions of
system, including how each module should work during
normal operations and during the boot process.
|
| 2 |
Perform basic procedures for adding and removing field
replaceable modules for both desktop and portable systems.
|
| 3 |
Identify available IRQ's, DNA's, and I/O addresses and
procedures for device installation and configuration.
|
| 4 |
Identify common peripheral ports, associated cabling, and
their connectors.
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| 5 |
Use proper procedures for installing and configuring IDE./EIDE
devices.
|
| 6 |
Perform proper procedures for installing and configuring
peripheral devices.
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| 7 |
Identify basic hardware methods of upgrading system
performance, procedures for replacing basic subsystem
components, and when to use them.
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| 8 |
Recognize common symptoms and problems associated with each
module and how to troubleshoot and isolated the problems.
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| 9 |
Perform basic troubleshooting procedures and learn how to elicit
problems symptoms from customers.
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| 10 |
Identify the purpose of various types of preventive
maintenance products and procedures and when to use them,
including, liquid cleaning compounds and other types of
materials.
|
| 11 |
Be familiar with issues, procedures and devices for
protection within the computing
environment, including people, hardware, and the surrounding
workspace, use of UPS as
well as determining the symptoms of power issues. |
| 12 |
Determine the proper method of storage of components for
future use.
|
| 13 |
Identify potential hazards and use proper safety procedures
regarding high-voltage equipment, lasers, power supply, CRT and
other potential hazards.
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| 14 |
Be familiar with the reason for the MSDS (material
safety and data sheet.)
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| 15 |
Be aware of ESD, What it can do, how it may be apparent, or
hidden, and how to use, the ESD protection devices.
|
| 16 |
Distinguish between the popular CPU chips in terms of their
basic characteristics, including characteristics, size, voltage,
speeds, sockets, and brand name.
|
| 17 |
Identify the categories of RAM (random access memory)
terminology, their locations, and physical characteristics,
including type, capacity, architecture, standards, and other
characteristics (EDO, DRAM, SRAM, SIMM, DIMM, RIMM, etc).
|
| 18 |
Install and remove popular types of motherboards, identify
their components, and their architecture (bus structures,
chipsets, RAM requirements, and expansion slots).
|
| 19 |
Identify the purpose of CMOS, what it contains, and how to
modify its basic parameters.
|
| 20 |
Identify basic printer concepts of various types of printers
(laser, inkjet, dot matrix) their operations and components,
including connections (parallel, network, USB, etc.) and
configurations.
|
| 21 |
Identify care and service techniques and common problems
with primary printer types. |
| 22 |
Identify basic networking concepts, installation of NIC
cards, common communication protocols, including how a network
works.
|
| 23 |
Use and identify network terminology such as bandwidth,
topology, connectivity, client server, peer-to-peer, media, OSI
and other relevant terms. |
COURSE CONTENT: Topical areas of study include
| PC architecture |
PC hardware terminology |
| Repair and upgrade techniques and guidelines
|
Basic understanding of printer hardware |
| PC components |
PC hardware function |
Course
Activity Disclaimer
The instructor reserves the right to
alter the type and sequence
of activities scheduled for this course.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
-
Students failing to log in to elearning and contact their
instructor during the first two
weeks of the semester will be dropped from the class.
-
Students who have earned 0% by the
mid term will be withdrawn from the class.
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There are no "attendance" points for this
course. Your grade is a result of skills mastered and work completed.
-
Extensions will only be granted by prior written arrangement and for
verifiable medical or family emergencies.
STANDARDS OF WORK
Work improperly named or submitted with errors
will be returned for corrections. It will not be graded.
All work will earn 1 or 0 points. You will receive an
e-mail if work needs to be corrected and resubmitted.
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ASSIGNMENTS
You must submit the following work. All work is due by December 15th,
2006. |
1.
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Read chapters 1-14.
Complete Review Questions
located at the end of each chapter. I have provided masters of
the Review Questions on the Assignments page of elearning.
You must include the page number where found your answer.
Submit your completed questions through the Digital Drop Box. .Help using the DDB |
2.
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Complete
Hands-on Projects. These are the end
of chapter projects in your textbook. Detailed
instructions are on the Assignments page of elearning. I suggest
that you print this information and refer to it as your work through
each project. Submit through the Digital Drop Box.
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3.
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Complete LabSim sections 0-6 using the
LabSim for A+ Core Hardware software. This
should have come bundled with your book. There are detailed
instruction for submitting the LabSims under Help in elearning.
This will take about 30 hours to complete. |
4.
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Complete 13 Transcender tests. Detailed
instructions for the testing are on the Testing page of elearning.
This will take about 15 hours. |
5.
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Complete the 14 Quizzes and Practice Quizzes located
on the Testing page of elearning. |
6.
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Certification Exam Contact your local campus or
testing center to schedule testing. Contact Brenda Strope
bstrope@ivytech.edu to
obtain a testing voucher number. |
Suggested Submission Schedule
| Week |
Chapter |
Description |
| 1 |
1 |
How Computers Work, Labs |
| 2 |
2 |
How Hardware and Software Work Together, Labs |
| 3 |
3 |
Electricity and Power Supplies, Labs |
| 4 |
4 |
The Motherboard, Labs |
| 5 |
5 |
Managing Memory, Labs |
| 6 |
6 |
Floppy Drives, Labs |
| 7 |
7 |
Understanding and Supporting Hard Drives, Labs |
| 8 |
8 |
Supporting I/O Devices |
| 9 |
9 |
Multimedia Devices and Mass Storage, Labs |
| 10 |
10 |
Supporting Modems |
| 11 |
11 |
PC's on a Network |
| 12 |
12 |
Notebooks, Tablets PC's, PDA's, |
| 13 |
13 |
Supporting Printers |
| 14 |
14 |
All About SCSI |
| 15 |
|
Transcender Review and
Certification Exam |
| 16 |
|
Transcender Review and Certification Exam |
|
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GRADING |
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Note: Please be aware of the weight
of each course requirement.
Final
grades will be a combination of: |
|
1.Chapter Review Questions |
15% |
|
2.Hands-on Projects |
20% |
|
3.LabSims |
20% |
|
4.Chapter Quizzes |
15% |
|
5.Transcender Testing |
20% |
|
6.Certification Exam |
10% |
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METHOD(S) OF EVALUATION
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A =
90 to 100
B =
80 to
89
C = 70 to 79
D = 60
to 69
F
= 0 to 59 |
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