MEMO

Course description (FSC catalog)

An overview of computer concepts and Information Technology (IT). Applications of IT in various disciplines are illustrated and the role of information technology in contemporary society, including issues of intellectual property, ethics, privacy and security is discussed. Students are introduced to windowed environments, file management, problem-solving tools and a high-level programming language. Advanced concepts of word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation software required for effective communication, analysis, and design are explored. Note: Students cannot receive credit for both this course and 63.151.

Prerequisites

It is expected that students have used a computer before and that they have high-school-level knowledge of reading, writing, and mathematics.

The 2001 Massachusetts Department of Education guidelines for high school computer education included recommendations that all high school graduates possess basic skills in using computers and standard software applications such as word processors and spreadsheets. We assume those.

Required reading

J. J. Parsons and D. Oja. Computer Concepts, 10^th ed. Thomson, 2007.

Reading text material is vital in course work.

Contacting instructor

Students are invited to visit or communicate about any course-related topic.

Office hours (Hemenway Hall 318A):

M 9:30-10:30 a.m.; W 11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
Th 1:30-2:30 p.m. (others by appointment)

Telephone: (508) 626-4724

Email: dkeil@frc.mass.edu
URL: framingham.edu/faculty/dkeil/iit-matls.htm

Course overview

Using the notion of fluency with information technology as our framework, we will study computer technology from the skilled user’s point of view. This includes operating-systems, hardware, networks including Internet computing, several software applications, an introduction to system development, and social implications of information technology.

Standard office software includes applications for information formatting and web-page design, decision support (spreadsheets), and database management. A semester project will demonstrate your knowledge of the applications.

The social and professional issues addressed will include computer ethics, intellectual property, and privacy concerns. We will aim for the student to be prepared for lifelong learning in information technology.

The objectives of this course include changing the way you think about IT, as well as raising your level of knowledge and skills in standard applications and related concepts. The course offers an environment in which to build a new way of understanding IT.

The educational approach used is aimed at helping the student construct knowledge by grappling with new ideas, rather than memorizing facts. This approach emphasizes collaboration and critical thinking. See item, “Critical Thinking,” posted at instructor site, and see K. Bain, What the Best College Teachers Do (Harvard, 2004).

We will tie the topics in this course together with a set of themes, including the emergence of a digital world, social implications of technology (copyability, communications speed, connectivity, creativity tools); the need for everyone to have debugging skills, integrity of information, silicon vs. neurons, analytical and algorithmic thinking, global control of formatting, nonlinearity of text, absolute vs. relative referencing, linking vs. embedding, and virtuality.

Fluency with information technology (FIT)

Lawrence Snyder asserts that students “do not need rudimentary instruction in double-clicking and resizing windows. Rather, they need to be taught to be confident, in-control users of IT. They need to know how to navigate independently in the ever-changing worlds of information and technology, to solve their problems on their own, and to be capable of fully applying the power of IT tools in the service of their personal and career goals. They must be more than literate; they must be fluent with IT” (Fluency with Information Technology, Addison Wesley, 2004). In this course you will learn to learn about aspects of IT that don’t exist today.

Fluency with IT includes “skills, concepts and capabilities.” Examples are the skill of using a work processor to format a table, the concept of a stored-program computer, and the capability to fix problems in a poorly designed collection of data. Objectives of FIT are to enable efficient use of computers and to prepare the student for lifelong learning in IT.

Classroom format

This course emphasizes demonstrations, problem solving, in-class discussion, student presentations, and group work. Most learning in the classroom seems to come through interaction, so active participation by all is essential here.

Format of group work will be groups of two to four students working on problems. Roles in groups are Expeditor, Recorder, and Reporter. Groups will rotate roles. A group’s listing of a student’s name when posting group work is an assertion that the student participated in solving the given problems.

The classroom setting for this course is a voluntary, professional environment governed by mutual respect among all participants. The contributions of all to our discussions are to be welcomed and respected. The instructor and students are responsible for keeping a focused, welcoming, inclusive classroom.

This course is listed under http://framingham. blackboard.com. The site hosts a private discussion board for students enrolled in the course.

Slides prepared by the instructor are a good guide to what material counts most. Instructor will present the material on the slides as time permits. Discussion on anything related to the course is invited; questions on the material in the slides is especially invited.

Semester projects and homework

Each student will create a project, in several stages, that contains a text document, a spreadsheet, a slide presentation, a web page, and a database table, all related to a real or imaginary business or other organization.

The final-project submission will be submitted electronically and in hard-copy presentation format (see Semester Project handout for details).

Homework involves finding material on the Web related to the course topic and submitting it, with brief comments, to the Discussion Board. Students are asked to comment on other students’ findings and to be ready to talk about their own findings.

Grading

Group work	15
Homework (clips)	5
Presentations	5
Quizzes	30
Semester project	15
Final exam	20
Participation	10
	100

Group-work, quiz, and final-exam problems will be drawn from the posting, “Study Questions,” at instructor site, or similar questions.

Collaboration and acknowledgement
of intellectual debts

Projects, quizzes, and exams are to be completed independently. Academic honesty requires acknowledging the work of others. Students are encouraged within these constraints to work together on the course material, in order to help each other understand it.

Accommodations

Students who seek accommodations during the semester because of disabilities should meet with the instructor after class or during office hours early in the semester.

Course Plan

Dates	Topic	Required readings
9/5-9/7	Introduction	Parsons-Oja, Chs. “Orientation” and 1
9/10-9/21	1. Applications for formatting text and graphics	Ch. 3, 4; Handouts
9/24-10/5	2. Spreadsheets and decision support	Handouts
10/10-10/18	3. Introduction to database management	Handouts P-O 9ed, Ch. 10
10/22	Quiz (topics 1-3)
10/24-10/31	4. History of computing; computer hardware and operating systems	Chs. 2, 8
11/1-11/9	5. Social computing: Networks and the Internet	Chs. 5-7
11/14-11/28	6. System design and problem solving	Handouts P-O 9ed, Chs. 9, 11
11/30	Quiz (topics 4-6)
12/3-12/10	7. Social and professional issues; lifelong learning in information technology	Handouts P-O 9ed, Ch. 8
12/12-12/14	Review
	Final exam (Topics 1-7): Section A (MWThF 10:30-11:20): Thur., 12/20, 9:00 a.m. Section E (MWThF 12:30-1:20): Fri., 12/21, 9:00 a.m.