This class teaches fluency with the fundamentals of information technology, from both a practical and theoretical perspective, in today's rapidly changing information culture. During lectures and interactive computer labs, students will explore a wide range of digital and Internet-based technologies, including the PC and PC applications. networking, and web page design, including JavaScript. Tools will include PowerPoint, HTML editors, e-mail, and FTP applications. This course will examine issues surrounding the emergence of digital technologies in todays information culture in order to provide a critical context for student-centered activities and projects. Attention will also be given to issues relating to the use of information technology including technology selection and evaluation, information security, web content evaluation, and information availability and connectivity.

Fluency is the most important term in the description of this course.  It goes beyond the traditional course in computer literacy.  Traditional computer literacy courses teach how to interact with a particular computer application or piece of hardware,  but not the how and why of its creation and its similarities to other technologies.  Fluency means that understanding the conceptual framework used to build the application is as vital as knowing how to use the application itself.   Thus, the two major goals of this course are to: (1) make you into a life-long learner of Information Technology, and (2) give you the ability to adapt to the technologies you know, those you don’t know, and those not even invented yet.  

This course will teach fluency by helping you acquire three kinds of knowledge: skills (learned by doing), concepts (the why of technology), and capabilities (powers or abilities). The acquisition of these three types of knowledge is what allows people to use reading, writing, and math skills years after their introduction to the concepts in school.

Skills

Concepts

Capabilities:

The course has three modules:

1. The PC and PC Applications;

2. Networks and the Internet; and

3. IT Planning and Management Issues.

At the completion of the course, students will have a general understanding of:

Throughout the course, new and interesting IT-related issues and applications may come up and be discussed. This course is designed as a technology primer. Thus, students will not receive an in-depth understanding of specific technologies and/or applications. Other SISP courses are available which allow students to gain expert knowledge in particular technologies and/or PC applications.

REQUIRED TEXTS AND OTHER ITEMS:

This course has one required text:

E-mail 

It is important for all course students to have an Internet-based e-mail account for this class. Students may use a university account or their own personal account. During class, you will also be setting up an account on the Internet to post web pages for the HTML segment of the course. Instructions for applying for this special account and web hosting area will be provided during class.

Listserv and Mailing List

For this class, you will need to register for the EDUPAGE listserv. EDUPAGE provides you with a summary (once/twice per week) of the more significant technology events of the week. EDUCAUSE, a non-profit company dedicated to technology issues in education, publishes the newsletter. To subscribe to EDUPAGE, send a message to [email protected]. In the body of the message type:

SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName.

As an alternative you may visit the Edupage site to view the article archives.

Course Website

This course has its own web site, containing assignments and readings. Please consult this site for the latest information regarding this course. It is located on the Internet at:

<https://www.albany.edu/~gc227838/>

VALUATION:

Participation, Listserv(s) sign-up, mailing list, and e-mail account, homework 10%

Assignments 45%

Mid Term 20%

Technology Plan 25% - graded using the following criteria

Participation

Participation means attendance of all class sessions AND active involvement in class discussions. This means that students read the assigned readings for each class PRIOR TO THAT CLASS. The students are expected to question, challenge, argue, and discuss issues and topics related to that session's readings. Merely attending class is not sufficient to pass this evaluation criterion. Failure to attend and to participate in class will result in a letter grade of F for this component. If a student cannot attend a(ny) class session(s), it is the responsibility of the student to contact the instructor by e-mail before the session at [email protected]. Missing three (3) or more class sessions will result in a student's course grade reduction by one letter grade. If a student has any special needs to participate in course activities/complete course requirements, please inform the instructor at the beginning of the course. It is expected that all work that students submit is original. Students should familiarize themselves with the definition of academic honesty/misconduct contained in the Student Handbook. CAREFULLY proof all of your work prior to submission, checking for mistakes such as spelling, grammatical errors, and typos. Late assignments, h/w, or other work submitted after the due date without permission will not be considered.

Assignments

There are four (4) assignments for this course. The PC Assignment is worth 10% of the course grade, the PowerPoint assignment is worth 15%, and the two Web assignments are worth 15% and 5% each of the course grade, respectively.

(1) PC Assignment (10 points)

Many elements of a PC affect its overall performance, overall security when in use, and its final price. Considering the four major areas of a personal computer discussed in class, select an actual personal computer system from a newspaper advertisment, or a web-based store (dell.com, hp.com, apple.com, etc) and discuss these elements relative to these four areas. Conclude with a summary and recommendation for or against the system you selected. Your 2-3 page write-up should include DETAILED hardware and software descriptions.  Be sure to include DETAILED information relating to the (1) CPU (processor speed, processor type, bus speed, etc), (2) the Memory (RAM type and amount) / Storage (CD-R or R/W, DVD+ or DVD-, dual layer/single layer DVD, etc), (3) the User Interface/Input & Output, such as monitor (flat panel or CRT including resolution & graphic card), peripherals (printer, mouse, keyboard), and (4) Network Interface for Internet connectivity. Also consider software (OS and applications).  This should be typed, proofed, printed, and stapled - a first-class, quality write-up.

(2) PowerPoint Assignment (15 points)

For this assignment, click here.

(3) Web Assignments (20 points) - (two assignments, the first worth 15 points and the second worth 5 points)

For web assignment 1, click here.

For web assignment 2, click here

Technology Plan

You are to contact and research an organization for the purpose of creating a technology upgrade plan. You should select an organization that is undergoing significant technological change involving both PC upgrades and network expansion, including a WAN involving multiple physical site locations. You may use a local or distant organization. You may work in teams of two for this assignment if you choose.

The final project should be 15-20 pages, including network diagrams, budget pages, and narrative. You may want to include additional support documentation, such as telecommunications pricing charts, as appendices. The final project is worth 25% of the course grade, graded in accordance with this criteria. See the final project sample for an example and questions.htm for questions.

Each plan is to include the following aspects for both the current and the proposed configurations:

Some assumptions/expectations/considerations:

Technology Plans submitted after 7:15PM at class on May 2 will not be accepted. Please plan accordingly.

CLASS SESSIONS:

All classes meet on Monday, from 7:15 - 10:05PM in DR023. Please read/review prior to class and be prepared for discussion on that topic.

January 24 Introduction to Course/The PC

TOPICS: Intro to the course - begin the PC

ASSIGNMENT for next meeting:

(1) Insure you have an e-mail account and register for the EDUPAGE listserv

(2) Read Snyder Chapter 1, 2

(3) Do the PC Assignment consulting the Intro to the PC and class notes web sites

(4) Review: PowerPoint 97 documentation or PowerPoint XP documentation.

January 31  The PC/ Technology Concepts

TOPICS: Human-Computer Interface/Discuss PowerPoint assignment.

PC Assignment due

ASSIGNMENT for next meeting:

(1) Review http://fcit.usf.edu/network/

(2) Read Snyder Chapter 9

(3) H/W - Prepare a 1 page opinion-paper that briefly summarizes a relevant topic received from EDUPAGE and how it relates to PCs, networking, the Internet, or some aspect of this course.  In discussing your opinion on the topic, consider whether you are in support of or against your selected topic. You will use this as a basis for the PowerPoint  and Web assignment 1. You should review the PowerPoint  assignment before making your topic selection. Do not consider wireless technologies as this will be included in a later assignment. The opinion paper is due at start of class 2/7/05. (graded out of 5 points).

(4) Begin formating the PowerPoint  assignment

Networks and the Internet

February 7  Advanced PC Wrap-up/Introduction to Networking

ASSIGNMENT for next meeting:

(1) Read Snyder Chapter 3

(2) Complete PowerPoint  assignment

EDUPAGE H/W due today 2/7/05)

February 14 More Networking - the Internet

PowerPoint assignment due.

ASSIGNMENT for next meeting:

Read Snyder Chapter 4

February 21 No Class - Spring Break

February 28  Introduction to the HTML - Lab 1

TOPIC: Discuss/Present PowerPoint assignments, begin HTML

ASSIGNMENT for next meeting:

Review: http://www.w3schools.com/html/ and http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/Internet/WWW/HTMLPrimerPDF.pdf

Begin Web assignment 1 - create pages on local drive

Study for Mid term

March 7  HTML Lab 2/Mid Term Exam

Mid Term Exam (second half of class - meet in electronic classroom first half)

TOPIC: Advanced HTML, FTP and other tools

ASSIGNMENT for next meeting:

Get a University at Albany account if you do not have one, so you can host you web pages. Create an index.html page and post it to your site.  Print the page and turn it in - be sure it includes the URL.

READ: Snyder Chapter 5 & 6

Continue Web assignment 1 - finish local pages and incorporate links in pages on local drive

March 14 Wireless Computing and Multimedia/Review Mid-Term

TOPIC: Wireless, Multimedia, Final project discussions

ASSIGNMENT for next meeting:

READ: Wireless Article (PDF format)

Read Snyder Chapter 11, 12 and Chapter 17 and handout on multimedia

H/W - Write a 1 page paper using and citing 3 references on the pros and cons of wireless networking - due March 28

Continue Web assignment 1- post and testing web pages

March 21 No Class - School Closed

March 28  IT Managment/Information Security

TOPIC: Final Project Discussions, IT Management/Security

One page H/W on Wireless networking due.

ASSIGNMENT for next meeting:

Write a 1 page proposal for your final project

READ: Snyder Chapter 18, 19

Read/Review: Intro to Javascript guide

April 4 Developing a Technology Plan, Web Site Presentations, Intro to JavaScript

TOPIC: Basic Javascript - Class Notes. Present web assignments to class - meet in electronic classroom for first half of class.

Web assignment 1 and one page proposal on your final project due.

ASSIGNMENT for next meeting:

Begin actual technology plan based on approved proposal - I'll note approval on the course site on the grade page (gradess04.html).

Start Web assignment 2 (due 4/18)

READ: Snyder Chapter 20

Read/Review: Intro to Javascript guide

April 11  Advanced Javascript

TOPIC: Advanced Javascript - refer to sample web site code simplebean.html from class, bean.html used in Snyder Chapter 19, and sample code membank.html used in Snyder Chapter 20

ASSIGNMENT for next meeting:

READ: Snyder Chapter 21

Continue Web assignment 2 (due April 18)

Continue technology plan

April 18  Advanced Javascript - Cookies

Site for this class used in Lab: cookies.html and sample code busy.html used in Snyder Chapter 21
ASSIGNMENT for next meeting:

READ: Snyder Chapter 24

Complete technology plan

Web assignment 2 due today

April 25 - No Class

May 2  Fluency Summary

Technology Plans Due - Last class.