Course Syllabus

Course Description:

This introductory level course provides students the opportunity to develop the basic computer skills needed for the business computing world. The class includes a broad coverage of technology concepts and trends underlying current and future developments in information technology. We start by introducing the background of the computer and its components, such as its hardware devices, software programs, communication packages, internet jargons, database technologies, and data processing (data mining and analysis) trends. All these topics are directly related to the commercial world.

This course is intended for students with little or no background in computer technology. Students with extensive education or work experience in computer technology should consider taking a more advanced course.

Textbook:

Management Information Systems for the Information Age, 6/e

Stephen Haag, University of Denver
Maeve Cummings, Pittsburg State University
Amy Phillips, University of Denver

ISBN: 007305223x
Copyright year: 2007

There are several reference books, as well:

White, Ron, et. al. How Computers Work. 7th ed. Indianapolis, IN: Que Publishing. ISBN: 0789730332.
Gralla, Preston, et. al. How the Internet Works. 7th ed. Indianapolis, IN: Que Publishing. ISBN: 0789729733.
Good introductory texts on the internals of computer hardware, system software and the Internet. Recommended if you don't have a background in science or engineering.
Viescas, John L. Running Microsoft® Access 2000. Redmond, WA: Microsoft® Press, 1999. ISBN: 1572319348.
One of the best and most detailed "bibles" on Microsoft® Access. The coverage is way beyond what is typically covered in the course. However, this is an excellent reference book for students who are interested in becoming Microsoft® Access experts.

Recommended Web Materials

The PC Webopedia is a Web site that serves as an encyclopedia of Information Technology terms. It provides excellent explanations of many Information Technology terms, together with links to additional web pages related to them. We strongly encourage you to use this valuable resource to clarify unanswered questions and to go beyond the material covered in class, according to your own personal interests.

Key Topics

Chap. 1 – The Information Age in Which You Live: Changing the Face of Business

XLM/A – Computer Hardware and Software

Foundations of Information Systems in Business, Introduction to Computers, Computer Hardware, Computer Software, Computer Representations, Compression

Chap. 3 – Databases and Data Warehouses

XLM/C – Designing Databases and Entity-Relationship Diagramming

E-R diagrams, Relational Model and SQL, Either Basic Access Queries or Basic SQL Queries

Chap. 4 – Decision Support and Artificial Intelligence

XLM/D – Decision Analysis with Spreadsheet Software

Data Mining, Excel Autofilter and Pivot Table Analysis

Chap. 5 – Electronic Commerce: Strategies for the New Economy

Chap. 7 – Enterprise Infrastructure and Integration: Building the Dynamic Enterprise

Chap. 8 – Protecting People and Information: Threats and Safeguards

Additional material that you are expected to know:

Computer Representation and Compression:

http://www.si.umich.edu/Classes/540/Readings/Representation.doc

Attack Trees:

http://www.schneier.com/paper-attacktrees-ddj-ft.html

A reference for Data Mining:

http://www.twocrows.com/intro-dm.pdf