Welcome to IT 110 – Principles of Information Technology, a "Hybrid" Online Course. This course is part of an exciting new time here at Juniata College - a time when the traditional hands-on learning style that has made Juniata College so successful melds together with the inevitable growth of technology. IT110 is presented in a content rich, hands-on, web-based manner. We call this a hybrid course because you will spend considerable time “on-line”. NO – we are not becoming an online institution! The fact of the matter is, however, that in your lifetime, the use of the web for learning will increase dramatically (you will discuss this later in the course). Most, if not all, of you already are quite comfortable gathering information from the web or other “technological” sources (email, AOL Instant Messaging, etc..). The use of technology in your education will also continue to grow during your college education and throughout your lifetime as you will come to recognize the need for lifelong learning here at Juniata College. The course delivery will be a mix of web-based and classroom activities - thus making it a "hybrid" approach. This approach incorporates weekly meetings with the instructor along with interaction through the WWW via such interactive elements as "threaded discussions".

Here at Juniata College, the IT110 course is an exciting and different type of course. At present, there are several main themes or tracks that have been developed – Business, Bioinformatics, Environmental, Digital Media, and Computer Science. In truth, these tracks will continue to develop – as you are part of the development! The goal of the redevelopment is NOT to develop many distinctly different courses, but rather to develop variations of the course that may be intertwined.

At Juniata College, IT means understanding the importance of communication skills, having an appreciation for IT's role in providing competitive advantage in today's world, and appreciating the wide-spread acceptance of multi-platform, distributed computing environments. Specific technologies will continue to come and go, but the ability to communicate effectively and see the "big picture" will remain critically important for IT professionals as they develop and deploy the latest technologies to solve real-world problems. An interdisciplinary approach will prepare you well.

The overall goal of ALL tracks is to provide the student with a basic introduction to technology. The goal of the individual tracks is to illustrate the notion that technology has and will continue to permeate all aspects of society. Given this, it is desirable to have the students from each track develop a basic familiarity of the following technology concepts:

The above concepts will be presented in module format to each section. Variations based on the theme or track of each section will then exist within each section.

While the above concepts will be common to all sections, there will be variations within each section. Consider, for example, the Database subject. This, in itself, is a very large topic and you will spend approximately 2-3 weeks discussing database concepts, design, development and implementation. The variations between sections will occur once the basic concepts have been covered. The environmental section (flavor) may then continue to examine databases common in this field (e.g. toxic release sites), while the business track examines or develops a database of potential clients or customers.

EXAMPLE: In the Database Objective, the assignment is to read the introduction to databases material and work through the basic examples provided. Class time will then be spent reviewing the basic concepts of a database and demonstrating additional database software packages such as ACCESS, GIS, or ORACLE to name but a few. After these introductions and demonstrations an additional assignment may be announced that will have you apply these new tools. This is where the individual sections or tracks will begin to differ the most. At this point, all students will have been introduced to the database concepts, but individual sections will then apply these concepts in a different manner. For example, the “business” track may develop a database used for market analysis of real estate costs, while the “environmental” section may create a database of hazardous waste sites (which, by the way, could easily be used in the real estate study).

VERY IMPORTANT! – You will see the variations at the end of the basic reading, at which point you will be directed to readings and/or assignments specific to your section.

Other commonalities will exist as well. A common set of online quizzes or exams will be given, as well as a common online final. A final project will also be required for each section, although instructors may choose to implement this in a variety of ways (i.e. team based vs. individual or report vs. presentation, etc..) or any combination within.

Following are brief summaries for the individual modules. Topics to be covered and potential variations between sections are provided. Weeks of the semester to be devoted to a particular module are estimated, as is a running total.

Topics - This will be a basic introduction to the course. The introduction will discuss the various outcomes and objectives that will result from the successful completion of any section of this course. The impact of technology on nearly all sectors of society will be introduced and will lay the groundwork for the various sections of IT110 at Juniata College. Goals of the course and a rationale for having a hybrid online course will be discussed. Expectations and responsibilities will also be covered. The course management system (Moodle) will be introduced. Other educational and collaborative software packages, such as enote, may also be introduced.

Variations – There will be little, if any, variations in between the various sections in this module, though individual instructors will provide a rationale as to why the application of technology in a particular area is relevant to all participants in the course.

Topics – This section will cover the history of technologies and computing leading up to modern computing. Early technologies, first computers, and networks, etc… will be discussed.

Variations – Students in the various areas can be expected to research historical aspects of technology in the various areas. For example – bioinformatics may look at the first genome sequencing or the first use of computers to analyze and duplicate DNA. Students in the environmental section could evaluate technologies for monitoring the environment or the history of computing in the EPA.

Topics – This section will cover the basics of a computer – hardware, software, and operating systems.

Variations – Specialized computer systems, software, and operating systems will be researched and discussed for various applications. Consider SAP installations for major corporations, monitoring software for environmental systems, and bio-software for medical research as examples.

Topics – The basics of network development and structure will be discussed including topology, equipment, servers, and management. The concepts of the WWW will also be discussed.

Variations – Common network patterns and schemes for individual areas will be researched and discussed. The implications of the WWW on the various sections will also be discussed.

Topics – This module will discuss and introduce the concepts of developing materials for the WWW (previously discussed). A variety of software packages will be introduced such as MS PowerPoint, MS FrontPage, and Dreamweaver. Other software such as PHP and java script will also be discussed and illustrated. Web based applications such as serving a database and creating forms will be discussed.

Variations – Students will develop a personal webpage (if they have not already). Students will also explore existing webpage for their specific sections and discuss the technologies and styles used in this webpage.

Topics – The basics of databases will be introduced. The concepts of database structure and key features such as primary keys will be discussed. Common functions associated with database usage, such as querying, will be illustrated. Several database software platforms will be also introduced including MS Excel, MS Access, MySQL, and others.

Variations – Students will develope a database relevant to their particular area or section.

Topics – This section is intended to introduce topics such as those covered in the Hypermedia course. Technologies such as digital imaging and video will be discussed.

Variations – Students will be asked to incorporate one or more of these technologies into a final presentation.

Topics – There are a fair number of topics to be introduced here. These include:

• Human Computer Interactions
• Ethics
• Mobile Computing
• Security
• Cybermarketing
• Biometrics
• Managing Technology
• “Lab on chip”

Variations – Students in the various sections should select from the above list for inclusion in a final project.

Estimated Semester Time (weeks) - 1
Running Total (semester time in weeks) - 13

The Process – How to Proceed Each Week:

Week 1 – Introduction to the Course
Week 2 – A Brief History
Week 3 – Introduction to Computing
Week 4 – Introduction to Computing, cont….
Week 5 – Networks
Week 6 – Networks, cont….
Week 7 – Web Development
Week 8 – Web Development, cont…
Week 9 - Web Development, cont…
Week 10 – Databases
Week 11 – Databases, cont…
Week 12 – Multimedia Applications
Week 13 – Emerging Technologies
FLOATER WEEK - There is one floater week.

PLEASE NOTE – this is an anticipated schedule. There may be slight variations.

Each week, you are to have completed the readings and worked through the various assignments before coming to class that week. There are numerous exercises and assignments throughout the readings. There may also be thought or study questions about the readings (these will be in Moodle). You are to complete these questions and then contribute additional thoughts/questions about the readings.

There are both exercises and assignments. The basic difference is that the exercises are not graded, while the assignments are graded. ALL GRADED ASSIGNMENTS CAN BE FOUND IN THE COURSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM VIA MOODLE.... It is possible that you instructor may also give additional information regarding an assignment; however, it will be listed in the course management system.

As you will see throughout the course, the sharing of information is critical to society. This includes online collaboration. Online collaboration is part of IT110. Here at Juniata College, we use a course management system (CMS) to “manage” a number of courses. You may ask: “What is a course management system?” A CMS is a website (a big one) that allows instructors and students to collaborate during a course. Functions of a CMS include providing course content, testing, threaded messages, email, and homework (assignment) repositories to name but a few. Here at Juniata College, we use Moodle as our course management systems.

NOTE - If you have already enroolled in this course via Moodle then you may skip to the next section.

Logging onto

In your browser address window, type ‘moodle.juniata.edu’ or just ‘moodle’

Your Login Name is your Eaglenet Username and Password
(The same login you use on all campus computers)

Finding Your Course

Scroll to the bottom of the page, Either type your course name in the Search courses field
or
Select All courses

Scroll through the list, find your course, then click on the course title

You will be asked to select "Yes" or "No" to enroll in your course

NOTE: Some courses require an enrollment key, simply ask your instructor for it.

You will using a variety of technologies in this course, however, the majority of your time will be on the computer using a web browser. Sincre you are reading this, you can see that the course content is all contained in this website (http://projects.juniata.edu/it110). This site is divided into several parts:

If you click on the "Interactive Links" portion, you will see a number of links that will or may be used throughout the semester. There a relinks to Moodle, faculty, a "quick help", and links to additional readings.

Your instructor will discuss the various features of this site with you in class.

Let's try some of the features of the site and a few examples of your typical activites:

First let's make sure that you can find the INTERACTIVE LINKS. Simply "mouse over" the IT110 Interactive menu. Do see all of the links? Click on Moodle and make sure that a new browser window opens and the main Moodle login screen will appear. Click on your particular section (Environmental, Biology, or Business) and a new window should appear with additional readings (there are none for this portion of the class).

Let's try a discussion activity. Recall that discussion acitivies will appear throughout the course content (they may also appear in the additional readings section. All discussion (also called threaded discussions) are handled in Moodle. So when you see a discussion question, read the question (it will also be in Moodle) and then use the IT110 Interactive Menu to go to Moodle) and then navigate to Forums and respond to the discussion question.

This is a very simple discussion activity - Please introduce yourselves to the others in this class by responding to this discussion board. Please provide information about your major and interest in taking this course. Upload a picture of yourself, or if you are camera shy, a pet's picture will do. For those of you who do not have a ready .jpeg of yourself, "stalker" net will do!

To compete this assignment simple go to Moodle and login (if you are not already logged in). Next go to IT110 (your section) and navigate to Forums, then respond to Introductions.

Assignment #1 is very simple. Go to the WWW (or other sources) and search for references that define Information Technology. In other words, "What is IT?" Put this in MS WORD. Also include your thoughts on this definition. Do you agree? Disagree? Why. When you are finished - go to Moodle and navigate to Assignments. Go to "What is IT" and upload your WORD document.