Courses

This course provides an introduction to systematic inquiry in information technology and informatics using quantitative and qualitative approaches with an emphasis on individual and organizational users of information working in electronic environments. It includes the analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and reporting of applied and theoretical research in the information technology field. Computer laboratory sessions are used to facilitate statistical, textual, and graphical analyses of data. Methodologies of research in information technology are critically evaluated.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand the key concepts and terminology used in information technology and informatics research.
• Evaluate the appropriateness of selected qualitative and quantitative research methods when conducting research studies in different information environments.
• Present the design for a particular research method in a simulated study in the information technology area.
• Use a range of standardized software to analyze research data.
• Interpret how data analyses supports theories and decisions for the users of and use of information technologies.
• Analyze and synthesize research and technical reports to identify decision points, develop plans, and create action agendas.
• Apply research findings to real world problems.

This course focuses on leadership theory and its applicability in understanding the role of leadership in dynamic organizations. The course places emphasis on cultural concerns and the importance of diversity in ensuring competitiveness in the increasingly diverse marketplace. It addresses global issues in information and communication technology, the importance of effective leadership at all levels in organizations, and the relationship between leadership and organizational success. An additional focus is the necessity for collaboration and ethical practices.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Apply leadership theories and relate them to the effective practice of leadership in the electronic marketplace.
• Take on leadership roles that include conceptualizing an organizational mission and vision and making informed decisions.
• Understand the importance of diversity and equity in successful organizations and the ways in which organizational leaders can foster diversity.
• Identify strategies and processes for creating inclusive organizations.
• Understand the importance of ensuring effective leadership at all levels in organizations.
• Identify global issues, as a significant component of the competitive and technological marketplace.
• Understand the issues of leadership and diversity as applied in countries outside of the U.S.
• Apply ethical principles to real-world leadership scenarios.

Information Technology Project Management covers fundamental concepts and applied techniques for effective management of information technology development and implementation projects. Students will develop practical competencies with industry-standard software tools and techniques, applying traditional PM frameworks (e.g., Waterfall, Rational) and contemporary (e.g., Agile-based) techniques to the planning and monitoring of information technology implementation projects.

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Conduct initiation research and requirements gathering using business cases and charters to better understand those requirements.
• Conduct initial project planning activities evaluating project requirements and accurately forecast project costs, timelines, and quality to demonstrate understanding of these activities.
• Analyze project requirements and implement project management processes including; successful resource, communication, and change management using contemporary (e.g., Agile) methodologies but also address other approaches (e.g. Waterfall).
• Demonstrate effective project execution and control techniques including the proper use of project management software.
• Evaluate project details and then conduct project closure activities to obtain formal project acceptance.
• Apply ethics and professional responsibility to project management decision-making processes.
• Demonstrate effective organizational leadership.

This course examines the theory, practice, and methodology of the modern game designer. Content will cover everything from simple board game mechanics to the inner workings of massively multiplayer experiences. From developing ideas for new product concepts, to writing strong game design documentation, to fine-tuning gameplay mechanics, this course provides a survey of the best practices, key challenges, and unique opportunities for game designers.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Analyze and evaluate the core components of great interactive experiences.
• Design features, develop original concepts, and write documentation to bring complete games to market that adhere to industry standards of quality and innovation..
• Develop and present game design ideas in the form of feature, concept or product pitches to team members and product owners.

This course focuses on the role that web pages play in an organization's public profile, and on establishing linkages between specific content and organizational and client needs in a web-based environment. It addresses principles and skills of web design using current W3C standards, website access, usability and evaluation. It also addresses developing website content tailored to specific audiences.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand the varying roles of web pages in organizations.
• Identify and apply basic and advanced principles and techniques of web design.
• Publish documents on the World Wide Web using HTML, CSS, Javascript, and various styling languages and tools, and with content tailored to a target audience.
• Understand and apply principles of web site access and usability.
• explain the implications of web design, usability and information networking for organizational and client needs.

In this course, students learn how to effectively present complex information using the Web, multimedia or information visualization techniques. The course develops an understanding of how best to leverage human perceptual capabilities to communicate information or gain insights into large and abstract data.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify key dimensions of human visual perception and relate them to creating effective information visualizations.
• Demonstrate understanding of key design principles for creating effective web pages, multimedia presentations or information visualization interfaces.
• Analyze multimedia in detail to study video editing principles employed.
• Use video camera and video editing software to create video presentation.
• Understand major techniques and systems in information visualization.
• Create an effective web site, video presentation or information visualization prototype for a specific topic or data set.

This course introduces students to basic database design principles and applications, and the use of database technologies for the organization and management of large information systems. It focuses on development of data structures, data base design principles, relational structures, database testing and use, query language, as well as translating organizational needs into data base applications.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify and evaluate different types of database applications used by managers, consumers, marketing professionals, decision makers and others.
• Understand different data structures and sections of databases and how they relate to each other.
• Design and test an effective database for personal use.
• Use database software for entering data and creating reports.
• Use a query language to create actionable information.
• Translate an organization's information management problems into a database solution.
• Understand and critique emerging trends in database applications such as knowledge management and decision support.

This course provides an introduction to computer network and Internet technologies.  It emphasizes the distinction between various logical concepts and entities such as networks, the Internet at large, and the World Wide Web.  Universal protocols and services such as SMTP, HTTP, DNS, and SNMP are explored.  In addition, students will learn to deconstruct and identify components of common technologies.  The context of these technologies within society and business is also introduced.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Recognize and describe networking and Internet technology terms, concepts, technologies.
• Determine the relationship between networks, the Internet, and the World Wide Web.
• Explain the role and function of networking and Internet technologies in real-world practice.
• Analyze common uses of technology in terms of knowledge of networks and networking.
• Discuss challenges and implications of a networked society.

With the advent of the Extensible Markup language, web developers have the opportunity to build richer, more fully interactive sites by tapping into the power of a series of flexible and robust technologies that permit more effective sharing of information between organizations. Students will be starting with the fundamentals of XML and moving on into discussions and implementations of XHTML, Schema, DTDs, RSS, Web Services, AJAX and other XML-based frameworks for Web development. Particular attention will be paid to the issues surrounding open source development efforts and the business case for various technologies and their alternatives.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Build a website or web application that incorporates front-end interactivity through the use of interface behaviors, data manipulation, templating, and asynchronous data transfer (AJAX).
• Manipulate, aggregate, and make relationships between data from various sources to produce results in an interactive website or application not otherwise possible using single data sources alone.
• Identify and discover interactive capabilities of 3rd-party public application programming interfaces (API’s) and integrate such API’s into a website or application design.
• Find and make use of specialized development tools to aid in building interactivity within websites and applications such as integrated development environments (IDE’s), developer tools, javascript frameworks, and server-side scripting technologies.
• Troubleshoot and debug issues with both front-end and server-side scripting technologies.

Analyzes gender in relation to race, class, nationality, culture, religion, and sexuality in the context of technological innovation. Its focus is on fundamental concepts, the feminist critique of technoscience, and the impact of gender issues on workplace inclusiveness and equity, in a transnational and historical perspective. It examines the effects of gender on the development and use of information technologies and on gender-based electronic information preferences.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand feminist critiques of science/technology and comprehend alternative strategies for thinking about technology as it affects women's lives.
• Understand the development of technology and science in a historical context and in the context of gender-based division of labor, using current theoretical constructs.
• Recognize the importance and processes of innovation as they impact women in technology-based industries.
• Develop strategies for maintaining an inclusive and equitable work community.
• Identify barriers to the recruitment and retention of women in the IT workplace and develop recommendations regarding strategies to overcome these barriers.

This course prepares students for policy development in organizations. It analyzes and synthesizes concerns and conflicts related to information technology, information access and dissemination, freedom of information, copyright, intellectual property rights and responsibilities, privacy, filtering and information security and computer crime. Legal, political, social and ethical issues and how they contribute to policy development will be considered. Against this backdrop, the course provides opportunity for students to undertake organizational policy development.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand the relationships among access rights, property rights, and privacy rights and responsibilities in an information society.
• Demonstrate an understanding of major policy issues important to the information, communication, and technology professions and to the public at large regarding government information, private sector information, secrecy, censorship, scholarly communication, intellectual property, security and information equity.
• Critically analyze policy issues to establish implications for policy development and maintenance.
• Demonstrate proficiency in using policy creation methodologies and tools.
• Use problem solving skills in designing and implementing organizational policies.
• Describe and analyze policy issues intelligently through discussion and in writing.
• Recognize and determine emerging policy issues.
• Develop an organizational data policy document.

This course is not being offered in the 2020-21 academic year; the schedule for 2021-22 and beyond is yet to be determined.

This course examines the technologies used to transact business electronically. It investigates a range of social, economic and security issues related to such transactions, and the design of websites that facilitate these transactions.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify and evaluate the technologies web developers use to create e-commerce websites.
• Identify issues of security, privacy, intellectual property, digital currency, and propose web solutions.
• Undertake comparative cost analysis in terms of doing business online versus the costs of doing business in a physical location.
• Understand and apply strategies (such as advertising, risk management) appropriate to conducting business in a digital environment.
• Analyze e-commerce sites to identify why some sites work more successfully than others.
• Develop a business plan for transacting business in an electronic environment.
• As part of a team process, develop a prototype e-commerce website for a locally-based organization.

Creating a digital game involves merging many the skills of many disciplines in to a single cohesive whole. It involves applying principles from computer programming, two and three dimensional digital art, animation, physics, mathematics, artificial intelligence, user interface and experience design, psychology, narrative design and visual communication, to provide an incomplete list. This course focuses upon understanding and demonstrating the technical implementation of game play mechanics within a game engine framework. The purpose of this course is designed to expand upon the work done in Game Design Methodology (04:547:315) to provide an introduction in working with these disparate skill sets by building subsets of a complete game in a digital form.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Discuss and document game creation decisions using industry standard terminology: In this objective, students will be required to show that they can conceive of a game play system and can describe the goal state of their implementation. Focus must be given on using appropriate terminology as well as selecting specific behaviors to implement.

• Implement examples of game play systems in the game engine used in the course: In this objective students will be required to demonstrate a functional knowledge of the object model and scripting languages of the disparate systems available within the game engine.

• Assemble multiple game play systems in to a cohesive game play experience: In this objective students show how they are able to demonstrate the totality of objectives 1 and 2 by conceiving of, implementing and documenting an aggregation of different systems in a single user experience.

This course examines economic theories related to information technologies and systems. The concept of information as "commodity" is considered. Quantitative methods such as cost-benefit analysis and return on information technology investment evaluation are introduced. Alternative methods such as measuring the human costs associated with information technology implementations is also addressed.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Explain the concept of "information" as a commodity.
• Identify key economic theories related to organizational investments in information technology systems, and outline their dimensions.
• Identify, quantify and evaluate the costs and benefits of existing and proposed information systems.
• Critically assess traditional methods for evaluating the investment returns associated with information technology and information system implementation.
• Devise alternative strategies for measuring other cost factors related to information technology implementation within an organization.

Data analytics linked to storage, curation, management, and mining with attention to alternative methodological approaches.  The course will demonstrate various methods to explore how big data might be analyzed, stored, and retrieved.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Use models and structures to depict large data sets within a data analytics environment.
• Apply statistical models to data using SPSS and related software programs.
• Explain, determine, debate, compare and contrast: predictive analytic issues, language issues, algorithms, analytic methods, curation issues, and applications to social networks.
• Create a tutorial guide to assist others in data analytic endeavors to include structuring data sets, using software to analyze data, and depositing and making accessible big data sets.
• Assess how different statistical models might be used to extract meaning from particular data sets.
• Understand how clustering and other statistical models can be used to extract meaning from data sets which will then lead to decision models on particular sub-groups.
• Specify how to manage and curate large sets within a particular application area.
• Address storage, security, and privacy issues as they apply to different types of large data sets.
• Implement appropriate frameworks to identify the overall model for a big data set, how such data might be analyzed, curated, placed in a repository to provide appropriate access points for data set retrieval.

An introduction to the various technical and administrative aspects of information security and assurance. This course provides the foundation for understanding the key issues associated with protecting information assets, determining the levels of protection and response to security incidents, and designing a consistent, reasonable information security system, with appropriate intrusion detection and reporting features.

The purpose of the course is to provide the student with an overview of the field of information security and assurance. Students will be exposed to the spectrum of security activities, methods, methodologies, and procedures. Coverage will include inspection and protection of information assets, detection of and reaction to threats to information assets, and examination of pre- and post-incident procedures, technical and managerial responses, and an overview of the information security planning and staffing functions.

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify and prioritize information assets and threats to information assets.
• Define an information security strategy and architecture.
• Plan response to information security incidents.
• Present a disaster recovery plan for recovery of information assets after an incident.
• Describe legal and public relations implications of security and privacy issues.
• Demonstrate knowledge of a chosen security topic through a written research paper.

This course is not being offered in the 2020-21 academic year; the schedule for 2021-22 and beyond is yet to be determined.

This course focuses on understanding how organizations learn, and how information technology can be used for the design and development of instructional systems and materials within the organization to facilitate workplace learning. It will address workplace learning needs, learning styles, learning outcomes, representation of knowledge, problem solving, and assessment of the usability of e-learning systems in the workplace.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Describe how people learn in the workplace, and be able to identify enablers and barriers to learning.
• Identify learning styles, and appropriate pedagogical principles and teaching methods.
• Implement strategies to determine learning needs in the organization.
• Apply principles of effective design and development of workplace learning initiatives.
• Work cooperatively with others in developing an instructional design plan for the organization.
• Select and use appropriate technologies for implementing workplace learning solutions.
• Analyze and appraise various course and instructional management techniques such as questioning, discussions, evaluation and assessment.

The Practicum in Information Technology will operate very much like an independent study course, only in this case, the students' work will be directed toward passing an IT certification test. Selected certificates--ones that are in demand by companies and organizations--will be options presented to the students. Certification options may include, but are not limited to,: A+, CCNA, MCTS, etc.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Integrate skills learned in the classroom and apply them to an IT certification experience.
• Share information about tasks assigned to them by mentors.
• Describe and relate the experience to their educational and career goals.

The student negotiates or gains a work placement of approximately 50 to 150 hours. The internship provides supervised professional work experience in a corporate, research, or educational setting, where there is opportunity to apply and further develop knowledge and skills acquired in the Information Technology and Informatics course work.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Gain knowledge and experience of working as an information technology professional.
• Develop skills of negotiating job placements.
• Analyze work opportunities in terms of goals, responsibilities, tasks, outputs, and performance indicators.
• Apply knowledge and technical competencies acquired within the major.
• Analyze workplace survival and success mechanisms.
• Develop workplace problem-solving skills.
• Evaluate workplace experiences.
• Write a resume for the workplace.
• Develop an understanding the importance of professionalism and continuing professional development in information technology environments.

The Capstone in Information Technology and Informatics is designed to synthesize what students have learned in the ITI program through a directed project that is identified by the Coordinator and the ITI Director. Throughout the semester, students work together in teams to complete the selected project. In addition to the project, students may also complete written assignments that document the progress of the team, produce a final paper, and participate in a final presentation experience to showcase their work (e.g. in-class, Undergraduate Research Day, etc.).

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Design a real world product or service and complete the project to develop that produce or service with other individuals in a team setting.
• Demonstrate the ability to successfully prioritize, organization, and carry out the project including:  developing a plan for completion; organizing the team to maximize chances for success; showcasing the product or service in several settings including both Undergraduate Research Day and a Final Presentation for a wide audience.
• Show proficiency in incorporating what they have learned throughout the ITI major.
• Integrate into the project the knowledge and skills gained in the ITI major.
• Show proficiency in newly learned skills as required to complete the project.

Students design, negotiate and manage a program of study under the advisement of a faculty member based on their existing experience and knowledge and on their career intentions. The study builds on existing knowledge and skills acquired during the major in an area not available through elective courses in the ITI major.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Plan a course of study and independent research on a topic of special interest, and which builds on existing ITI knowledge and skills.
• Identify learning goals, establish learning strategies to meet goals, identify appropriate resources, establish how learning outcomes will be demonstrated and assessed.
• Develop knowledge and skills in area of expertise related to the ITI program of study outside of the regular classroom experience.
• Apply knowledge and technical competencies acquired within the major.
• Understand the importance of professionalism and continuing professional development in information technology environments.

Honors students will conduct original research under the supervision of a faculty adviser and an honors thesis committee. Students must be accepted into the honors program in order to enroll in this course.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Produce and present a substantial project that demonstrates knowledge and skills in research such as problem solving, editing, presenting, and knowledge management.
• Develop individual interests, through the thesis research that engage a topic related to information technology and informatics.
• Demonstrate the ability to weave the major's different strands together in an intellectually robust way.
• Speak clearly and confidently about a given topic, and be able to answers questions on research in front of a public audience.

Special topics courses relevant to contemporary studies in Information Technology and Informatics.

Learning objectives for each Topics class offered will be listed on the instructor's syllabus.

Fundamentals of writing across media platforms.  By the end of the course, students will be able to write in many journalistic and media-based styles using basic and accepted techniques accepted by each discipline.  This course will serve as a foundation for understanding and using different styles of writing, research, and content development.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify and analyze the characteristics of various forms of media writing.
• Write clearly, accurately, with energy and voice, for specific audiences.
• Purposefully blend text, graphical content, multimedia, and interactive elements.
• Develop content for various media platforms.
• Gather, evaluate, and disseminate data-based research.
• Critically evaluate and edit mediated content and design.

Legal issues and ethical problems confronting journalists.

(This course was formerly numbered 04:567:480)

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Reason through ethics-related conflicts, using moral philosophy, moral decision-making models or journalistic principles as guides.
• Help students understand the basic principles of libel, reporter's privilege and shield laws.
• Teach ethical practices in journalism and provide a sense of journalists' role in society.
• Examine the role of good corporate owners; the challenges of practicing ethical journalism in an environment filled with hindrances; the responsibilities journalists have to sources, audiences, and employers; the role of diversity; and how philosophers have approached ethical problems.
• Review basic journalism law, such as libel and privacy.
• Examine real-life situations in which journalists and public-relations practitioners have faced ethics-related decisions.