CIS 110 Theme for Course

Computers (& IT) are technologically complex, but conceptually simple.

Nine Rungs of the IT Inferno Tinkertoy Computer

FITness: WHY Know About Information Technology?

Fluency w/IT -Committee on Literacy in IT     1.1 PERSONAL RATIONALES      1.2 A WORKFORCE RATIONALE      1.3 AN EDUCATIONAL RATIONALE      1.4 A SOCIETAL RATIONALE      1.5 FIT: UNDERSTANDING, KNOWING, AND USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

FITness: WHY Know About Information Technology?

• Information technology is pervasive

• FITness will benefit the study of any subject, much as the ability to write well benefits students of any subject

FITness: WHY Know About Information Technology?

George Boole:

"That language is an instrument of human reason, and not merely a medium for the expression of thought, is a truth generally admitted."

See Ch. 1, IT Terminology

FITness: WHY Know About Information Technology?

• Preparing for Jobs of the Future

• Stat: Nearly 89% of new IT jobs ('03 - '06) came from non-IT companies.

Industries such as banking, finance, manufacturing, food service and transportation continue to provide the bulk of IT employment, accounting for 79% of the IT workforce.

==> See CIS Major Tracks, Interdisciplinary

Web Agility IT Skills for CIS 110

Once a new technology starts rolling, if you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road. -- Stewart Brand

Web Agility IT Skills for CIS 110

110 “IT Cocktail”

• SSH: remote login & secure file transfer (sftp) • FireFox: Web Standard-compliant browser• Unix: Web Design & Information Architecture• XHTML, TextPad (XP) & Taco (X): Web 2.0 • Wikis, Blogs, & Embedded video• Blackboard collaboration tools: Video Voiceboards

FIT: Installing software applications on your computer

•Install Firefox using the Duckware CD •Install SSH using the Duckware CD; it's in the Network->Shell(ssh) folder. •Install TextPad from the Duckware CD; it's in the Utilities->TextPad folder. (Mac OS X users can install Taco.)

Ten from Ch. 1: IT Terminology

To start, we must learn to call things by their proper name. --Confucius

• As we learn the words we learn ideas

• Communicate with others

Where is the computer?

• Nine Rungs of the Inferno

• Von Neumann Machine

V.N.: “Stored Program” computer

V.N. Architecture

• Programs and data stored in RAM• Symbols• Numeric Codes

“Digital Computer”

• “Algorithms + data = programs”

Abstraction

• Ideas, words

• Generalization “lefty loosey/righty tighty”

Mnemonic

• Nine Rungs of the Inferno

Analytic Thinking

• “essential for fitness” p. 21

• George Boole: "That language is an instrument of human reason, and not merely a medium for the expression of thought, is a truth generally admitted."

• Boolean algebra: provided the theoretical grounding for the Digital Age.

Analytic Thinking: Mile run

Factor of improvement (FOI)(new rate / old rate)

• Roger Bannister (1954)• 3:59.4 = 15.038 mph

• El Guerrouj (1999)• 3:43.13 = 16.134 mph

FOI = 1.07

Analytic Thinking: Mile run

Improvement as a percentage

(Amount of change / old rate) * 100

• Roger Bannister (1954)• 3:59.4 = 15.038 mph

• El Guerrouj (1999)• 3:43.13 = 16.134 mph

Improvement as a percentage: 7%

Analytic Thinking: Examples

• “coordinating the button and the mouse” p. 11

Rene Descartes + Geo. Boole

• Supercomputers (FOI)• Simon Norfolk, Photo Essay on

Supercomputers.

CIS 110

Computers are:

• technologically complex • conceptually simple

Theme Music: Raiding the 20th Century