Tonga Institute of Higher Education IT 141: Information Systems Lecture 1: Introduction

General Information IT 141: 4 Hours of lecture a week Course Web Page http://www.tihe.org/courses/it141/ All information will be posted on the course web page, including lecture notes, assignments, homework and grades. You should visit the webpage frequently and check for updates.

Grading Grading Policy Midterm 20% Final 40% Assignment 30% (2 x 15%) Quizzes 5% Homework 5% Late homework policy No late assignments are accepted!

Homework, Assignments, Tests Homework - will be assigned every Friday, and is to be turned in the next Friday. This is mainly written homework and is to be done separately. Assignment – One long-term project Quizzes – Quizzes will be once a week. They will be short and last no more than 10 minutes Tests – Only two per semester. There is one final and one midterm

Cheating Policy Cheating and academic dishonesty is not accepted or tolerated Any student found cheating on a testing material will automatically receive a zero for that assignment Students are encouraged to study together, but to submit separate work for homework There is no collaboration for tests Students are expected to work together when assigned to work together and all group members should contribute equally to an assignment

How to do well in this course Come to class and stay awake! Take notes for important things Visit course webpage often. Review lecture notes for class before and after class time. ASK QUESTIONS to your teacher or on the message forum board or on email

Course Overview Topics to be covered Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint Using Computers Hardware/Software Files and Viruses Internet and Networking HTML Programming Information Systems Databases Programming  The Linux Operating System PHP Programming

Why learn this stuff?? As new students of information technology it is very important that you know at least something about the many aspects of computers. In later courses you will learn much more about some topics. What you learn here is the foundation for everything else you need to know. We will start slow and end up trying to do complex things.

What does Information Technology Mean? You are all here because you want to study “computers.” You have heard that computers are the “key to the future.” What does this mean? All computers do is provide a way to work faster and more efficiently. They allow instant communication to almost anywhere in the world. They allow people to save and organize a lot of data in a small amount of space It is true that you will not be able to work without some knowledge of computers in the future

What does Information Technology Mean? There are many levels of computer users. The most basic are those who type documents. The TIHE program is trying to turn you into one of the most advanced kind of computer users. These are the people that make programs that other people use. Along the way, you will also be expected to learn how computers really work, aspects of networking, information management ideas and many other topics.

What does Information Technology Mean? One common mistake people make is that they think Information Technology is fixing people’s computers. Information Technology is about trying to use technology to work and manage information better. If you want to fix computers, what you need to know are the different pieces in the computer. Then it’s just a matter of connecting cables and wires. You don’t need to go to school to do that. You just need to take a computer apart.

What does Information Technology Mean? You might also believe that IT is about making computers. People who “make” computers spend many years getting their Ph.D. and then work in billion dollar factories using other computers to help them make new computers because it is so complicated. Stores that sell computers just get the different pieces and put them together, which does not need years of schooling or expensive equipment. All you need to know is how to connect things.

What does IT Mean? You will learn all these things and more in this class, but it is important to remember the focus of the IT school. This focus is to teach students to use computers to solve problems in organizations. This might mean making a program or it might mean using a database instead of excel. Someone “made” Microsoft Word to help people work better (and to make money). Your goal is to be able to make useful programs after two years.

What will this course do? This course is the first step to understanding about computers. It presents all the different topics that are related to computers. By the end of the course, you should be familiar with all of these topics and be able to talk about computers and make people believe you are smart.