Faculty Contact Information:
Dr. Susan Helms
shelms@faculty.ed.umuc.edu
phone number (cell) 0174 6655990
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Consultation:
| The instructor will be available one half hour before and after class and by appointment at other times. | |
Required Texts and Readings:
| Englander, I. (2003). Architecture of Computer Hardware & Systems Software, (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. | |
Supplementary Readings:
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The standard for papers in the graduate program is the APA style. All participants in this course and all graduate INSS, MGMT, PUAD, and ECON courses should have a copy of the style guide:
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition. Washington DC: Author.
All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library at http://www.umuc.edu/library/. The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available. The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students' research and writing skills. | |
Recommended Journals:
Publications of the various professional societies (such as ACM -- the Association for Computing Machinery, the IEEE Computing Society, and the various management professional societies) are strongly recommended. In addition, there are many trade journals (such as eWEEK) that MIS professionals should become familiar with, many of these being published both weekly and on-line.
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Course Description:
| 3 semester hours credit. Prerequisites: Undergraduate programming and college algebra, or permission of the Program Director. Provides an overview of basic computer concepts as they apply to MIS professionals. Emphasis is on basic machine architecture including data storage, manipulation, the human-machine interface including the basics of operating systems, algorithms and programming languages. In addition, the basic concepts of data organization including data and file structures are examined. Emerging trends in computer technology and their impact on organizational information systems are also discussed. | |
Course Goals:
Upon completion of the course, participants should:
1. Understand basic principles of computer architecture
2. Understand major operating system concepts, including the interrelationships between operating systems and computer hardware
3. Understand concepts of programming languages
4. Understand computer logic and data representation
5. Be conversant with the terminology describing computer hardware and software
6. Understand how computer peripherals work
7. Understand basics of network architectures
8. Understand new developments in computer technology | |
Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to:
1. Define the basic terms and processes related to computer systems architecture
2. Discuss components of an operating system
3. Describe the mechanisms by which an operating system manages hardware and software resources
4. Describe progression of operating system development
5. Describe the various types of programming languages
6. Describe the processes of translating and executing a program
7. Describe the process for developing applications
8. Describe basic methods of data representation
9. Describe the characteristics of data storage technology and how it influences the performance of computer systems
10. Describe the use of buffers and caches to improve computer system performance
11. Describe the use of data compression to improve computer system performance
12. Describe the concepts of file systems
13. Describe the characteristics and implementation of input and output devices
14. Describe the basic concepts of communication protocols
15. Summarize the advantages and disadvantages of distributed computing systems
16. Describe the technological trends in computer development
17. Discuss ethical issues in computing
18. Research current topics in computing | |
Grading Information:
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Course Requirements:
Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society.
In order to maximize your graduate educational experience in general and this course in particular, you are required to:
10% - Participate in classroom discussions
30% - Complete graduate level projects, write graduate level papers
(one project, one paper)
20% - Orally/visually present prepared material (from paper and project)
40% - Complete two written examination(s) | |
Description of Course Requirements:
Participate in classroom discussions: You are expected to come to class prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner. Usually this requires two to three hours for every hour of a face-to-face class and approximately ten hours of preparation per week for a DE class.
Complete graduate level projects or programming assignments, write graduate level papers or case studies: You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. Plan on committing approximately 150 hours over the duration of this course to producing professional level deliverables, to include programs, projects, papers, and/or case studies.
Orally/visually present prepared material: You are required to present your results in a professional manner. In a face-to-face course, this typically means an oral presentation accompanied by appropriate visual material. In a DE class, this means creating a visual/textual presentation for your instructor and classmates.
Complete one or more written examination(s): The examination process in this class will assist you in developing the writing and critical thinking skills necessary for successfully passing the comprehensive exam required of all graduate students. The examination questions used for this course will either be taken directly from past comprehensive exams or written as though to be included on a comprehensive exam.
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Course Schedule:
This schedule presents 16 units or modules, with each unit corresponding to a regular three-hour weekday meeting, a half-day on weekends, or a full week of DE.
SCHEDULE is tentative and subject to minor changes as the course progresses. All changes will be announced in class, and students are responsible for being aware of the changes even if they are not present in the class when the changes are announced (e-mail instructor for updates).
Initial meeting:
Introductions
Review of syllabus
Clarification of goals, objectives and requirements
Orientation to subject
Chapter 1
Second meeting: chapters 2 & 3
Third meeting: chapters 4 & 5
Fourth meeting: chapters 6 & 7
Fifth meeting: chapters 8 & 9
Sixth meeting: chapter 10
Seventh meeting: Catch up and review
Eighth meeting: Midterm Exam
Ninth meeting: chapters 11 & 12
Tenth meeting: chapters 13 & 14
Eleventh meeting: chapters 16 & 17
Twelfth meeting: chapter 18
Thirteenth meeting: Selections from text supplements
Fourteenth meeting: Catch up and review
Fifteenth meeting: Final Examination
Sixteenth meeting: Student presentations of projects
Course evaluations
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Academic Policies:
Please refer to the UMUC - Europe Graduate Catalog, available online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs/index.html or from your local Education Center, for information on the following:
Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities | |
Faculty Bio:
Dr. Susan Helms
Ph.D. 1979, University of Texas, Austin
M.S. 1970, Purdue University
B.S. 1968, Texas Tech Univeristy
Certifications: CCNA, CNE, MCP, CSP
Professional Experience:
1993-2003 Professor of CIS, Metropolitan State College of Denver
1991-1993 Professor and Chair of CS/IS Department, St. Mary's College of Minnesota, Winona, MN
1970-1991 Instr, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor,
Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene, TX
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