Faculty Contact Information:
Email: pkeller@umuc.edu (NOT the email listed in the header, above)
Telephone (beware the time differential) 301-985-4616, afternoons
Snailmail: Paul Keller, UMUC Graduate School, Suite 3212, 3501 University Blvd. East, Adelphi, MD 20783 USA | |
Consultation:
Individual and personal matters are best dealt with via email.
Queries and comments that are relevant to the group are best handled via the sundry forums within the WebTycho classroom. | |
Required Texts and Readings:
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American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Cyganski, David, Orr, John A., & Vaz, Richard F. (2000). Information technology inside and outside. Upper Saddle River, N J: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-011496-0. [COV].
Walters, Garrison E. (2001). The Essential Guide to Computing. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-12-01-019469-7. [Walters]
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Supplementary Readings:
Additional readings will be assigned by the instructor in each session. These will consist of materials placed in the WebTycho class room as well as Web documents.
RECOMMENDED "LIBRARY" REFERENCES
Gibson, Jerry D. (Ed). (1997). The communications handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-8349-8. [HBK].
Freeman, Roger L. (1996). Telecommunication system engineering (3rd ed.). New York: John Wiley. ISBN 0-471-13302-7.
Green, James Harry. (2000). The Irwin handbook of telecommunications (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-135554-5.
Terplan, Kornel, & Morreale, Patricia. (2000). The telecommunications handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-3137-4. | |
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. In addition, students should stay current with emerging IT trends through regular scanning of the science and technology sections of a major newspaper such as the New York Times or the Washington Post. | |
Course Description:
| This course lays a common foundation for use in all other courses in the program. Its goal is to impart an understanding of how the many elements that make up information technology work and what their limitations are. The course reviews mathematical and physical concepts helpful in thinking about the capabilities of information technology and its applications. Mathematical concepts include information theory, the representation of signals in both the time and frequency domains, modulation schemes, digitization, and probability. Physical concepts include electromagnetic waves, the properties of various guided and unguided transmission media, integrated circuits, lasers, and optical transmission and switching. The course also introduces concepts essential to information security applications, such as various encryption schemes and measures for assuring personnel and physical security. Insofar as possible these concepts will be treated descriptively rather than analytically. | |
Course Goals:
Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:
1. Describe concepts in mathematics and physics that are affecting the development and deployment of information technologies.
2. State the mathematical concepts underlying information theory.
3. Identify various methods for data compression.
4. Differentiate the representations of a signal in time and frequency.
5. Describe and compare the capability of transmission media such as copper wire, optical fiber, and coaxial cable to carry an electrical or optical signal.
6. Explain convergence of technologies in the anticipated deployment of new telecommunications infrastructure including satellites, wireless, fiber optics, cable, and other media.
7. Describe the relationship between the public switched telephone network and the Internet.
8. Identify methods for achieving information security, including various types of cryptosystems.
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Course Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:
1. Describe concepts in mathematics and physics that are affecting the development and deployment of information technologies.
2. State the mathematical concepts underlying information theory.
3. Identify various methods for data compression.
4. Differentiate the representations of a signal in time and frequency.
5. Describe and compare the capability of transmission media such as copper wire, optical fiber, and coaxial cable to carry an electrical or optical signal.
6. Explain convergence of technologies in the anticipated deployment of new telecommunications infrastructure including satellites, wireless, fiber optics, cable, and other media.
7. Describe the relationship between the public switched telephone network and the Internet.
8. Identify methods for achieving information security, including various types of cryptosystems.
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Grading Information:
Final grades will be calculated as follows:
Mid-term examination 25%
Individual paper 20%
Required Assignments (2) 10%
Autobiographical Posting 05%
Participation 15%
Final examination 25%
All grades awarded within the class are expressed as percentages. The letter grade reported at semester's end is based on the rounded weighted mean of your marks in the class interpreted this way:
A = 90-100; B = 80-89; C = 70-79; F = less than 70
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Course Requirements:
Examinations. There will be a midterm and a final examination. The questions will be designed to give you an opportunity to demonstrate not only how well you have assimilated the content of MSIT 610, but also how well you can apply the concepts. The midterm and final examinations will each count for 25 percent of your total grade. These exams might better be thought of as tightly directed research, sometimes going beyond the material in the texts.
Required Assignments. This course will have two required assignments throughout the semester in weeks that do not also require the submission of examinations, individual papers, or presentations. The length of your assignments may vary, but be objective in answering exclusively what has been asked. Your assignments (as well as a biography) will be judged individually and will account for 15 percent of your total grade. An essential grading criterion is whether the student demonstrates knowledge of the material. Clear writing also affects grading. Answers with misspellings and poor grammar will receive a reduced grade (Good technical people are also good communicators.) . After the assignments are posted, the instructor will usually post typical answers. Feedback with grades will be given (on average) a week after the submission.
Individual paper. Besides midterm and final examinations, there will also be an individual paper with references. This should be a 10- to 12-page (not more) substantive paper taking a desktop publishing approach to the American Psychological Association publication guidelines with supporting evidence from a variety of sources, such as books, articles from periodicals, and documents gleaned from the Internet. You should select your own topic for the paper from a list given by your instructor. The purpose of the paper is to give you an opportunity to demonstrate not only that you understand the material you are reading, but also that you can apply the concepts. The paper will account for 20 percent of your total grade. I love good writing, and I am very strict about respecting intellectual property.
Participation. Throughout the semester you will be required to participate meaningfully by engaging in class and online discussions with submissions to the Biographies Conference and at least five Conferences of your choice in sessions not also requiring the submission of examinations and individual papers. Such participation will account for 10 percent of your total grade. The number of responses is important, but also important is the quality of the participation, as well as participation that has been helpful to other students. Do not use attachments in any Conference. What you have to say should be there and visible to all without unnecessary additional clicking. | |
Description of Course Requirements:
For requirements specific to this course, see above.
STATEMENT ON WRITING REQUIREMENTS:
Effective managers and leaders are also effective communicators. Written communication is an important element of the total communication process. The Graduate School recognizes and expects exemplary writing to be the norm for course work. To this end, all analyses and papers must demonstrate graduate level writing ability and comply with the format requirements of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. All writing assignments will be graded on the basis of content, logic, analysis, mechanics, organization, and research. Careful attention should be given to source citations, proper listing of references, and the presentation of tables and graphs. Work submitted online should follow standard procedures for formatting and citation.
POLICY ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
Academic integrity is central to the learning and teaching process. Students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that will contribute to the maintenance of academic integrity by making all reasonable efforts to prevent the occurrence of academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty includes (but is not limited to) obtaining or giving aid on an examination, having unauthorized prior knowledge of an examination, doing work for another student, and plagiarism of all types.
PLAGIARISM:
Plagiarism is the intentional or unintentional presentation of another person's idea or product as one's own. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to the following: copying verbatim all or part of another's written work; using phrases, charts, figures, illustrations, or mathematical or scientific solutions without citing the source; paraphrasing ideas, conclusions, or research without citing the source; and using all or part of a literary plot, poem, film, musical score, or other artistic product without attributing the work to its creator. Students can avoid unintentional plagiarism by following carefully accepted scholarly practices. Notes taken for papers and research projects should accurately record sources of material to be cited, quoted, paraphrased, or summarized, and papers should acknowledge these sources in footnotes. The penalties for plagiarism include a zero or a grade of F on the work in question, a grade of F in the course, suspension with a file letter, suspension with a transcript notation, or expulsion. Resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC, UMUC-Europe or BSU), partially or in its entirety, is not acceptable in this course and will result in an automatic failure on the assignment.
See also the section on Academic Policies, below.
DISABLED STUDENTS:
Students with disabilities who need to register or request services should contact the Staff Support Team four to six weeks in advance of registration to request and register for services. Call (301) 985-7930 or (301) 985-7858 (TDD).
COURSE EVALUATIONS:
Feedback on each graduate course and instructor is important to the university, your professor, and to all UMUC students. UMUC has the responsibility to assess the effectiveness of classroom instruction, and each student has the responsibility to provide accurate and timely feedback through completion of the course evaluation form. This is a shared obligation for us all. It is therefore important that you complete the evaluation form for each course you attend. This should be viewed as an additional course and program requirement.
BRIEF WEB-TYCHO ORIENTATION:
ONLINE HELP:
[Instructor should verify information before each semester]
Online help is available in the WebTycho classroom. In addition, Tycho Support is available seven days a week at tychosupport@polaris.umuc.edu. You can call (301) 985-7079 locally, (800) 807-4862 long distance in U.S., or 011-301-985-7079 outside the U.S. The hours of operation are Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. (U.S. Eastern Time) and Saturday and Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (U.S. Eastern Time). | |
Course Schedule:
COURSE OUTLINE:
Session 1. Introduction; Information Representation; Error Correction
1. What is the information in the information revolution?
2. The World Wide Web
3. Information and its representation
4. Bits as building blocks of information
5. Convenient forms for binary codes
6. Using protocols to organize information
7. Protocols for sending data
8. Word processor and Web protocols
Readings: COV Chs. 3, 4 (pp. 38-72).
Assignment: See Session 1 online; make preparations to post your biography and a response to at least one classmate’s bio.
Session 2. Computer Architecture (Processors, Memory, Storage)
1. The core of computing: how the key elements of hardware work together
2. Memory, storage, and input/output
Readings: WALTERS, Chs. 1, 2 (pp. 3-69).
Assignment: Proposal for individual paper topic; see Session 2 online.
Session 3. Hardware (Monitors, Semiconductors)
1. Computer monitors and graphics systems
2. Silicon economics
Readings: WALTERS, Chs. 3, 4 (pp. 71-134).
Assignment: See Session 3 online.
Session 4. Operating Systems
1. Fundamentals of the operating system
2. Evolution of the operating system
3. Microcomputer operating systems
Readings: WALTERS, Chs. 5, 6, 7 (pp. 137-201).
Assignment: Drop-dead date for bio postings; see Session 4 online.
Session 5. Software
1. Basic programming terminology
2. The software crisis
3. Structured programming
4. Programming languages by level
5. Object-oriented technology
6. Software development strategies and programming tools
Readings: WALTERS, Ch. 8 (pp. 203-236).
Assignment: Required Assignment; see Session 5 online.
Session 6. Databases
1. Databases
2. Application software
3. The software industry
Readings: WALTERS, Ch. 9 (pp. 237-263).
Assignment: See Session 4 online.
Session 7. Midterm Examination
Session 8. Images
1. Images: information without words or numbers
2. Human visual discrimination and acuity
3. Other types of image formation
4. Converting images to bits
5. Binocular vision and 3D displays
6. From images to video
7. Synthesizing images
8. Displaying the bit-mapped image
9. Display device formats
10. From numbers to images
11. Virtual reality modeling language (VRML)
12. Organization of a VRML scene
13. Placing a surface on a virtual object
Readings: COV Chs. 5, 6 (pp. 76-107).
Assignment: See Session 8 online.
Session 9. Data Compression; Information Theory
1. Why can information be compressed?
2. Information theory
3. Probability-based coding
4. Variable length coding
5. Universal coding
6. Image compression
· Joint Photographic Experts Group(JPEG) standard for lossless compression
· GIF: another lossless image compression system
7. Digital video
· Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) video compression
8. Digital television
Readings: COV Chs. 7, 8, 9 (pp. 110-146)
Session 10. Audio as Information; Sampling of Audio Signals; Digital Audio
1. From sound to signals
2. Sinusoidal frequency components
3. The frequency content and bandwidth of audio signals
4. Sampling an audio signal
5. Reconstructing audio from samples
6. Digitization of audio samples
7. The process of quantization
8. Quantization noise
9. Reconstruction
10. Applications
Readings: COV Chs. 10, 11, 12 (pp. 150-179)
Assignment: Individual Paper Due; see Session 10 online.
Session 11. Transmission Media (Wires, Cable, Fibers, Wireless)
1. What is bandwidth and how is it used?
2. Real-time data transmission
3. Finite data rate and real-time transmission
4. Fiber-optic transmission
5. Wire as a transmission medium
6. Fiber-optic cable
7. Overview of radio communications system design
8. Satellite and other long-distance communications systems
9. The Global Positioning System
Readings: COV Chs. 14, 15, 16 (pp. 194-235)
Assignment: Required Assignment; see Session 11 online.
Session 12. Networks and Protocols
1. Circuit-based networks
2. The packet-switched connection
3. Wider bandwidth data transmission
4. Asynchronous transfer mode
5. Datagram packet switching
6. Ethernet datagram
7. Datagram transmission
8. Collision detection multiple access
9. Network fundamentals
10. Types of networks
Readings: COV Ch. 18, 19 (pp. 246-267)
WALTERS, Ch. 11, 12 (pp. 293-387) browse only.
Session 13. Internet Security and Cryptography
1. Threats to information security
2. Security services
3. Data security and cryptosystems
4. Computationally secure symmetric key cryptography
5. Public key cryptography
6. Digital signatures
7. Electronic commerce
Readings: COV Ch. 20, 21 (pp. 268-293)
WALTERS, Chs. 13, 14 (pp. 389-445) browse only.
Session 14. Final Examination | |
Academic Policies:
The University has a license agreement with Turnitin.com, a service that helps prevent plagiarism from internet resources. I may be using this service in this class by either requiring students to submit their papers electronically to Turnitin.com or by submitting questionable text on behalf of a student. If you or I submit part or all of your paper, it will be stored by Turnitin.com in their database throughout the term of the University's contract with Turnitin.com. If you object to this temporary storage of your paper, you must let me know no later than two weeks after the start of this class. Please Note: If you object to the storage of your paper on Turnitin.com, I may utilize other services to check your work for plagiarism
The official university policy on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty can be found at http://www.umuc.edu/policy/aa15025.shtml. Section I.C. states: "Faculty may determine if the resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC), partially or in its entirety, is acceptable when assigning a grade on that piece of course work. Faculty must provide this information in their written syllabi. If the resubmission of course work is deemed to be unacceptable, a charge may not be brought under this Policy and will be handled as indicated in the written syllabi."
Please refer to Description of Course Requirements for specific information on how resubmissions will be treated in this course and to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog for information on the following:
Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities
Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center. | |
Faculty Bio:
The following is highly skeletonized, as the full, rich, illustrated bio appears in the Bios forum in the WebTycho classroom.
Paul Keller may indeed be called an old Maryland hack, in that except for a two year interregnum at the University of Illinois, Chicago, he has been with the university of Maryland since 1976, with UMUC since 1983, and with the Graduate School since 1991.
He earned his Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where he majored in Instructional Media Technology and minored in Measurement and Statistics. He has also studied at Albright College, Mansfield State University, Elmira College, Alfred University, SUNY Geneseo, and Stanford University.
Dr. Keller founded Academic Computing at UMUC and is currently a Professor and Program Director in the Graduate School. In addition to teaching in the MSIT and ITSM programs, he teaches CSMN 639, a popular course on Multimedia and the Internet.
He pursues manifold interests and is never bored. | |