CISC 101: Computers and Information Systems

Catalog Description:
Introduces basic concepts of computer organization, terminology, usage and discusses the impact of computers on society. It introduces word processing, spreadsheets, databases, electronic mail, bulletin boards, windowing systems, networks, and very simple programming, and includes hands-on experience with computer systems and computer software.

Current Text:
Office Pro 97 (which includes Microsoft Word, Access and Excel for Windows 98)
O'Leary
McGraw-Hill

Introduction to Computers
Peter Norton
McGraw-Hill

Goals:
This is an introductory course for students in majors other than computer science, mathematics, and engineering. After completing this course, the students will be familiar with the fundamentals of computer systems and with typical software packages. The course is most appropriate for students who want to be able to use computers in their work, but who do not intend to become heavily involved in designing their own computer programs.

Content:

• Computer Organization:
  Components of a typical computer system and their interaction in processing data, number systems and conversion between number systems, representation of information in memory, types of computer memory and storage devices, storage and retrieval of information, comparative computer architectures and their impact on processing speed.
• Networks and Telecommunication:
  Media for data communication, types of computer networks (local versus wide-area), network topologies, network protocols, file transfer, electronic communication, the information super- highway.
• Operating Systems and User Interfaces:
  Command-line versus graphical user interfaces, multitasking, multiuser systems, multiprocessor systems.
• Software and Its Use:
  Wordprocessing, spreadsheets, concepts of database management systems, establishing and querying a database, distributed database systems.
• Creating Computer Programs:
  Algorithms, introduction to the BASIC programming language, comparative programming languages, hypermedia.
• Computers, Ethics, and Society:
  Data security, privacy, computer viruses, ethical use of computer systems.