Fluency with Information Technology
Skills, Concepts, and Capabilities, Preliminary Version
Published on 20. January 2003
Book
Paperback/Softback
498 pages
978-0-321-12201-8 (ISBN)
Description
Fluency with Information Technology gives students the experience, knowledge, and capabilities needed to apply information technology effectively throughout their lives. Unlike computer literacy, which teaches only immediately useful skills, Fluency with Information Technology adds problem solving, reasoning and complexity management to prepare students to use computers today and to be effective IT users tomorrow.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Pearson Education (US)
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 280 mm
Width: 216 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
1042 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-321-12201-8 (9780321122018)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Content
I. BECOMING SKILLED WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.
1. The Context of Information Technology.
Fluency with Information Technology Fluency with Information Technology.
The Scale of Change.
The Scale of Advance for Computers.
The Changes IT Brings.
IT's Future.
Fluency with Information Technology.
Summary.
Exercises.
2. Terms of Endearment - Defining IT.
Just the Right Word.
Where's the Start Button?
Pressing a Virtual Button.
Where Is the Computer?
How Soft Is Software?
The Words for Ideas.
Word Search.
Summary.
Exercises.
3. What the Digirati Know.
Using Technology.
A Perfect Interface.
Buttons and Windows.
Menus.
Standard Functionality.
Feedback.
"Clicking Around".
"Blazing Away".
The Shift Paradigm.
An Application of Fundamental Principles.
Searching Principles.
Substitution.
Thinking of IT Abstractly.
Summary.
Exercises.
4. Making the Connection.
Connecting Computers Together.
Communicating.
The Medium of the Message.
The Name Game.
Following Protocol.
The Wires.
Closer to Home.
Party Protocol.
Making the Connection.
The World Wide Web.
Marking Up with HTML.
Structuring Text.
Hypertext Anchors.
Imagine Images.
HTML Wrap-up.
Summary.
Exercises.
Appendix A. Lists, Tables, and Numerical Colors.
5. Searching for Truth.
Searching in All ihe Right Places.
The Hierarchy.
Search Engines.
Ask the Right Question.
Getting Close.
Truth or Fiction?
Burmese Mountain Dog Page.
Summary.
Exercises.
6. Search and Research.
Getting Started.
Primary Sources.
Ultimate Sources: Chronfile and Everything I Know.
Surfing the BFI Site.
Completing the Picture.
Wrap-Up.
Summary.
Exercises.
Appendix. The Buckminster Fuller Research Path.
II. DIGITIZATION AND ALGORITHMS.
7. To Err Is Human ....
To Err Is Human..
Precision.
Exactly How Accurate Is "Precise"?
Debugging.
Tracking Down a Bug.
Debugging Recap.
Butterflies and Bugs: Debugging HTML.
Debugging Postmortem.
More Than Meets the Eye.
Summary.
Exercises.
8. Bits and the `Why' of Bytes.
Dialing for $$$.
Encoding With Dice.
The PandA Representation.
The Hex Explained.
Text: A Basic Application of the PandA Representation.
The Oxford English Dictionary.
Summary.
Exercises.
9. Computer Basics.
What Do Computers Do?
Following Instructions - The Fetch/Execute Cycle.
Anatomy of a Computer.
The PC's PC.
Instruction Interpretation Illustrated.
Time for the Clock.
The Importance of Integration.
Lots and Lots of Simple Operations.
Operating Systems.
Summary.
Exercises.
10. Algorithmic Thinking.
A Familiar Idea.
Properties of Algorithms.
The Language.
Context.
An Algorithm.
Anatomical Analysis of the Alphabetize CDs Algorithm.
Abstraction.
Summary.
Looking to the Future.
Exercises.
11. Sound, Light and Magic.
Color Range.
Manipulating Intensities.
Computing on Representations.
Making Waves.
PEG of My Art.
Optical Character Recognition.
Virtual Reality.
Bits Are It.
Summary.
Exercises.
III. DATABASES AND MANAGING DATA.
12. Using Computers in Polite Society.
Using Computers in Polite Society.
The Problem With Email.
Netiquette.
Expect the Unexpected.
Passwords.
Viruses and Worms.
Copyright and Intellectual Property.
What's Right?
Summary.
Exercises.
13. Databases.
"You Can Look It Up".
Defining Tables.
DB Redundancy Is Bad, Very, Very, Very Bad.
Physical and Logical Tables.
ER Without Trauma.
Operations on Tables.
Join the Team.
Queries: Putting It All Together.
Database Systems.
Summary.
Exercises.
14. HAI! Adventure Database Design.
Strategy.
The Problem.
Needs Analysis.
Table Design.
The Relationships.
Assessment.
Implementation - Building the DB.
Viewing the Database.
Creating the View Queries.
View Implementation.
Data Entry.
Lessons, Dives, and Climbs.
Summary.
Exercises.
15. E-Commerce and Business Information.
Complexity of Variation.
Structure of the Setting.
Discrete Events Means Cookies for All.
Surviving Without Cookies.
Transactions.
The Standards Case.
Surviving Disasters.
Summary.
Exercises.
16. Privacy and Security.
Privacy - Whose Information Is It?
A Privacy Definition.
Fair Information Practices.
The Atlantic - What Side Are You On?
The Cookie Monster.
Encryption and Decryption.
Public Key Encryption Systems.
Looking at RSA Encryption.
Attacking Public Key Encryption.
Summary.
Exercises.
IV. PROBLEM SOLVING.
17. Foundations of Programming.
Review and Plan of Attack.
Variables, Names, and Values.
Declarations.
String Literals, Booleans, and Data Types.
Assignment.
Expressions.
Conditionals.
The Espresso Program.
Execution for a Double Tall Latte.
Summary.
Exercises.
Appendix.
18. The Bean Counter -- A First JavaScript Program.
Preliminaries.
Getting Started.
HTML Review.
Input Controls.
Creating the Interface Page.
Event-based Programming.
Critiquing the Bean Counter.
Revising the Bean Counter.
Review.
Summary.
Exercises.
Appendix.
19. Abstraction and Functions.
Abstraction.
Functions.
Applying Functions.
Rules for Functions.
The Memory Bank.
Electronic Coin Flipping.
Final Embellishments.
Summary.
Exercises.
Appendix.
20. Once is Not Enough. .
Play It Again, Sam.
Range of Variation.
The Principles of Iteration.
Experiments with Flipping Electronic Coins.
Indexing.
Regularizing Array References.
Animation.
Summary.
Exercises.
21. Algorithmic Problem Solving.
The Task.
A Strategy for Problem Solving.
Basic Structural Web Page Task.
Grid Animation Task.
Define and Organize the Frames.
Define Initial Images.
Prefetch the Frame Images.
Set Timer and Build Timer Event Handler.
The Best Laid Plans.
Key Sensing Task.
Staircase Detection Task.
Overall Design Task.
Embellish the Web Page Task.
Assessment and Retrospective.
Summary.
Exercises.
22. Computers Can Do Almost [( everything, ( nothing].
Can Computers Think?
Acting Intelligently.
Creativity.
Universality.
Practical Consequences of Universality.
Faster and Slower.
How Tough Can IT Be?
Summary.
Exercises.
23. Commencement, A Fluency Summary. A discussion of what was learned and why. A pitch for life-long learning in IT is offered.
Fluency's Detail Spectrum.
Lifelong Learning.
License to Drive.
Exercises .
24. Glossary.
25. Problem Solutions (Odd Numbered).
1. The Context of Information Technology.
Fluency with Information Technology Fluency with Information Technology.
The Scale of Change.
The Scale of Advance for Computers.
The Changes IT Brings.
IT's Future.
Fluency with Information Technology.
Summary.
Exercises.
2. Terms of Endearment - Defining IT.
Just the Right Word.
Where's the Start Button?
Pressing a Virtual Button.
Where Is the Computer?
How Soft Is Software?
The Words for Ideas.
Word Search.
Summary.
Exercises.
3. What the Digirati Know.
Using Technology.
A Perfect Interface.
Buttons and Windows.
Menus.
Standard Functionality.
Feedback.
"Clicking Around".
"Blazing Away".
The Shift Paradigm.
An Application of Fundamental Principles.
Searching Principles.
Substitution.
Thinking of IT Abstractly.
Summary.
Exercises.
4. Making the Connection.
Connecting Computers Together.
Communicating.
The Medium of the Message.
The Name Game.
Following Protocol.
The Wires.
Closer to Home.
Party Protocol.
Making the Connection.
The World Wide Web.
Marking Up with HTML.
Structuring Text.
Hypertext Anchors.
Imagine Images.
HTML Wrap-up.
Summary.
Exercises.
Appendix A. Lists, Tables, and Numerical Colors.
5. Searching for Truth.
Searching in All ihe Right Places.
The Hierarchy.
Search Engines.
Ask the Right Question.
Getting Close.
Truth or Fiction?
Burmese Mountain Dog Page.
Summary.
Exercises.
6. Search and Research.
Getting Started.
Primary Sources.
Ultimate Sources: Chronfile and Everything I Know.
Surfing the BFI Site.
Completing the Picture.
Wrap-Up.
Summary.
Exercises.
Appendix. The Buckminster Fuller Research Path.
II. DIGITIZATION AND ALGORITHMS.
7. To Err Is Human ....
To Err Is Human..
Precision.
Exactly How Accurate Is "Precise"?
Debugging.
Tracking Down a Bug.
Debugging Recap.
Butterflies and Bugs: Debugging HTML.
Debugging Postmortem.
More Than Meets the Eye.
Summary.
Exercises.
8. Bits and the `Why' of Bytes.
Dialing for $$$.
Encoding With Dice.
The PandA Representation.
The Hex Explained.
Text: A Basic Application of the PandA Representation.
The Oxford English Dictionary.
Summary.
Exercises.
9. Computer Basics.
What Do Computers Do?
Following Instructions - The Fetch/Execute Cycle.
Anatomy of a Computer.
The PC's PC.
Instruction Interpretation Illustrated.
Time for the Clock.
The Importance of Integration.
Lots and Lots of Simple Operations.
Operating Systems.
Summary.
Exercises.
10. Algorithmic Thinking.
A Familiar Idea.
Properties of Algorithms.
The Language.
Context.
An Algorithm.
Anatomical Analysis of the Alphabetize CDs Algorithm.
Abstraction.
Summary.
Looking to the Future.
Exercises.
11. Sound, Light and Magic.
Color Range.
Manipulating Intensities.
Computing on Representations.
Making Waves.
PEG of My Art.
Optical Character Recognition.
Virtual Reality.
Bits Are It.
Summary.
Exercises.
III. DATABASES AND MANAGING DATA.
12. Using Computers in Polite Society.
Using Computers in Polite Society.
The Problem With Email.
Netiquette.
Expect the Unexpected.
Passwords.
Viruses and Worms.
Copyright and Intellectual Property.
What's Right?
Summary.
Exercises.
13. Databases.
"You Can Look It Up".
Defining Tables.
DB Redundancy Is Bad, Very, Very, Very Bad.
Physical and Logical Tables.
ER Without Trauma.
Operations on Tables.
Join the Team.
Queries: Putting It All Together.
Database Systems.
Summary.
Exercises.
14. HAI! Adventure Database Design.
Strategy.
The Problem.
Needs Analysis.
Table Design.
The Relationships.
Assessment.
Implementation - Building the DB.
Viewing the Database.
Creating the View Queries.
View Implementation.
Data Entry.
Lessons, Dives, and Climbs.
Summary.
Exercises.
15. E-Commerce and Business Information.
Complexity of Variation.
Structure of the Setting.
Discrete Events Means Cookies for All.
Surviving Without Cookies.
Transactions.
The Standards Case.
Surviving Disasters.
Summary.
Exercises.
16. Privacy and Security.
Privacy - Whose Information Is It?
A Privacy Definition.
Fair Information Practices.
The Atlantic - What Side Are You On?
The Cookie Monster.
Encryption and Decryption.
Public Key Encryption Systems.
Looking at RSA Encryption.
Attacking Public Key Encryption.
Summary.
Exercises.
IV. PROBLEM SOLVING.
17. Foundations of Programming.
Review and Plan of Attack.
Variables, Names, and Values.
Declarations.
String Literals, Booleans, and Data Types.
Assignment.
Expressions.
Conditionals.
The Espresso Program.
Execution for a Double Tall Latte.
Summary.
Exercises.
Appendix.
18. The Bean Counter -- A First JavaScript Program.
Preliminaries.
Getting Started.
HTML Review.
Input Controls.
Creating the Interface Page.
Event-based Programming.
Critiquing the Bean Counter.
Revising the Bean Counter.
Review.
Summary.
Exercises.
Appendix.
19. Abstraction and Functions.
Abstraction.
Functions.
Applying Functions.
Rules for Functions.
The Memory Bank.
Electronic Coin Flipping.
Final Embellishments.
Summary.
Exercises.
Appendix.
20. Once is Not Enough. .
Play It Again, Sam.
Range of Variation.
The Principles of Iteration.
Experiments with Flipping Electronic Coins.
Indexing.
Regularizing Array References.
Animation.
Summary.
Exercises.
21. Algorithmic Problem Solving.
The Task.
A Strategy for Problem Solving.
Basic Structural Web Page Task.
Grid Animation Task.
Define and Organize the Frames.
Define Initial Images.
Prefetch the Frame Images.
Set Timer and Build Timer Event Handler.
The Best Laid Plans.
Key Sensing Task.
Staircase Detection Task.
Overall Design Task.
Embellish the Web Page Task.
Assessment and Retrospective.
Summary.
Exercises.
22. Computers Can Do Almost [( everything, ( nothing].
Can Computers Think?
Acting Intelligently.
Creativity.
Universality.
Practical Consequences of Universality.
Faster and Slower.
How Tough Can IT Be?
Summary.
Exercises.
23. Commencement, A Fluency Summary. A discussion of what was learned and why. A pitch for life-long learning in IT is offered.
Fluency's Detail Spectrum.
Lifelong Learning.
License to Drive.
Exercises .
24. Glossary.
25. Problem Solutions (Odd Numbered).