03 Jan Identify trends

IT1006 Information Technology Concepts and Practices

Unit 1 Discussion

Today’s Technologies: Overview

Think about your IT experience and education to date, along with what you read in this unit’s studies. Then, address the following prompts related to your career plans:

What role do you see yourself in (or moving into) as you progress in your IT career?

What part of IT interests you most?

Have you achieved certifications or are you interested in pursuing certifications? Which ones?

What do you see as the most defining characteristics of a certification versus a college degree?

Staying informed of the changes in the field is important for IT professionals. Describe a few ideas you have to help maintain current knowledge with IT trends and news.

Response Guidelines

Respond to at least one learner. In your response, point out anything that your colleague discussed that resonated with you and explain why. Then, provide feedback on your colleague’s ideas about maintaining current knowledge in the field.

Learning Components

This activity will help you achieve the following learning components:

Research various IT careers.

Describe the defining characteristics of certifications and degrees in IT.

Identify industry certifications relevant to IT careers.

IT1006 Information Technology Concepts and Practices

Unit 2 Discussion

The Internet and Innovation

You have done some research about Internet applications and other technology innovations, and you likely use those every day. Think about innovative technologies and apps that have been developed recently, and in relation to that, discuss:

Who are the current individuals that are at the forefront of technology innovation?

What kind of impact do these influencers have in the public and private sectors? On professionals?

Based on the recent things that these influencers have created, what do you think might be their next steps?

What problems or goals might they try to address with technology?

Response Guidelines

Respond to at least one learner. Compare and contrast the information in your colleague’s post with what you wrote. What similarities and differences do you see? What questions did your colleague’s discussion raise for you?

Learning Components

This activity will help you achieve the following learning components:

Identify commonly-used Internet applications.

Research information on Internet applications.

Identify needs that Internet applications address.

Identify specific goals or purposes of commonly-used applications.

Describe ways that Internet applications are used in various public and private sectors, professionally and socially.

IT1006 Information Technology Concepts and Practices

Unit 3 Discussion

Using Information Systems

In this unit, you learned about systems development. Think about the information systems where you work, have worked, or would like to work and respond to the following:

What systems are in place in this setting??

How do the systems support communications and productivity?

Who is assigned responsibility for the system development and execution?

Does that person or department handles updates, conformance, and maintenance?

What challenges are present in this information system?

What ideas do you have that might improve this system?

Response Guidelines

Respond to at least one learner. Offer feedback on the learner’s response, including a critique or suggestions for improvement of the ideas that the learner discussed.?

Learning Components

This activity will help you achieve the following learning components:

Describe characteristics of system development methodologies.

Identify current system development methodologies.

Apply system development methodologies to current practice.

Identify challenges related to a variety of system development methodologies.

Investigate approaches to mitigate challenges related to system development methodologies.

IT1006 Information Technology Concepts and Practices

Unit 4 Discussion

Data Breaches and Security

This week, you learned about network security and conducted independent research on data breaches that have occurred in companies in the past couple of years. For this discussion:

Identify the company and the nature of the data breach.

What information was vulnerable and what was the cost to the company?

What strategies did the company develop to enhance security in the future?

Response Guidelines

Respond to at least one learner. In your response, compare the data breach incident your colleague described with the one that you investigated. What similarities or differences do you see? How could you account for those similarities or differences? Are there any lessons in the two incidents that could inform IT policy?

Learning Components

This activity will help you achieve the following learning components:

Identify ways that networks can be breached.

Identify strategies for protecting network security.

Identify IT practice approaches in the scholarly literature.

IT1006 Information Technology Concepts and Practices

Unit 5 Discussion

Productivity, Programs, and Applications

Systems software consist of instructions organized for a common purpose and tells the computer what tasks to perform and how to perform them. Application software refers to the end product for user productivity. For this discussion:

Compare and contrast the two concepts with definitions and examples.

How does the transformation of data into programs and applications change?

Next, discuss several apps you like to use on your desktop, laptop, or mobile device and why.

If you could design a new app, what would it be and why?

Response Guidelines

Respond to at least one learner. In your response, continue the discussion by asking your colleague a question that his or her response raised for you.

Learning Components

This activity will help you achieve the following learning components:

Describe characteristics of application software.

Describe characteristics of system software.

Explain how a computer turns data into usable information.

Identify common applications for business and personal use.

IT1006 Information Technology Concepts and Practices

Unit 6 Discussion

Storage Options

Technology innovation moves quickly, and the media used for storage also changes rapidly. A current form of repository is the cloud, which is accessible through various programs and vendors on the Internet. Investigate several options for cloud storage (for example, Dropbox, iCloud, Google drive) and respond to the following:

Which option for cloud storage have you selected as your favorite?

What characteristics of this storage option are most beneficial for you?

What are the disadvantages of this option?

Are there features missing that you would like to see?

Response Guidelines

Respond to at least one learner, preferably one who selected a different option than you did. Compare and contrast your selection with that of your colleague. What points that your colleague raised cause you to think about investigating the option that he or she chose?

Learning Components

This activity will help you achieve the following learning components:

Investigate options for virtual storage of IT content.

Describe characteristics of virtual storage of IT content for business.

Critically analyze advantages and disadvantages of virtual storage.

IT1006 Information Technology Concepts and Practices

Unit 7 Discussion

Database Management Systems

Imagine you have been assigned a project to review 10 files of customer information such as company name, address, contact information, website, and e-mail. You need to organize the data and present it to a committee in form of spreadsheet, document, and slides. For this discussion, respond to the following:

What software would you use to organize the data?

What would give the best representation of your review?

What programs would you use?

How would a relational database support this work?

Response Guidelines

Respond to at least one learner. In your response, continue the discussion by providing a critique of your colleague’s post. What suggestions of “things to consider” would you offer to your colleague?

Learning Components

This activity will help you achieve the following learning components:

Identify main characteristics of relational database management systems.

IT1006 Information Technology Concepts and Practices

Unit 8 Discussion

Ethics and Best Practices

After reading about IT codes of conduct and ethical challenges in the IT field, you should have a robust understanding of challenges and issues that IT professionals face daily.

In your view, what are the key issues that the IT professionals face today? Think broadly (for example, ethical challenges, information security, net neutrality, etcetera).

What should be the position of IT professionals in these issues?

How might these challenges relate to the work you do (or the type of work you want to do)?

How might you avoid making any ethical mistakes in your work on these challenges?

Response Guidelines

Respond to at least one learner. In your response, continue the conversation by posing a question that your colleague’s response raised for you.

Learning Components

This activity will help you achieve the following learning components:

Investigate IT codes of conduct and codes of ethics.

Identify ethical challenges related to IT work.

Identify strategies for avoiding ethical errors.

IT1006 Information Technology Concepts and Practices
Unit 9 Discussion

Social Networking

In your study in this unit, you created your own LinkedIn profile. Report on that in this discussion.

Provide your LinkedIn profile information so that other learners can view your profile.

What benefits do you see in using LinkedIn professionally?

What challenges did you have as you created your profile?

How do you expect to use LinkedIn during the remainder of your program?

How will you use it after you finish your program and move forward in your career?

Response Guidelines

View the LinkedIn profiles of several learners. Then, select at least one learner’s discussion to which you will respond. Provide 2+2 feedback to your colleague: 2 strengths that you saw in your colleague’s profile and 2 suggestions that you have for adding to his or her profile.

Learning Components

This activity will help you achieve the following learning components:

Investigate a variety of social media sites.

Identify appropriate uses of social media in business.

Identify benefits of social media use in the workplace.

Identify mistakes related to using social media.

IT1006 Information Technology Concepts and Practices

Unit 10 Discussion

Reflection on Learning

Reflect on your experiences from the course over the past weeks.

First, recall what you accomplished or struggled to accomplish.

Second, reflect on the major concepts you studied in this course, such as today’s technologies and predictions for the future, computing machinery and components, and what you learned that you think will help you in your future work in IT.

Finally, discuss what you learned about yourself as an adult learner. What “big ideas” about learning in the Capella courseroom are you taking with you to your next course?

Response Guidelines

No responses are required for this discussion.

Learning Components

This activity will help you achieve the following learning components:

Identify trends and technologies in IT.

Resources

Discussion Participation Scoring Guide.