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This course provides to entry-level TAM and MAT students (see below) an overview of the breadth and range of information technology, arts, and media-related fields open to you. It outlines the various skills that you will want to acquire during your time at CU Boulder. By the end of the course, you will have acquired some basic technical skills, such as effective web use and basic web page creation; you will be aware of the rapid expansion of new technology, arts and media fields open to you and of the skills necessary for success in each field; and you will have begun to think critically about the implications and impacts of new information technologies, media and artistic forms. This course requires no prior technical knowledge.
Course content and themes
The Meaning of IT introduces you to a number of thematic threads and Big
Questions which will tie together our readings and discussions between now and
December. Starting with “How did we get here?”, we will examine
the history of information technology. As we address the question “Does
what we do matter?”, we examine the ethics and impacts of information
technologies as well as recent developments in Intellectual Property law, privacy,
security and government regulation. We will consider “Who is affected
by Information Technologies?” as we examine issues of access to technology
by women, minorities and rural communities. In discussing “Where is it
all headed?” we will address technology convergence, acceleration, and
media concentration; Wi-Fi and spectrum; Internet 2, virtual reality, artificial
intelligence, bioinformatics, digital film and imaging, and other topics. Our
Biggest Question, “How do we deal with and think about Information Technology?”,
leads us to examine the writings of theorists, the observations of those on
the “bleeding edge,” and viewpoints ranging from neo-Luddite to
utopian enthusiast. Most importantly, we will draw our own conclusions, based
on a wide range of evidence, and each of you will emerge from the class with
an understanding of your own relationship with Information Technologies.
What are TAM, MAT, and ATLAS?
The Meaning of Information Technology (MIT) is the introductory course for
the Technology, Arts and Media (TAM) Undergraduate Certificate Program, and
for a new Multimedia Applied Technologies (MAT) Undergraduate Certificate Program
that emphasizes Computer Science, telecommunications, and information systems/business
topics. Both programs are funded and directed by the CU-Boulder ATLAS Institute
(The Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society). For more information on
either program, or on ATLAS and its work, se the ATLAS web site: www.colorado.edu/ATLAS.