Drake Model for Studies in Information Technology
Six courses (18 hours credit)
- Tier 1: Information Technology Tools – [2 courses] Interdisciplinary Teaching planned and supported by interdisciplinary teams
- ISIT 040: Information Technology and Creative Change ( 3 hrs.)
- ISIT 050: Information Fluency or CS 010: Preview of Computer Science or CS 105: Computers and the Future (3 hrs.)
- Tier 2: Impact of Information Technology on Society and Culture – [2 courses] Multidisciplinary Teaching in which discipline perspectives about culture, values, and ethics can be contrasted
Two courses (3 hrs. each) that explore information technology from a cultural perspective, values, or ethics that involves technology. Students are encouraged to take these courses from different disciplines. There are courses across the university that will fit into this category.
- Tier 3: Discipline-Specific Information Technology Applications – [2 courses] Discipline Teaching that offers opportunity for exploration of applications of information technology in a variety of disciplines
Two courses (3 hrs. each) that reflect the application of information technology within disciplines. Students may take courses in their own disciplines, but they are not required to stay within their own discipline. What is required is that any perquisites for courses be honored. There are courses across the university that will fit into this category.
- Courses from Tier 1 are required of all students in the concentration.
- Courses from Tier 2 and Tier 3 may be taken from any discipline as long as the student fulfills prerequisites.
- Three courses (1/2 of the concentration) must be taken outside studentÕs major discipline
- Two courses (1/3 of the concentration) must be taken at an advanced level
The concept of teaching and learning in an interdisciplinary manner is not new. What is different about this approach is the intentionality of the interdisciplinary perspective. Because it is combines more than one discipline, the Interdisciplinary Studies in Information Technology Concentration will be an interdisciplinary experience for students across the university. However, there also will be multidisciplinary perspectives and discipline-specific contacts available for students within the concentration. The concentration will be offered by the university through the Drake University Center for E-Learning at Drake, so the coordination and administration of the concentration will not be tied to any one college, but reflective of the university as a whole. This concentration will also provide different types of teaching experiences for ÒAffiliate FacultyÓ—those faculty members affiliated with the concentration/center, but officially a faculty member in a variety of colleges and schools at Drake University.
The faculty who will teach in Tier 1 courses will be part of an interdisciplinary learning community, including multiple faculty and students, but led by one faculty member. In order to maintain a stable base for load, the lead faculty member will be responsible for the class and the assessment of the students. Other affiliates will support the course and the learning community by providing four class sessions in his/her area of expertise. The curricular design would be developed by an interdisciplinary team and reflect the individual membersÕ perspectives, but the leadership of the course could rotate among the members of the interdisciplinary team as need and university schedules dictate.
The first course, Information Technology and Creative Change (ISIT 040), will explore the Òbig pictureÓ of the impact of information technology on contemporary society and the changes that information technology makes both necessary and possible. The Information Age that reflects and shapes the world is a direct result of the movement and manipulation of information through electronic media. This information and the technology that disseminates it has evolved throughout history even as it continues to evolve in the future. This course will explore the resources of digital information with an interdisciplinary perspective by utilizing affiliate faculty from a variety of departments across the university. Information Technology and Creative Change will sufficiently prepare students to continue with Tier 2 (Changing Impact of Information Technology on Society and Culture) courses of their choosing.
The second course, Information Fluency (ISIT 050), will be designed to complement the SIT 040: Information Technology & Creative Change course concepts. At the completion of Information Fluency, the student will have a basic understanding of IT, will have developed fundamental knowledge of relationships among hardware, software, networks and people, will have become an informed user of technology and aware of the numerous social issues through research, papers, and discussion. Fluency with IT will sufficiently prepare students to continue with Tier 3 (Discipline-specific Information Technology Applications) courses of their choosing. Interdisciplinary academic expertise throughout the course will expose the student to various applications of computer technology.
The Interdisciplinary Studies in Information Technology Concentration does more than re-package existing courses; it seeks a variety of perspectives about information technology topics and problems that cannot be fully explored by one disciplinary perspective. In addition, it provides an opportunity for students to integrate knowledge across disciplines, an authentic skill that employers seek. Finally, it conserves resources and may increase enrollment in technology classes that to this time have been only identified and accessed by students in a particular major.
www.drake.edu/cdtl/ www.drake.edu www.drake.edu/cdtl/ISIT/
