INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION

ONE STATE’S EXPERIENCE 

 

Dr. William Mitchell

Professor of Information Science

University of Arkansas at Little Rock

wmmitchell@ualr.edu

“95% of all new jobs nationwide will require a moderate, if not keen, knowledge of computers and the Internet.”

Bureau of Labor Statistics

“Between 1998 and 2008 employment in science and engineering occupations is supposed to increase

by 51 percent… or four times the rate for other occupations…”

Southern Technology Council

“…and jobs in the computer field will doubleduring the same time period.”

Southern Technology Council

“The U.S. will require more than 2 million new information technology workers by 2008.”

Bureau of Labor Statistics

“…employers are still trying to fill over 900,000 new information technology jobs.”

…even though the economy is coming out of a cycle.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

“Only 17.3% of Arkansans 25 years oldand over had a college education in 1999.”

(Placing Arkansas last of all 50 states and well below the national average of 25.2%)

2000 Statistical Abstract of the U.S.

Arkansas finished last in the nationin the Milken Institute’s 2001 New Economy Index…

…while competing communities like Memphis, Tulsa and Dallas have developed strategies

to lead in the New Economy.

“IT companies in Arkansas will create 7,200 IT jobs over the next decade”

Taimerica Management Company

“Half the growth in IT jobs is expectedin Central Arkansas, the primary market

of UALR.”

Taimerica Management Company

And that doesn’t even count the thousandsof jobs in Arkansas that now require computer skills…skills needed in all fields during this new decade.

The George W. Donaghey The George W. Donaghey College of Information Science College of Information Science

and Systems Engineeringand Systems Engineering

Our State’s Our State’s best betbest bet to change to change the poor economic statisticsthe poor economic statisticshas been at… has been at…

Our campus-wide focus Our campus-wide focus on technology educationon technology education

UALR has Arkansas' only comprehensive information science and systems engineering curricula developed in partnership with today's top employers.

Based on extensive input from some of the nation's leading knowledge-based industries such as ALLTEL, ArkSys, Acxiom and others, UALR designed its College of Information Science and Systems Engineering, better known as the Cybercollege, to meet their demands. Our students can count on it. The skills they will learn are the skills they will need to compete the demanding technology arena.

How to manage information. How to design and integrate complex systems in both

telecommunications and computer networks. Our state-of-the-art resources allow coursework to be lab,

equipment and student intensive.

The IT ReportA three-month study by an interdisciplinary group of faculty clarified the hard (technical) and soft (people) skills that Arkansas’ knowledge-based companies wanted in their employees (www.ualr.edu/~itreport )Two new B.S. programs, Systems Engineering and Information Science were instituted in addition to an integrated, 18-semester credit, upper division minor in Information Technology. These new programs were implemented in the Fall of 1999 using current faculty and a curriculum outlined and articulated with the help of consultants while simultaneously seeking to recruit faculty for both BS programs.

Named for new departments that were added to four legacy departments

Information Science

Systems Engineering

ComputerScience

EngineeringTechnology

ConstructionManagement

Applied Science

Seven degree programs:

Information Technology

Information Science

Computer Science

Applied Science

Systems Engineering

Engineering Technology

Construction Management

What does the CyberCollege include?What does the CyberCollege include?

““Gee Whiz” Gee Whiz” technologytechnology is really all about recruiting is really all about recruiting and retaining students, and retaining students, faculty and partnerships!faculty and partnerships!

Focused on Focused on Arkansas’ Arkansas’ Future leadersFuture leaders

……including women and minorities including women and minorities recruited from all over the State, from all recruited from all over the State, from all backgrounds and circumstancesbackgrounds and circumstances

At the time this Catalog went to press, the courses for the new information science and systems engineering curricula have been outlined and accepted by all campus approval levels. The information science and systems engineering courses are listed in recommended four-year sequences in the catalog, along with a number of related coursed that students pursuing the two new majors should expect to complete. At press time, decisions on core course requirements were pending. These decisions may affect the requirement listed in this Catalog. After the fall 1999 semester has begun, students should contact the dean’s office for complete information about degree requirements. This program will be phased in over a three to four year period. In the 1999-2000 academic year majors will be accepted into the first year of the information science program and only the freshman level courses will be offered.

Special Note in 1999-2000 Catalog

The General Assembly of Arkansas during its regular legislative session 1999, established the new Donaghey College of Information Science and Systems Engineering at the University of Arkanasas at Little rock.In order to be able to start the new college’s programs in the fall of

1999, faculty committees moved quickly to develop the curricula for the two new majors, the bachelor of science in information science and the bachelor of science in systems engineering. These two new major programs of study have been shaped by advice from the state’s knowledge-based companies and by the national standards of the Accrediting Board for Engineering Technology.

Defining The Information Science Program

Separated from the Computer Science Department. Modeled on programs at UN Omaha and George Mason, both of which were already well into the creation of new IT Colleges. Mixture of Internet and database technologies with support courses from the College of Business and the same Mathematics and Science requirements needed for ABET accreditation. No input from the Library Science area.

Curriculum ObjectivesIntended to be more practical than the CS curriculum, more guided by Industry needs (aimed at providing useful skills each year of the curriculum).Intended to develop better soft skills than the CS curriculum (emphasizing student presentations and team work all the way through the curriculum).Intended to orient students toward data and its use by organizations (influenced by the success of Acxiom Corporation, a local company that grew to be a national leader in extracting marketing information from public data repositories, and by companies like WalMart that used data mining of their transaction data to run the company).

Defining Information Science

Understand how technology supports or distorts goals of Information systems

Focus on Data systems, not algorithms or hardware.Focus on how Data is encoded, stored, retrieved, and displayed (user interface to access and communicate).Focus on how Information is used in organizations (decision support, visualization, Internet, etc.)Focus on design of information systems for different varieties of data, different kinds of applications—understand unifying principles

Focus on the way the computer is used to model real phenomena and activities, use the object paradigm to construct models independent of technology.Focus on analysis techniques and pattern recognition applied to data stores and the Internet.

Defining Systems Engineering

Modeled on University of VirginiaTwo specialty tracks Computer systems engineering Telecommunications systems

engineering

Emphasizes computer models and simulationsIncorporates the Virtual Reality Center

Why shouldn’t they come?Why shouldn’t they come?

With average With average starting salaries starting salaries

ofof $60,500$60,500That’s That’s over twiceover twice the state’s the state’s median salary of $26,000median salary of $26,000

Technology Needs Mathematical Problem-solving SkillsMathematics is an expanding

discipline

Kinds of Problems

Games (rules suggest strategies)Puzzles (highly formalized)Goals (management objectives)Algorithmic (clerical procedures)“squishy” (to many variables, too few constraints, unknown relationships)Policy (cost/benefit of strategies/commitment of resources)

Problem Solving Skills

How do you determine if a loan applicant is a good risk?How do you decide what stocks to hold in your portfolio and when to change them?How do you locate some information on the Internet?How can the most current product information be made available to every salesperson?How do you implement a Java applet to display the contents of the online customer’s past purchases?

What do these words have in common: Abhor, below, best, cops, fist, ghost, adopt, belt, chips, demos, flux, hilt, begot, bent, chops, first, fort, lost

Can you connect these nine dots with only four lines?

. . .

. . .

. . .

How Many Consecutive Zeros End 100! ?

A trailing zero denotes a multiple of 10 = factors 2&5Half of the factors of 100! contribute a factor of 2How many factors of 100! Contribute a factor of 5?

•N! is by definition N*(N-1)*(N-2)*…5*4*3*2*1

–5, 10, 15…,95, 100 = 20 factors with one 5–25,50,75,100= 4 factors with two 5’s–no numbers with three 5’s

•Therefore 24 fives-> 24 ending zeros!

Graph of (x,Sum(x))

(looks like a parabola)

X= 0, 1, 2, 3, 4

Sum= 10

6

3

1

0Therefore, let’s GUESS that sum(x) is of the form ax2+bx+c. Then for the four points we have already: x=0 0+0+c=0 => c is 0, so equation is ax2+bx

x=1a+b=1, x=24a+2b=3 Solving the pair reveals a=b=1/2.

What Is the Formula for 1+2+3+..+(N-1)+N?

Cases: N=0: sum = 0; N=1: sum = 1; N=2: sum=3; N=3: sum=6, etc. [given]

•Suppose sum is some function of K: sum(K) (a formula in one variable) for K=0, K=1, K=N, etc. Then by definition, the formula for the next value after K=N must produce the value [sum(N) + (N+1)]. In general, then, from the relation of successive values we have

sum(K+1) = sum(K)+K+1 or sum(K+1) - sum(K)=K+1 Now assume that

the formula for the sum() function is a polynomial in one variable:

anKn +an-1Kn-1+… +a2K2 + a1K +a0.

Then sum(K+1) = an (K+1)n+an-1 (K+1)n-1+….+a2 (K+1)2+a1 (K+1)+ a0

The difference in these two expressions must reduce to K+1 for any value of K!But a0 (and every term in the first expression) cancels, so the constant term of the

difference is the sum of the constant terms from the second expression: an+an-1+ ..+a2+a1. Similarly, the linear term, since a1K cancels, is (nan+(n-1)an-1+…2a2)K. In like manner the coefficient of the squared term is also composed of the sum of multiples of an, an-1, …a3 (since the a2K2 terms cancelled) and this sum must be zero, requiring a3=a4=.. =an =0! This means that the first two equations yield 2a2=1 and a2+a1=1, hence mandating that a1=a2=1/2 (and, as before, since sum(0)=0, a0=0).

•sum(K) is therefore the polynomial (K2+K)/2

What Is the Formula for 1+2+3+..+(N-1)+N?

Telescoping sums

Lets look at (K+1)2 – K 2 for successive values of K: K=1: 4 – 1 =2(1)+1 K=2: 9 – 4 =2(2)+1 K=3: 16 – 9 =2(3)+1… K=(N-1): N 2 - (N-1) 2 = 2(N-1)+1 K=N: (N+1) 2 - N 2 = 2(N)+1

If we add up the differences of successive squares (the middle column), the sum will have terms that appear twice with opposite signs, so those terms cancel and the sum of N differences is just (N+1) 2 -1. However we also see that each difference is 2K+1, which when summed (the third column) for each of the N values of K contribute N 1’s and twice the sum of 1+2+3+…+(N-1)+N, whose value we want, and which we will call S.Therefore we derive the equation (N 2 +2N+1)-1=2S+N, which, when solved for S=(N 2+N)/2

1+2+3+….(N-1) +N =?

The sum is the same as N+(N-1)+…+3+2+1If we write the two equations for the sum one under the other and add (equals added to equals yields equals) we have that twice the sum is: [1+N]+[2+(N-1)]+…[(N-1)+2]+[N+1] where every [ ] contains N+1. Note that there are N [ ]s. Therefore the sum is half of N*(N+1)

SN=N(N+1)/2

What is 101+102+103+…+199+200? = S200-S100

= (100+1)+(100+2)+..+(100+100)= (100+100+100+100+…1+2+3+…+100)=(100)(100) + S100

Mathematical thinking thus combines the ability to approach a problem from several different angles, using facts and techniques absorbed in various contexts. The problem-solver needs to be familiar with a variety of standard problems as models for tackling new problems.

Numbers and PolynomialsBase 10 numbers differ from Roman Numerals because the base 10 number is a shorthand for a polynomial (a polynomial of the form anxn+an-

1xn-1+…+a2x2+a1x1+a0x0)Note the PATTERN. Note that x0=1 by definition

•In the polynomial representation of a number, the value of x is the BASE. For decimal numbers, x=10:

N=an10n+an-110n-1+…+a2102+a1101+a0

•What is the shorthand?•N=anan-1…a2a1a0. For example 35417 means

3*104+5*103+4*102+1*101+7•The rules for arithmetic follow from (or extend to) the rules for doing arithmetic on polynomials.

Arbitrary BasesNothing changes in terms of the shorthand notation for polynomial representation of numbers when the base is other than 10. In base 2, the number 1101 + 101 is 10010

1101+1011202 but since x=2, 2=x+0 and there is a carry2010 and again the carry creates the new column

In base 3 the number 120+111 = 1001 because 231 is NONSTANDARD notation and the carry propagates to form 301 and then 1001.

In base 16 we add the digits A,B,C,D,E,F to get 15 different symbols for each place. Then 37F+ DE2 = <D+3><E+7><F+2> = <16><21><17> =<16+0><16+6><16+1> = <16+0><16+7><1> = <16+1><7><1> = 1171

Weighing up to 40 lb. Objects

• If both pans are used, the base 3 representation of the weight of the object determines how many weights are needed. Digits 0 and 1 represent the weight in the normal pan, digit 2 represents that weight in the object pan and the next higher weight in the normal pan. A 24 lb object (2203) can be weighted with 27 in one pan and 3 +object in other pan. A 15 lb object (1203) can be weighed with 27 in one pan and both 3 and 9 in the other.

•Can more than one weight be on the balance pan?•Can weights be placed on either pan?•Minimum required weights are: 1lb weight for 1lb object; 2lb for 2lb object, 1 & 2 for 3lb object; 4lb for 4lb object, and with 1,2,and 4, weigh up to 7 lbs. Add 8lb weight and weigh up to 15 lbs, then add 16lb weight and weigh up to 31lbs. Finally add a 32 lb weight to balance up to 63 lb objects (base 2 representation of the weight of the object) WHEN USING ONLY ONE PAN

Technologists need to be able to calculate How Many, How Much, How Often, How Long, How Fast.

Network: how many users, how many packets on average, on peak, how long to determine route…Database: how long to find, how long to

update, how many queries, how large…

Engineering: how much noise, how strong a signal, how far before degradation, how asynchronous, how reliable, ..

Interface design: user error rates, learning time, response time, accuracy of response,…

Systems Designer: how many cases, how many combinations of command sequences, how flexible, how robust, …

“I work as a Futurologist. My day to day work is tracking technology developments across the whole field of information technology. I then use this knowledge for thought experiments to develop future scenarios for BT.

“People sometimes argue about what is the most significant future technology - IT, materials, biotechnology, space? The argument misses the point. Technologies are converging. Biotechnology already relies heavily on IT and materials technologies, and will further develop as we explore space. Many new materials and information technologies have already arisen from discoveries in biology.

“Today information technology is the major driver of change. In a few decades, with cheap chips and easy networking, everything that should be connected will be connected. Ubiquitous networks will mean that everything is in communication all the time, everywhere. The chips-with-everything lifestyle will make the world much easier to live in.

IIan Pearson, British Telecom

NETWORKED COMMUNICATIONS ARCHITECTURE

At the center are the resource and connectivity layers, which contain a relatively small number of key protocols and application programming interfaces that must be implemented everywhere. The surrounding layers can, in principle, contain any number of components.

Dr. Malcolm Gillis, President, Rice UniversityRoyal Society of Edinburgh

September 25, 2001“Unleashing 21st Century Technology”

The Grand Interface:

Bio-Info-Nano

“A vast Grid is evolving that will ultimately link an array of distributed computing, enabling us to use the global information system as a computational as well as an information resource. Computational grids may well do for the information revolution what the electric power grid did for electricity early in the 20th Century

“The Grid, according to my Rice colleagues who work in this field, exemplifies what may well be the three dominant themes in 21st Century computing:

1. Distributed, pooled, resources rather than localized computing assets.

2. Multidisciplinary computation, allowing collaboration on an immense range of topics, combining the skills of computer scientists, pure and computational mathematicians, statisticians, physicists, and chemists.

3. Increasing integration of computation into our daily lives.

In “Harvesting New Technologies For the 21st Century,” April 19, 2002, President Gillis

elaborated on the computation component of Bio-Info-Nano:

The Cybercollege of Arkansas is positioned to prepare our state to participate in the exploitation of 21st Century Technology

1.Graduate Research collaboration between UAMS and the Cybercollege

2.Systems Engineering focuses on Telecommunication and design of computer systems applications, using VRC and Grid facilities

3.Information Science emphasizes data organization and mining, Internet utilization, and a new bio-informatics minor.

4.Computer Science and Engineering Technology contribute theoretical and practical exposure to computing technology.

It It mustmust happen! happen!