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Courses

106 - Programs, Information and People

Programs, Information and People --- Introduction to programming with a focus on applications in informatics. Covers the fundamental elements of a modern programming language and how to access data on the internet. Explores how humans and technology complement one another, including techniques used to coordinate groups of people working together on software development.

206 - Data-Oriented Programming

Data-Oriented Programming --- Students develop their core programming and software development skills, to build competency and literacy in important areas that includes basic data structures, debugging and testing, using distributed code repositories, pattern matching, and programmatic gathering and processing of data. Applications in assignments and labs are oriented around data manipulation.

301 - Models of Social Information Processing

Models of Social Information Processing --- This course focuses on how social groups form, interact, and change. We look at the technical structures of social networks and explore how individual actions are combined to produce collective effects. The techniques learned in this course can be applied to understanding friend systems like Facebook, recommender systems such as Digg, auction systems such as Ebay, and information webs used by search engines such as Google. This course introduces two conceptual models, networks and games, for how information flows and is used in multi-person settings. Networks or graph representations describe the structure of connections among people and documents. They permit mathematical analysis and meaningful visualizations that highlight different roles played by different people or documents, as well as features of the collection as a whole. Game representations describe, in situations of interdependence, the actions available to different people and how each person's outcomes are contingent on the choices of other people. It permits analysis of stable sets of choices by all the people (equilibrium's). It also provides a framework for analysis of the likely effects of alternative designs for markets and information elicitation mechanisms, based on their abstract game representations. Assignments in the course include problem sets exploring the mechanics of the models and essays applying them to current applications in social computing.

302 - Introduction to Information Ethics

Introduction to Information Ethics --- This course will introduce interdisciplinary ethics theories and frameworks and apply them to current issues in artificial intelligence, social media, cryptocurrency, and more. Students will learn to think critically about how to ethically plan, design, and evaluate new technologies when there are often no simple solutions.

305 - Introduction to Information Analysis

Introduction to Information Analysis --- In this course students will work with real-world data to practice core principles of information analysis. They will work on a structured project to learn how to draw insights from data, and how the field of information analysis works.

307 - Introduction to User Experience Design

Introduction to User Experience Design --- In this class students will be learning the basics of User Experience Design. This will include important theories behind UX practice, common tools for assessment and presentation, and practices common in UX work. Students will implement the principles of UX in the context of problem-solving.

310 - Information Environments and Work

Information Environments and Work --- This course looks at information's role in organizations, including psychological, economic, management and sociocultural perspectives. Explores sense-making and effective communication, including the importance of "story-telling." Covers key humanistic perspectives and ethical issues related to information. Goes into the nature of requirements and helps students learn to "swim in a sea of data" in organizations. The course focuses on the importance of working at the frontier.

315 - Interpersonal and Psychological Implications of Social Media

Interpersonal and Psychological Implications of Social Media --- This course provides students with a strong theoretical foundation for approaching the ways in which new social media platforms can shape how interpersonal relationships are initiated, maintained, and developed as well as the implications of these tools for psychological processes.

320 - Graphic Design

Graphic Design --- The conceptual part of the course covers the graphic design theory discourse. Students will reinforce the practical application of critical thinking; will learn how to apply it to a broader cultural, technological, and social context. Students will develop their aesthetic sensibilities and design skills through mastering visual language vocabulary, understanding principles of effective visual communication, solving creative problems, and developing analytical thinking, promoting thus their ability to respond professionally to rapidly changing needs of the modern world. While studying the elements of color, layout and grids, typography, illustrations, and web/digital design, students will build their own portfolio, in the hands-on part of the course, students will explore issues at the intersection of visual information and technology. They will work on versatile tasks related to digital graphic productions for web: file formats and images, background textures, collages, UI elements, grid-based website mockups for CSS frameworks. The tools and features of Adobe Creative Suite will allow students to get the necessary skills, providing them with hands-on experience, and familiarizing them with the standard professional tasks of the always-changing world of digital environment.

325 - Mathematics for Information Analysis

Mathematics for Information Analysis --- This course will cover mathematical concepts in linear algebra, optimization, probability, and statistics that are useful for information analysis. Students will become comfortable with basic math concepts and how they can be used to solve problems. A few important advanced topics and Python functions will also be covered.