New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT)
Computer and Information Science Department (CIS)
CIS677: Information System Principles, Spring 2001
Professor: Michael F. Smith

Quick Links: [677 Home] [Schedule] [WebBoard] [To Know] [Links] [Homeworks] [Syllabus] [Chunking] [Mentoring]

CIS677 Course Flow or What to Do Each Week & Overview of the Homework Assignments - Version 2.01
(Wednesday sections)

There is a lot going on in CIS677, and it might take 2-3 weeks for things to fall into a pattern. This page should help lay out what to do. It consolidates information from various handouts posted on the course Web Site for the first several weeks of class.

Page Outline

To Do As Soon As Possible

  1. Get a WebBoard account under CIS677
  2. Get the textbook (Zwass). Besides NJIT's bookstore and the standard on-line booktores, you can also try on-line text services such as http://www.bookpool.com and http://www.varsitybooks.com. (I am not endorsing any of these.)
  3. Get the CD-ROM containing the course videos and the course pack containing the course readings from the NJIT bookstore.

In Class on 1/17

In this class we'll introduce the course and the field of IS, go over the course format, have an orientation to the WebBoard conferencing system and have an orientation to NJIT's library services.

Unfortunately, this class is a bit of an exercise in "information overload". So the motto is "Don't Panic" - things will become clear over the next week or two, and seem a lot more manageable :-)

To Do During the Week Before 1/24

From the course schedule for 1/24:

1/24 Introduction
Text: Zwass Ch. 1, 2, 8
Video: Lecture 1
Deadline: turn in a photograph with your name; on-line biographical sketch 

We're trying a new approach for distributing the workload more evenly this semester. We're going to try to cover most of the textbook chapters during the first month of class, in part to give an overview of the course, and in part to reduce the workload later in the semester.

Please do the following during week in preparation for class on 1/24:

  1. Read all the readings for 1/24's class posted on the course schedule. These are Chapters 1, 2 and 8 in the Zwass text.
  2. Watch the first CIS677 video on the CD-ROM or through NJIT's Virtual Private Network (see the course Web site for details). The accompanying handouts are on the CD-ROM and on the course Web site (and in the course pack). Lecture notes are available from the link on the schedule, from the link on the course home page or the link on the CD-ROM.
  3. Follow the instructions in the Getting to Know You assignment, as noted on the class schedule. This will involve posting a short biographical sketch on-line on the WebBoard system. It also will ask you to get a photograph of yourself to turn in on 1/24.

In Class on 1/24

  1. The class topic is "Introduction to IS." In class today, we will review the major points in the readings and the video.
  2. As noted in the Getting to Know You assignment, please give me a photograph of yourself, with your name written on the back.

In Class on 1/31

This is a free week for everyone to catch-up and for general discussion

To Do During the Week Before 2/7

From the course schedule for 2/7:

2/7 Information Structure of Organizations
Text: Zwass Ch. 9, 10, 12, 13.1
Video: Lecture 2a
Deadline: none

Please do the following during week in preparation for class on 2/7:

  1. Read all the readings for 2/7's class posted on the course schedule. These are Chapters 9, 10 and 12 in the Zwass text, as well as section 13.1.
  2. Watch Part A of the second CIS677 video on the CD-ROM or through NJIT's Virtual Private Network (see the course Web site for details). The accompanying handouts are on the CD-ROM and on the course Web site (and in the course pack). Lecture notes are available from the link on the schedule, from the link on the course home page or the link on the CD-ROM.

In Class on 2/7

  1. The class topic continues "Information Structure of Organizations." In class today, we will review the major points in the readings and the video. We also will discuss some of the major homework assignments for the semester.

To Do During the Week Before 2/14

From the course schedule for 2/14:

2/14 Information Structure of Organizations, Cont.
Text: Zwass Ch. 3; Zwass 1992 Ch. 12; Dekleva 2000
Video: Lecture 2b
Deadline: choose mentoring teams  

Please do the following during week in preparation for class on 2/14:

  1. Read all the readings for 2/14's class posted on the course schedule. These are Chapter 3 in the Zwass 1998 text, and two additional readings from the course pack: Chapter 12 from the Zwass 1992 text and the article by Deklava.
  2. Watch Part B of the second CIS677 video. The accompanying handouts are on the CD-ROM, on the course Web site and in the course pack. Lecture notes are available from the link on the schedule, from the link on the course home page or the link on the CD-ROM.
  3. In class on 2/14 you will be choosing mentoring teams. Each mentoring team will present materials to the class one time during the semester. Think about which class topic from the schedule would interest you. And if you know people in the class, you might wish to arrange with them to form a mentoring team with you. The first mentoring team will be for 2/28's class on Systems Concepts.

In Class on 2/14

  1. The class topic is "Information Structure of Organizations." In class today, we will review the major points in the readings and the video. We also will discuss some of the major homework assignments for the semester.
  2. We will choose mentoring teams for the semester. If you don't have a team organized yet, we'll choose them in class.

To Do During the Week Before 2/21

From the course schedule for 2/21:

2/21 On-Going IS Overview
Text: Zwass Ch. 18; Davis & Olsen Ch. 8
Article: Brynjolfsson & Hitt 1998
Deadline: weekly chunking (on the article); individual review article #1 check

Please do the following during week in preparation for class on 2/14:

  1. Read all the readings for the 2/21's class posted on the course schedule. These are chapter 18 in the Zwass text, Chapter 18 from the Davis and Olsen text (in your course pack) and the Brynjolfsson & Hitt article (in your course pack).
  2. This is the only week when we will not watch a videotaped lecture.
  3. You will need to "chunk" the Brynjolfsson & Hitt article. Follow the instructions in the chunking assignment. As these instructions note, because you have 1 article this week, you should post 1 comment in your chunking conference on the WebBoard system. Your comment will contain one chunk and 2-3 questions for that reading, so you will do 1 chunk in all. Post your chunk by Saturday evening 2/17.
  4. In addition to your chunk, you should reply to one of somebody else's chunks. Post your reply by Monday evening 2/19. 
  5. Choose a research-oriented article to review. Follow the instructions in the individual review article assignment.

In Class on 2/21

  1. The class topic continues our overview of the field of Information Systems. In class today, we will review the major points in the readings.
  2. I will be demonstrating how mentoring teams will lead the class for the rest of the semester.
  3. Bring the Brynjolfsson & Hitt article to class, along with the article review guidelines from your course pack.

To Do During the Week Before 2/28

From the course schedule for 2/28:

2/28 Systems Concepts
Text: Zwass 1992 Ch. 10; Alter 1996
Articles: Alter 1999; Malone et al. 1987
Video: Lecture 9
Deadline: weekly chunking

Please do the following during week in preparation for class on 2/28:

  1. Read all the readings for the 2/28's class posted on the course schedule. These are chapter 10 in the Zwass 1992 text and the first few pages of the Alter 1996 text. Both are found in the course pack. Also read the Alter 1999 and Malone, Yates and Benjamin articles found in the course pack. (Be sure to read the Alter text chapter before reading the Alter Article.)
  2. Watch CIS677 video #9 on the second CD-ROM. The accompanying handouts are on the course Web site, on the CD-ROM and in the course pack. Lecture notes are available from the links on the schedule, on the course home page or on the CD-ROM.
  3. You will need to "chunk" both the Alter 1999 and the Malone et al. articles. Follow the instructions in the chunking assignment. Post your chunks by Saturday evening 2/24.
  4. Post a chunking reply to a chunk for each article by Monday evening 2/26.

In Class on 2/28

  1. The class topic is "Systems Concepts" In class today, we will review the major points in the readings and the video.
  2. Bring the Alter and Malone et al. articles to class, along with the article review guidelines from your course pack.
  3. The first mentoring team will be leading an analysis of these two articles, followed by a class discussion based on questions posed in the chunking conferences.

To Do During the Week Before 3/7

From the course schedule for 2/28:

3/7 Cognitive Aspects of Systems
Articles: Daft & Lengel 1986; Benbasat & Taylor 1983
Video: Lecture 8
Deadline: weekly chunking; individual review article #1; intermediate chunking evaluation form; intermediate chunking record form

Please do the following during week in preparation for class on 3/7:

  1. Read all the readings for the 3/7's class posted on the course schedule. These are the classic Daft & Lengel and Benbasat & Taylor articles.
  2. Watch CIS677 video #8 on the CD-ROM.
  3. Chunk both the Daft & Lengel and Benbasat & Taylor articles. Post your chunks by Saturday evening 3/3.
  4. Post a chunking reply to a chunk for each article by Monday evening 3/5.
  5. Prepare your individual article review to hand in on 3/7. Also post a copy on WebBoard. Follow the instructions in the homework assignment.
  6. Prepare your chunking evaluation form and chunking record form to hand in on 3/7.

In Class on 3/7

  1. The class topic is "Cognitive Aspects of Systems." In class today, we will review the major points in the readings and the video.
  2. Bring the Daft & Lengel and Benbasat & Taylor articles to class, along with the article review guidelines from your course pack.
  3. The second mentoring team will be leading an analysis of these two articles, followed by a class discussion based on questions posed in the chunking conferences.

Overview of the Homework Assignments

CIS677 has several assignments. All are described in documents posted on the class Web site.

 

* Getting Started on the WebBoard Conferencing System

You should do this assignment as soon as possible. It involves getting an account on the WebBoard computer conferencing system in the CIS677 area.

 

* Getting to Know You

This assignment is due the first week of class. It involves entering a short introduction to yourself in a WebBoard conference and giving me your photograph to help me learn your name.

 

* Chunking

A chunk is a single idea or piece of information. The motivation behind the chunking assignment is to encourage you to think more deeply about each of the readings. Every week, for every major reading, you will post a chunking comment. Each comment contains a chunk from that reading that you find interesting for some reason, the reason why, and 2-3 questions that arise from the reading. You also will need to post some replies to others' chunks.

 

* Class Mentoring

Everyone will be part of a mentoring team. Each mentoring team is responsible for leading the discussion on the class materials for one class period across the semester.

 

* Mentoring Article Reviews

Your mentoring team will have to write a critical article review for each of your two mentoring articles. Follow the article review guidelines posted on the course Web site.

 

* Individual Article Reviews

You will analyze an article this semester. The motivation for this is to learn how to think critically about research articles in the IS field. Follow the article review guidelines posted on the course Web site.

last updated: 2/7/2001 (Version 2.01 skipping a week)

This page: http://www.cis.njit.edu/~bieber/CIS677S01/course-floww.html