INFORMATICS
cod. 1005245

Academic year 2016/17
1° year of course - First semester
Professor
- Riccardo PECORI
Academic discipline
Sistemi di elaborazione delle informazioni (ING-INF/05)
Field
Discipline delle metodologie informatiche e statistiche
Type of training activity
Characterising
60 hours
of face-to-face activities
5 credits
hub: PARMA
course unit
in - - -

Learning objectives

The Informatics Module is part of the Veterinary Medicine 5 years Course.
The course objectives are to allow the student to know and understand essential elements in the information technology area, from a scientifically sound point of view, also with the goal to give the student abilities to use the acquired knowledge and understanding to find the more appropriate approaches to process information automatically.
RESULTS
By using the knowledge of mathematics and logics already acquired, at the end of the module the student shall exhibit knowledge and ability to understand:
- Information representation in binary format
- The fundamentals of computer operating systems
- The fundamentals of computer networks, especially regarding standard protocols and security
- The operation of office suites for personal and professional tasks, and especially the use of spreadsheets for data analysis
Moreover, the student, by applying the acquired knowledge and understanting, shall be able, even working jointly with other professionals, to:
- Apply some methodologies for data analysis by using the appropriate software

Prerequisites

no one

Course unit content

The first lectures deal with general considerations about information representation.
The second part of the module explains how computers and networks of computers work.
The third part of the course describes the analysis of data by using spreadsheets.

Full programme

- Introduction to information technology
- Data representation:
- Binary <-> Decimal conversions
- Integer and floating point numbers
- Encodings and alphabets
- Image representations
- Audio representations
- Lossy/Lossless compression
- Operating Systems fundamentals
- Networks
- OSI Model
- Fundamental protocols
- Security issues
- HTTP and the web
- Basic office suite usage
- Introduction to several office packages
- Spreadsheet usage
- Spreadsheets for data analysis
- Quality Control
- Significance Tests
- Population Comparison
- Correlation Studies

Bibliography

Tao of Computing, Henry M. Walker, Chapman & Hall/CRC Textbooks in Computing
Statistical Analysis: Microsoft Excel 2010, C. Carlberg, QUE

Teaching methods

The course consists of 60 hours of classes, mostly dedicated to illustrating the course theoretical subjects. About 20 hours of the course will be dedicated to guided practical exercises carried out in the informatics lab and using also the students' own laptops, to provide them with practical knowledge of the most common software applications.

Assessment methods and criteria

The assessment of the achievement of the objectives of the course will include a written exam with possible oral integration. Through questions about the contents of the course it will be determined whether the student has achieved the goals of knowledge and understanding of the content. Through practical exercises in lab regarding the analysis of data it will be determined whether the student has achieved the aim of applying the acquired knowledge.

Other information

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