Course Syllabus
Contact Information
Course Details
For a list of course activities, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Course Format
- Synchronous Online: Learning occurs online and in real-time, using technology such as web-conferencing software for synchronous interaction. This is the option that reflects an online course with scheduled Live Sessions. Describe the frequency of Live Sessions (weekly, bi-monthly, etc.) and any attendance requirements.
Course Prerequisites
Pre-requisite: MIT 5602: Management Information Systems
Course Materials
We will be using case studies from Harvard Business Review, these are available as a course pack for you to download.
Our course will rely on two cloud providers, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. In our labs, you will sign up for accounts for each. These are consumption-based and pay-as-you-go platforms, which means there is no signup or fixed cost but you will incur fees as we complete labs. You can expect to spend $50 on these services for the required course labs.
Your applied project will likely result in additional fees, as with our labs the size of these charges is determined by the services you use, the amount of data involved, and how efficiently you are experimenting and testing. Often, students find their project results in $20-50 in additional charges to complete, but this is something you can manage.
Program Learning Outcomes (PLO)
- Analyze data and provide valuable business insights
- Solve problems in relation to IT concerns and applications
- Communicate technical information to non-technical business professionals
- Demonstrate an understanding of the business, organizational, and regulatory context of information technology and organizational information systems
- Demonstrate an understanding of how information technology and systems can be leveraged to provide business value
Course Learning Outcomes (CLO) Alignment
| CLO | Description | PLO |
|---|---|---|
| A | Understand the advantages and disadvantages of adopting Cloud Computing in business terms | 3, 5 |
| B | Propose a cloud solution design, along with rationale, for a specific business problem or scenario | 2, 5 |
| C | Demonstrate the use of cloud offerings to transform data and make ready for analysis and reporting | 1, 2 |
| D | Demonstrate the use of cloud offerings to prepare data and develop and evaluate machine learning algorithms | 1, 2 |
| E | Identify the pitfalls and challenges businesses commonly face when adopting cloud offerings or moving to cloud services | 2, 3, 5 |
| F | Articulate how the cloud computing landscape, both competitively and technologically, is continuing to evolve and its impact on the field of information technology | 2, 4 |
Grades
Breakdown
| Activity | Description | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Participation | Contribution to discussions and weekly Live Sessions | 10% |
| Assignments | Weekly Quizzes on lecture content and Lab Activities | 10% |
| Cloud Proposal | PowerPoint proposal outlining how to solve a business problem with cloud provider services | 40% |
| Applied Project | Analysis of a student-selected dataset and implemented solutions using cloud services discussed in the course | 40% |
| Total | 100% |
Scale
| Percentage | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| 90–100% | A |
| 80–89% | B |
| 70–79% | C |
| 60–69% | D |
| Below 60% | F |
Course Components
Participation
Course participation will include commenting on a Canvas thread to submit an insight or a question derived from the week’s reading assignment. These will be used as input for the live session’s discussion. Your Live Session participation is included in your participation grade. These assignments align with CLO A, CLO C, CLO D, CLO E, and CLO F.
Live Session assignments will be evaluated on a complete/incomplete basis for participating live or completing the Makeup assignment.
Discussion posts will be evaluated using the Discussion rubric.
Assignments
Your assignment formats will vary week by week between the following options:
- Brief Canvas quiz with 10 or fewer multiple-choice questions derived from the week’s assigned lecture videos. Quizzes are 30 minutes and you will have one attempt to complete them. Quizzes are automatically graded.
- Lab Assignments of hands-on cloud computing exercises. Assigned lab results are to be submitted as a document, parameterized to demonstrate completion of the lab by submitting and answering a few free-form questions that can only be completed if the assigned lab is successful. Each Lab assignment will be evaluated with a lab-specific rubric and students will receive instructor feedback.
Cloud Proposal
Students select scenarios or propose their own for approval. Deliverables include a PowerPoint presentation outlining how they would solve a given business problem with the cloud provider and services we’ve learned about.
Your proposal should address:
- Relevant services and how they would contribute to the solution
- How the cloud can add value or address the business problem
- Potential challenges or pitfalls
- Insights from relevant case studies or similar companies
Your pitch should include a recorded 5-10 minute video walking through the slides and presenting the material. Your Cloud Proposal will be evaluated with the Cloud Proposal Rubric and will receive instructor feedback. This assignment aligns with CLO A, CLO B, and CLO E.
Applied Project
Student selects a dataset, this can be from any of a number of sources including Amazon’s catalog, Kaggle, NYC Open Data, or one of the many prepared AI datasets.
The objective is to analyze the dataset to extract insights or answer questions, and/or to develop a predictive algorithm using the dataset. The solution must use two or more of the cloud services we’ve learned about.
Deliverables:
- Dataset context and hypotheses or objective (what kinds of questions do you want to ask of the data or what are you trying to predict from it, at a high level)
- Design document; what services are being used, why, and how do they relate to one another? This can take the form of a diagram and/or text
- Approach: this will include code if SQL or Python is used to prepare and analyze the data, or screenshots and descriptions if a graphical tool is used to manipulate the data. Should make it clear the steps that were taken or how you went about the development
- Findings: This can include a dashboard, or set of Python visualizations depicting the results of your analysis or development, along with a document outlining your hypothesis(ses) and the findings or results and how they’re derived from the dashboard. The document can be a PowerPoint or text document. Your findings should also include lessons learned and challenges encountered.
Your Applied Project will be evaluated with the Applied Project Rubric and will receive instructor feedback. This assignment aligns with CLO B, CLO C, and CLO D.
Course Policies
Communication
The best way to contact me is at my University of Oklahoma email address and I will respond within 24 hours. Being addressed by my first name is fine.
I hope to encourage discussion among all course participants during live sessions and on discussion threads so encourage you to be engaged and feel free to ask questions or provide input at any point.
Feedback
Assignment grades and feedback will be provided within a week of submission.
Late Policy
Late work will be accepted up to 6 days after the due date at the penalty of one letter grade, after 6 days the assignment will not be accepted. No work will be accepted after the course end date on 5/3.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the most common form of academic misconduct at OU. There is no college-level assignment that can be satisfactorily completed by copying. OU's basic assumption about writing is that all written assignments show the student's own understanding in the student's own words. That means all writing assignments, in class or out, are assumed to be composed entirely of words generated (not simply found) by the student, except where words written by someone else are specifically marked as such with proper citation. Including other people's words in your paper is helpful when you do it honestly and correctly. When you don't, it's plagiarism.
For more information about plagiarism, watch this video and then take this short course offered by University Libraries.
University Academic Policies and Student Support
Access the University Academic Policies Document.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|