MIS 300 Mid-Term Advice

1. Remember that the philosophy of this course is to help you become a discriminating user of IT, not a designer, developer or vendor.  Hence the most important aspect of this course is the concepts that lead to understanding, not the tiny details.

2. Basic models have been introduced in the following areas:
    a. What a general purpose computer is capable of doing
    b. How a general purpose computer is put to use
    c. How decision making takes place and the assumptions we make
    d. The role of data and information in management activities
    e. Communication, telecommunication and networking fundamentals
    f. How the World Wide Web functions as a network of knowledge
    g. The concept of a data base and why this is important for business
    h. The idea of a business platform and how the Internet functions as a business platform
    i. The concept of economy of style and how this is facilitated
    j. Transaction processing as a source of important business advantage
    k. The idea of "enterprise computing."

3. The midterm will be a mix of questions from the textbook and from supplementary lectures.

4. There will be three kinds of questions: definitions, application of knowledge and basic facts.  The mix on the midterm will lean more heavily towards definitions but these will by no means be the majority of the questions.

    4.1. Chapters 1-5
    Pay attention to slides put on the website, even if not reviewed in class.
    Among slides reviewed in class; those that are key are flagged.
    Hardware is not emphasized in the midterm, but software concepts will appear.
    Questions will be definitional and basic facts:
        1.  The number of xxxxs in the world is ....
        2.  A yyyyy is a(n) .....

    4.2. Supplementary lectures
    These are found at this website here.
    This material is generally not covered in the textbook but was covered in lectures
    All material in the first half of the course builds up to the concept of electronic commerce,
        i.e., how computers may assist business by working as a business platform.
    Questions will be exploratory and exemplificational
        1. The reason why aaaaa occurs is ....
        2. An example of bbbbb would be ....

5. All questions are multiple choice.  Sometimes more than one answer might look appropriate.  The choice of the correct answer is guided by a simplicity principle: the answer that requires the fewest assumptions is the best.  An answer that implies other answers is better than the other answers.  As all questions are multiple choice, it is important to read all the answers before providing your response.

6. IMPORTANT.  From the syllabus: "For both the Mid-Term and Final Exams, you will need Scantron Form No. 882-ES, which is available at the bookstore in the Oakland Center. You will also need a #2 pencil (bring a spare, too) for filling out the form during the test.  Make-up exams will not be given, except in extenuating circumstances."

 Click here for a link to the Diagnostic Quiz, with answers.

Click here for a summary of the 100 most important slides from the course.