Before Class
Don't sign in to anything. Get to know your neighbors.
Introductions
To one another, me, and LA
For how many semesters prior to this one have you been at FGCU?
How many courses are you taking this semester?
What is your level of experience and comfort with technology (1-4)?
Where do you currently live while going to school?
What is your major / minor / concentration?
Instructor introduction
Contact options
Roster check / Attendance
Name cards
Hands-On
Sign in to browser (Firefox with uBlock Origin recommended)
Bookmarks (and apps on phone)
Textbook
OneDrive
OneNote
Canvas
GenAI
ChatGPT
Copilot
Gemini
NotebookLM
Sign in to OneDrive app
Folder setup
Teams app / web site
Outlook Calendar
Bookings & Office hours
Introduction Discussion Preview / Review
Importance of closely reading and following instructions, checking rubric, resubmitting work
About the Course
Find the relevance for you
Exit Ticket
What level you chose (1-4)
Framing
“Today is about seeing the big picture. Not how to click buttons, but how information systems actually help businesses work, compete, and make better decisions. If you’ve ever thought ‘I’m not a tech person,’ today is designed to change that.”
Learning Objectives
By the end of class, students will be able to:
Explain what an information system is (and what it is not)
Distinguish IT vs. IS, data vs. information vs. knowledge
Identify core components of an information system
Apply systems thinking to explain how business outcomes emerge
Connect IS concepts to their major and future careers
Warm-Up Hook: “Invisible Systems” (8-10 min)
Mini-Concept Clarification (5 min)
A system is a set of parts or components working together towards a common goal.
Information systems contain interrelated components (technology, people, and process) that allow us to take and transform meaningless data into useful information for decision making.
A systems thinking approach looks at an entire process taking into consideration all of the parts in the system and how they work together instead of focusing on just one component.
Information System = People + Processes + Data + Technology → Information → Decisions
Systems Thinking in Action (25 min)
Systems Thinking Activity (Canvas Groups)
Debrief: Gen AI Insights (time permitting)
Graded Project Work Time (time permitting)
Wrap-Up & Confidence Close
Exit Question (verbal or written):
“One sentence: How is an information system more than just technology?”
Closing message (career-framed):
“Every business major here will work with information systems. You don’t need to build them, but you do need to understand them well enough to ask smart questions. That’s the skill we’re building.”
Previous Lesson Review
System
Information system
Systems thinking
Big Picture Goal
“Today is not about becoming AI experts.
It’s about learning how to talk about AI intelligently, question it responsibly, and use it productively as future business professionals.”
Learning Objectives
By the end of class, students will be able to:
Use AI-related terminology correctly in business conversation
Distinguish between AI myths and realities
Identify benefits, risks, and ethical concerns of AI
Write and improve a GenAI prompt
Explain where humans still matter most
Resource Review
What is AI?
Artificial Narrow Intelligence
Artificial General Intelligence
Artificial Super Intelligence
Machine Learning
Deep Learning
Natural Language Processing
AI and Careers
Copilot in Excel
Activity
Using GenAI
IBM SkillsBuild Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals Learning Plan
IBM SkillsBuild Getting Started with Artificial Intelligence Learning Plan
Emerging Technologies
Previous Lesson Review
Big Picture Goal
Learning Objectives
Resource Review
Chapter 2
Activity
Strategic Information Systems Worksheet: Sections A & B
Previous Lesson Review
Sourcing Strategy (The "Where") How does the business obtain and run this system?
On-Premise (Hardware/Software owned and managed in-house)
SaaS (Software as a Service - Ready-to-use via subscription)
PaaS/IaaS (Cloud infrastructure - You build / manage apps on rented servers)
Big Picture Goal
Learning Objectives
Resource Review
Hardware
Bits
Computer hardware kitchen analogy: the CPU is the chef (processing), RAM is the countertop (active workspace), and the hard drive is the pantry/fridge (long-term storage). The motherboard acts as the kitchen floor connecting everything, while the PSU is the electricity supplying the kitchen.
Moore’s Law isn't strictly true in its original form (doubling transistors every 1-2 years via simple shrinking), as physical limits are being reached, but it has been generalized into the concept that computing power will double every two years for the same price point.
Check your hardware
PC: Settings > System > About
Mac: Apple icon in the upper-left corner of the screen > About This Mac > Overview tab
Software
ERP - SAP
ERP, CRM, SCM, ECM, AI, OLAP, blockchain (more about enterprise software in chapter 11 and decision support software in chapter 12)
https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/app/uploads/sites/2109/2021/11/database-1-768x768.png
https://www.vmware.com/topics/server-virtualization#how-it-works
Activity
Strategic Information Systems Worksheet: Section C
Previous Lesson Review
Instructor Action: Display two images side-by-side. One is a massive, single-sheet Excel file where "Customer Name" and "Address" are repeated 50 times because they bought 50 different items. The other is a "Data Integrity Error" message.
The Scenario: You run a booming boutique. A customer moves houses. You have to manually find and change their address in 50 different rows. You miss one. Now, their $500 order is shipped to their old house.
Sample Question (Verbatim): "Who is at fault here: the employee who missed the row, or the system itself? If we have 10,000 customers, is Excel still a 'good' tool, or a ticking time bomb?"
Pedagogical Note: This establishes the "Flat File vs. Relational" tension immediately without using jargon yet.
Burst 1: The Data Hierarchy (6 min)
Explain the "Russian Nesting Doll" of data: Bits/Bytes → Fields (Attributes) → Records (Rows) → Tables → Database. Image
* **Common Misconception:** Students think "Database" and "DBMS" (like Access or SQL Server) are the same. Clarify: The Database is the *container*; the DBMS is the *software* (the librarian).
Burst 2: Primary & Foreign Keys (9 min)
Use the Social Security Number analogy. Why doesn’t the registrar’s office use your name to find your grades? Because there are five "John Smiths."
Relational Model: Show how a Primary Key (Student ID) in the "Students Table" connects to a Foreign Key in the "Grades Table."
Normalization Hint: "Normalization is just a fancy word for 'Don't Repeat Yourself' (DRY). We put the customer address in ONE place, not fifty."
Group Activity (12 min): Break students into pairs based on their majors. Give them a blank sheet of paper or a blank Excel sheet.
The Prompt: "You are designing a system for a PGA Golf Course (or a Hospitality App, or a Supply Chain Hub). Pick two tables you need (e.g., 'Golfers' and 'Tee Times'). List 3 Fields for each. Circle your Primary Keys and draw an arrow to your Foreign Key."
Selective Major Personalization:
Accounting: "How do we link an 'Invoice' to a 'Vendor' without typing the vendor's phone number every time?"
Supply Chain: "How do we track a 'Shipment' across multiple 'Warehouses'?"
The "Ethics Pivot" (8 min): Shift the projector to a photo of an e-waste landfill or a cobalt mine.
Sample Question (Verbatim): "Our databases run on servers and smartphones. Those devices require 'Conflict Minerals' like Tantalum and Gold. As a business manager, if your database hardware is cheaper because it uses minerals from conflict zones, is that a 'benefit' or a 'cost' to your brand's reputation?"
Pedagogical Note: This satisfies SLO5 by connecting the abstract "cloud" to the physical "earth" and business ethics.
Summary: "Today we moved from data chaos to organized relationships. We learned that Relational Databases save space and prevent errors, while NoSQL handles the 'Big Data' (videos, social posts) that doesn't fit in neat rows."
The Forward Link (SLO6): * "In your upcoming lab, you'll use MS Access. You’ll build a query to filter data, basically asking the database a question, and then export that answer into Excel to make a chart."
Transferable Skill: "Employers don't just want you to 'enter data.' They want you to 'query' it to find trends. That is where the high-paying jobs are."
Closing Question: "Think of the last app you used (Instagram, Uber, Canvas). What is one 'Primary Key' that app uses to identify you uniquely?"
Time Permitting: Work on Relational Database Exercise
The "Access" Anxiety: Remind students that MS Access is just a "training wheels" version of the massive SQL databases used by Amazon and Netflix.
Visual Aid: Have a sample of a Normalized vs. Non-Normalized table ready to project.
Prep for Lab: Mention that Exporting to Excel is the most common way business users interact with databases, they get the data from the IT department and then "play" with it in Excel.
Instructor Action: Open a popular website (like the FGCU homepage) but pretend it isn’t loading.
The Scenario: "You’re a Marketing Manager. You just spent $50,000 on a Super Bowl ad. The ad runs, 1 million people click your link, and... nothing. The site is down. Is it the server? The router? The user's 5G? Or did the domain name expire?"
Sample Question (Verbatim): "If the internet goes down for your business for one hour, what is the first thing that stops? Sales? Shipping? Customer service? Which one hurts your paycheck the most?"
Pedagogical Note: This establishes the difference between Data Communication (the movement of bits) and the Network (the infrastructure) by showing the business impact of failure.
Burst 1: The Anatomy of a Connection (7 min)
Clients vs. Servers: Use the "Restaurant" analogy. The Client (the student's laptop) is the customer ordering food; the Server (a big computer in a data center) is the kitchen fulfilling the order.
The Internet vs. The WWW: Clarify that the Internet is the tracks, and the World Wide Web is just one train that runs on it.
Packets & Protocols: Explain TCP/IP as the "postal service rules" for the internet.
Burst 2: Scaling Up (LAN to WAN) (8 min)
LAN: The classroom. MAN: Fort Myers. WAN: The world.
Intranet vs. Extranet: Intranet is for employees only (Canvas); Extranet is for trusted partners (a supplier checking FGCU’s inventory).
Wireless & VoIP: Briefly mention how 5G and Starlink (Wireless) and Zoom/Teams (VoIP) have changed where business happens.
Part A: The Ethical Hardware Audit (10 min)
The Problem: Distribute a quick infographic or project an image of e-waste and conflict mineral mining.
The Prompt: "Every router, server, and laptop we just discussed requires Conflict Minerals (Tantalum, Tin, Tungsten, Gold). In your groups (by major), answer this: If you are the CEO of a tech startup, do you pay 20% more for 'Ethical Hardware' to avoid conflict minerals, or do you keep costs low to survive your first year?"
Major Specifics: * Supply Chain: "How do you track where your minerals come from?"
Accounting: "How do you report this in an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) report?"
Part B: GenAI & Unstructured Data (10 min)
Instructional Action: Demonstrate a quick GenAI prompt (ChatGPT or Claude) on the projector.
The Exercise: "I have 500 angry customer reviews (unstructured data). I don't have time to read them."
Prompting Task: Ask the class to help you write a prompt to:
Summarize the top 3 complaints.
Draft an automated email response for each.
Pedagogical Note: This satisfies SLO6 by showing GenAI as a business automation tool, not just a "homework helper."
Summary: "Today we moved from the physical minerals in the ground to the 'Cloud' and GenAI. We learned that the Internet is the infrastructure, but Web 3.0 and 4.0 (decentralized and intelligent webs) are where you will be building your careers."
The Forward Link: "Next class, we look at Security. Now that you know how the data moves through packets and routers, we’ll talk about how people try to steal those packets and how a VPN can stop them."
Closing Question: "If we transitioned to Web 4.0 tomorrow—where the web predicts what you want before you ask—would that make your job easier, or would it make your job obsolete?"
Time Permitting: Work on GenAI Sentiment & Semantic Analysis and Power Automate Exercise
Web Versions: Keep it simple. 1.0 (Read), 2.0 (Read/Write/Social), 3.0 (Decentralized/Blockchain), 4.0 (AI/Predictive).
Hardware Reality: Students often forget that "The Cloud" is just someone else's computer in a warehouse. Reminding them of E-waste (SLO5) grounds the technical concepts in physical reality.
GenAI Engagement: Many students use GenAI for text, but they don't realize it's a data analysis tool. Emphasize its ability to "clean up" messy business data.