Introduction to Informatics

							Informatics

    CIS61
Foothill College
     Introduction to Informatics
•   Survey of Informatics
•   The informatics process
•   Change management
•   Applications, tools, and players
•   CIS61 - Informatics
    – First course in the informatics certificate
        Informatics – Outline
•   What is informatics?
•   Why is informatics important?
•   What problems does it solve?
•   Developing a new certificate
•   Courses and concept map
•   Building knowledge communities
         What is Informatics?
• Modeling and solving data intensive
  problems using computers
• Creating sophisticated mathematical tools
  that can derive insights from information
• Extending that knowledge into an
  organization to effect positive change
• Building and supporting the software and IT
  infrastructure for an informatics practice
        Informatics Definitions
• Informatics is the study of information,
  information systems and information technology
  applied to various phenomena.
• Management, planning and application of
  information to accomplish strategic goals
• Informatics architecture is a specification of the
  information, information systems and information
  technology needed by an organization
• Information process, not just technology. Tools to
  learn from information (the ‘bio-logic’ of nature).
          The Quadrants

• Information (data)
• Informatics tools (data mining)
• Information process – organizational
  management, reports, business
  integration
• Domains (cognates) – business (BI),
  biology (bioinformatics) health
  (medicine).
       Informatics

          Tools


Data                 Process




         Domain
         Informatics Domains
• Bioinformatics
  – Model and solve biological problems with computers,
    manage terabytes of data
• Climate change
  – Stratospheric modeling of CO2 and global warming
• Health and medical informatics
  – Data mining, integrate disease / diagnostics with
    patient populations and therapeutic outcomes
• Business intelligence (BI)
  – Intelligent collection and use of business data
  – CRM systems, SCM (RFID), product marketing
      Asking Big Questions
•   How do our genes work?
•   What drives our customers?
•   Is the climate getting warmer?
•   Why do certain people get sick?
•   What really drives the economy?
       Informatics Process
• Data accumulation / modeling
• Problem posing / analytical tools
  – Profound insights
• Information visualization / presentation
• Change management
  – Organizations and systems
• Information life cycle
  – Future proofing and extending value
A Tale of Two Planets




Can Informatics Make a Difference?
   CFCs and Ozone Depletion
• Ozone observed to be thinning in early 70s
  – Chlorine and fluorine in the upper atmosphere
• Correlative or causal?
• Dupont chemists create chemistry models
  – Doesn’t look good – CFCs eating the ozone!
• Internal debate / international awareness
• Change management starts in mid 1980s
  – Global treaties, industry buy-in, more models
          Global Warming?
• Atmospheric and sea water temperatures
  rising steadily for roughly 50 years
• CO2 core levels rising for last 150 years
• Correlative or causal?
  – Green house gas modeling
  – Storm and ice pack predictions
• Vision (yes) Buy-in (maybe)
  – Migration from a carbon based economy?
     Applications of Informatics
•   Business intelligence
•   Bioinformatics / Cheminformatics
•   Health and medical informatics
•   Knowledge management (KM)
•   Grand challenge problems
    –   Economics
    –   Biology
    –   Weather
    –   Security
        CIS61 - Informatics
• Online / hybrid course
• Three learning modalities
  – Textbook / questions
  – Case studies / project
  – Hybrid / casual lectures
• Case studies / Informatics projects
  – Understand the informatics process
         Course Objectives
• Learn what informatics is
  – The information side of IT
• The importance of informatics
  – What are the key drivers?
  – What are the key applications?
• Informatics and organizations
  – Systems and change management
• Understand the career opportunities
        Assignment Palate
• Weekly questions – 150 pts
• Case studies
  – Infrastructure – 50 pts
  – Business problem – 50 pts
• Course project
  – Informatics problem – 100 pts
• Midterm / writing assignment – 50 pts
• Forums posting – 50 pts
        CIS61 Course Outline
•   What is informatics?
•   Information representation
•   Informatics applications and tools
•   Informatics systems / infrastructures
•   Meta data, XML, and Semantic Web
•   Informatics careers
•   Building a knowledge society
        Informatics Overview
•   What is informatics?
•   The case for informatics
•   The informatics process
•   Industries and applications
•   Social impact of information
•   Informatics technology roadmap
•   Careers / opportunities in informatics
    Information Representation
•   Data modeling
•   Object concepts
•   Databases
•   Data mining
•   Web data formats
•   Introduction to User Interfaces (UI)
    – Design and role in human intelligence
Industry Review – Tools / Players
 • Application vendors
   – Informatica
   – Oracle
   – Business Objects
   – Cognos
   – SAS
   – MicroStrategy
 • Guest speaker from industry (webinar ?)
   Information Infrastructure
• Network information architecture
  – Distributed systems
  – Networked applications
  – Internet and Web technologies
  – Web services and SOAP
• Current topics (TBA each quarter)
• Enterprise computing (guest) lecture
Meta Data, RDF, Semantic Web
•   What is meta data?
•   Web data and intelligence
•   XML applications and RDF
•   Building the Semantic Web
•   Building a network of knowledge
Informatics Technology Map

Data Warehousing   Data Visualization   Informatics Modeling




                       Cognate
 User Community                         Organizational tools
                      Application


                          HCI
   Informatics          Human
   Applications                             Data Mining
                       Computer
                       Interface
       Informatics Concept Map

                            Data mining
  Data accumulation
                                     Change management
Information management
                     Data abundance
    Data visualization                    Problem posing
                   Knowledge management

 Information architecture           Data distribution

        Hypothesis testing        Data analysis
     Society and Informatics

•   An information economy
•   A knowledge based society
•   Information ethics and privacy
•   Pervasive computing
•   Economies and markets of one
    – Transparent commerce
    – We lose ‘the ability to hide’
        Careers in Informatics
•   Careers
•   Requirements
•   Education
•   Informatics plus domain experience
•   Informatics skills as career essentials
    Informatics Certificate Map
•   Informatics survey course
•   Informatics projects course
•   Informatics tools and methods
•   Data algorithm design
•   Data warehouse / mining / visualization
•   Systems analysis and design
•   Human Computer Interface (HCI)
•   Other courses from cognate tracks……
               Summary
• What is informatics?
• Applications of informatics
• Organizational process
  – Change management is crucial!
• Social impact of informatics
  – Privacy issues and power of information
• Building a knowledge society
  – Building knowledge into human process