Potential benefits of information technology with practical study of the basic properties of information technology and user software usage.

During the course, students gain basic knowledge of concepts in the field of computing, how it evolved, what this development has caused. It will also master skills in using computer technology and selecting data that will benefit them in future learning and work. They will be able to independently create and present seminar papers using adequate software.

Theoretical lectures

1. Introduction and theoretical basics: What is data? What is information? With what is information measured? What is knowledge? How did knowledge increase during human history? What is wisdom? What is an information system? What does a well-organized information system look like? What is a computer-based information system?
2. What is technique, and what technology? What is information technology? What is Informatics? What is a numerous system? What is code? Which measurement units are used in computer sciences?
3. Computer anatomy: What are the basic components of modern information technology? What is a computer? What is hardware for? Which events are significant in the development of computers? What does the Von Neumann model of the computer look like? What are the basic components of the computer? What are the basic subsystems of the hardware system? What does the conceptual diagram of a microcomputer look like? What does the processor do? On what is the performance of a processor dependent on?
4. What is the importance of Moore's law? What requirements are placed on the memory? In which units is the memory capacity expressed? What is working memory? What is an interface? What is the meaning of the term peripheral? How can ports be categorized on devices? How do we divide output devices? What is the role of external memory? Which technologies are used to create secondary memory? How have the trends in the development of computer systems changed throughout the generations?
5. Software Support: What does software do? What are system software’s for? What role does the operating system have? Which functions do translator and utility programs perform? How can I share the software? What is standard user software for? What are the most important software packages? What are the advantages of a computer in relation to a typewriter?
6. What advantages does the computer have in relation to the classic archive? What are the table programs for? How can we divide graphic programs? How can we divide programming languages? Which languagesare used for programming WWW applications? How did software support change through the years?
7. Information technology and communications: What is communication? What does a basic model of a communication system look like? Which components make the communication system? What basic requirements should be met when it comes to the quality of communication?
8. Where can communication interruptions occur? What is the importance of personal contacts today? What is the main principle of cooperation? What is the purpose of wired communications? What are wireless communication for? What is telematics? How are computers used in communications?
9. What is a computer network? What are all the ways that computers can be connected to the network? How can networks be shared? How does a physical connection occur between computers? What is the protocol?
10. Possibilities of Information Technology Application: What are the benefits of using a computer? What are the possible areas of computer application? What are built-in systems? What is a robot? What are the robots doing, and how can we share them? What is virtual reality?
11. What is intelligence? What is artificial intelligence? What are the advantages and limitations of artificial intelligence in relation to the natural? What are the possibilities of practical application of the concepts of artificial intelligence?
12. What are the expert systems? What are the advantages and limitations of expert systems? What are the neural networks? What are the differences between neural networks and classical computers? What are the areas of application of neural networks? What are the similarities and differences between expert systems and neural networks?
13. Significant historical moments in the development of information technology: What economic era are important in recent history? How did the history of computation unfold? How many generations of computers have appeared to date? Which computers can rightly bring the notion that they were the first? How did computer evolution and revolution change?
14. How many programming languagesare there? What is the historical course of programming language development? Who were the first programmers? What are significant inventions in the history of telecommunications?
15. What events in the history of communication were the basis for the development of today's Internet? What is the history of the Internet? How did the history of WWW develop? What are the major events in the history of artificial intelligence development? What laws are important for studying the development of information technology?

Practical lectures

1. Basics of the operating system: Logging on to a computer that is in the network. Getting to know Windows desktop. Using the Start menu. Using a range of jobs.
2. Creating shortcuts, deploying elements on the desktop and cleaning your desktop. Elements of the window. Searching for computers and working with folders and files (creating, deleting, renaming, copying, moving ...).
3. MS Word: Creating the first document. Viewing and moving through documents. Previous review and printing. Margins and side breaks. Signs and fonts. Passwords and row spacing. Working with graphic objects. Frames and shading. Tabs.
4. Tables, computation and sorting. Side tags, page numbers and footnotes.
5. Automatic formatting and styles. Spell checkers and grammar. Finding and replacing characters.
6. Multi-column text. Creating content and working with extensive documents.
7. Practical work.
8. MS Excel: Navigate to the Excel window and create the first document. Working with worksheets. Working with data. Automatic filling and lists. Formatting and dimension of cells. Styles and templates.
9. Working with formulas. Basic functions. Basic techniques of drawing a diagram.
10. Sorting and filtering data. Working with graphic objects. Print and display data.
11. Practical work.
12. MS Internet Explorer: Launching the program. Address line. Options: Back, Forward, Stop, Delete, Home ... WEB search with the help of local and foreign search engines. Ways to download data from the Internet.
13. Simulation of the seminar work with textual, graphic and table data, linking with tables and charts from Excel (breaking text and preparing for the press).
14. MS PowerPoint: Creating and distributing a presentation using PowerPoint.
15. Making a PowerPoint presentation using a previously laid out text.

Kukrika, M: Computer Applications in Geography, Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade, 1999.

Kukrika, M: Geographic Information Systems, Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade, 2000.

M. Kukrika: How to be competitive on the global market - Intellectual capital management, Fine GRAF, Belgrade, 2003.

M. Kukrika: Small Encyclopaedia of Information Technology, Belgrade, 2004.

M. Kukrika: The Habit of Success, Belgrade, 2008.