IT Foundations Lecture 1
MSIT 3000 CRN 55555
Spring Semester 2025
Professor Matthew Farrell, MBA
Meet the Professor!
• Matt Farrell, MBA
• Bachelor’s degree from
Worcester State University
• Masters degree from
Southern New Hampshire
University
• Fidelity Investments, Product
Delivery Excellence
• Youth Swim Coach
• Avid Boston sports fan
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Icebreaker
• Name
• Where you are from?
• Why Clark University?
• Your first purchase if you won the lottery?
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IT Foundations Required Text
• Information Technology:
An Introduction for
Today's Digital World
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IT Foundations Supplemental Text
•
•
•
•
•
The Creation and Management of Database Systems, Adele
Kuzmiakova, ISBN 9781774696736
The IT Support Handbook: A How-To Guide to Providing Effective
Help and Support to IT Users, 2nd Edition, Mike Halsey, ISBN-10
1484251326
Cloud Computing, Nayan B. Ruparelia
Emerging Technologies for Business Professionals, Nishani Vincent
and Amy Igou, ISBN-10 1119987369
Enhancing Enterprise Intelligence: Leveraging ERP, CRM, SCP,
PLM, BPM, and BI, Vivek Kale
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Syllabus Review
MSIT 3000 Syllabus Farrell
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Introduction
• Information Technology (IT)
•
•
•
The combination of hardware,
software, and services that
people use to manage,
communicate, and share
information.
Major influence on businesses
everywhere
Major influence on life itself!
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IT Career Fields
Health Professions
• Health Informatics
• Clinical Systems Analyst
Artists
• Graphic Designer
• Computer Animator
Design
• Engineer
• Architect
Manufacturing
• Data Analyst
• Robotics Progammer
• Solutions Architect
Business
• Information Systems
Management
• Information Security
• Digital Marketing
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What is a Computer System?
The set of hardware and software used for processing.
Hardware
A processor, which
processes:
Software
What we refer to
as programs
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Computer Systems
A typical computer system is made up of three components:
The CPU
a. Control Unit
b. Arithmetic-Logic Unit (ALU)
c. Registers
Memory
a. SRAM
b. DRAM
c. ROM
Input/Output System
a. Input Devices
b. Outbput Devices
c. Storage Devices
These three parts make up the System Bus.
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So, how does it all work?
• A program is loaded into memory. The program:
• is compiled into an executable form
• contains both program instructions and space reserved
for data that the program instructions use
• Both the code and data are stored in the memory.
• Memory is broken down into distinct locations, each with its
own address.
• CPU is informed of the address of the first instruction,
behind executing the program using the fetch-execute cycle.
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Fetch-Execute Whomst?
Fetch-Execute Cycle
• Fetches one program instruction from memory
• Brings it into the CPU
• CPU determines what the instruction requires (decoding)
• Executes the instruction
Kinda like playing fetch with your dog, then making it do a trick.
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Registers
Registers are used for short-term storage in the CPU, divided up
into two types:
• Control Registers
• Used by the control unit
• Data Registers
• Used by the ALU
• Store both integer values and floating-point values
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Registers vs. Memory
Most processors contain internal storage to store the
instructions known as registers.
• One register stores the instruction
• One register stores the location in memory of where to
retrieve the next instruction.
• Other registers store data that the instruction is to operate
on.
• Registers are for immediate usage, whereas memory is used
to store information in short-term storage.
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What is the ALU?
● ALU Functions:
○ Performs arithmetic operations: addition, negation
(used for subtraction), multiplication, and division.
○ Handles logic operations: AND, OR, NOT, XOR.
● Modern ALUs:
○ Include circuits for both multiplication and division.
○ Compute both quotient and remainder
simultaneously.
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The ALU Advancements
● Integer vs. Floating-Point Operations:
○ Separate circuits for integer-based and floating-point-based
arithmetic.
○ Early processors lacked floating-point circuitry, relying on
integer components and software.
● Math Coprocessors:
○ Early personal computers used external math coprocessors
(e.g., Intel 8087, 80387) for faster floating-point computations.
○ Starting with Intel 80486-DX, math coprocessor circuitry was
integrated into the CPU.
○ Pentium processors standardized floating-point circuitry,
enhancing multimedia performance.
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The BUS
● Bus Components:
○ Address Bus: Carries the numeric address of the item being accessed
(unidirectional from CPU to memory/I/O).
i. Carries binary addresses for registers, memory, or I/O devices.
ii. Always originates from the CPU.
○ Data Bus: Transfers data between components (bidirectional).
i. Used for data transfer during operations like “Load” (memory to
CPU) and “Store” (CPU to memory).
ii. Also used for instruction fetch and I/O operations.
○ Control Bus: Transmits control signals and status information
(bidirectional).
i. Carries commands like “memory read,” “memory write,” “input,”
and “output.”
ii. Includes status lines and interrupt requests from I/O devices to
the CPU.
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Memory
Cache Memory
• Stored in the processor
• Faster, responds quicker
• Bulkier and more expensive
Main Memory
• Stored separately from the
processor
• Usually on chips inserted on the
computer’s motherboard.
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The Memory Hierarchy
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The Memory Hierarchy
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●
●
●
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Registers:
○ Fastest and smallest memory located within the CPU.
○ Used for immediate data processing.
Cache Memory:
○ Small, fast memory located close to the CPU.
○ Stores frequently accessed data to speed up processing.
○ Typically divided into levels (L1, L2, L3) with L1 being the fastest and smallest.
Main Memory (RAM):
○ Larger and slower than cache.
○ Stores data and instructions currently in use by the CPU.
○ Volatile memory, meaning it loses data when power is off.
Secondary Storage:
○ Non-volatile memory like hard drives and SSDs.
○ Used for long-term data storage.
○ Slower than RAM but offers much larger storage capacity.
Tertiary and Off-line Storage:
○ Includes external storage devices like USB drives, CDs, and cloud storage.
○ Used for backup and archival purposes.
○ Typically the slowest form of storage but provides additional capacity and portability.
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Bits & Bytes
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Clock Cycle
A clock cycle is a single electronic pulse of a CPU.
During each cycle, the CPU can perform a basic
operation such as fetching an instruction,
accessing memory, or writing data. Essentially, it’s
the smallest unit of time in which a processor can
complete a task.
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Input/Output
Input Devices enter data or commands into a compute system for
processing
Output Devices generate data or information after processing
input
The two terms that refer to I/O and whether they are regulated by
clock cycle are:
Synchronous Access is when the Asynchronous Access is when the
CPU can directly control the start
signal itself may require
of the I/O process.
synchronizing information to
The CPU sends the initiating
indicate the start and end of a
control signal(s) to the device that
transmission.
is handling the I/O request at the This is usually in the form of start
beginning of the I/O process
bits and stop bits.
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Start bits & Stop Bits
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Input Devices
● Keyboard: Used for typing text and commands.
● Mouse: A pointing device for navigating and interacting
with the computer.
● Touchpad: A touch-sensitive surface used mainly on
laptops.
● Scanner: Converts physical documents into digital format.
● Microphone: Captures audio input.
● Joystick: Used for gaming and controlling simulations.
● Graphics Tablet: Allows artists to draw directly into the
computer.
● Webcam: Captures live video input.
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Output Devices
● Monitor: Displays visual output from the computer.
● Printer: Produces a physical copy of digital documents.
● Speakers: Output audio from the computer.
● Headphones: Personal audio output device.
● Projector: Projects visual output onto a larger screen.
● Plotter: Prints high-quality graphics and designs.
● GPS: Provides navigational information.
● Sound Card: Converts digital audio signals to analog.
● Video Card: Converts digital video signals to analog.
● Speech Synthesizer: Converts text to spoken words.
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Input Output Devices
Touch Screen: sensitive enough so that touching the surface is
registered and data is sent to the processor
Light Pen: Used with CRT-Style output devices.
A light beam is is pointed at a screen and the electron
beam
is sensed. Once detected, the CRT can determine precisely
where the pen was pointed
Stylus: Interacts with the touch screen surface, similar to our
fingers.
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Storage Devices
Magnetic Disk Storage: Uses magnetism to store and retrieve
digital information
• The storage medium is coated with a magnetic material.
• The data is stored in the form of tracks, spots, and sectors.
• Uses Read/Write heads to move over the disk to read and
write the data by changing the magnetisation of the material
• Examples of this are hard disk drives, floppy disks, and
magnetic tapes
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Storage Devices
Magnetic Tape Storage: A thin strip of plastic coated with a
magnetizable material.
• The data is stored by magnetizing the tape in patterns that
represent binary data.
• The read/write heads move over the tape and change the
magnetization of the material
• Used for long-term archival storage, backups, adn data
interchange.
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Storage Devices
Optical Disc Storage: a type of storage that uses laser
technology to read and write data.
• Uses low-power laser beams to encode and retrieve data
• The data is stored as tiny pits and lands on the disks surface,
arranged in a spiral track
• A laser beam reads the data by detecting the reflection from
the pits and lands, then writes data by altering the surface of
the disk.
• Examples: CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray discs
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Numbering Systems
Unary: /////
• Used in theoretical computer science when dealing with
Turing machines.
• Used when keeping score through hash or tick marks
Binary: 11111111, 10101010, 10001000
• How digital computers process and store information
Decimal: 1, 10, 100, .1, .01, .001
• How humans decipher numbers
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Storage Devices
Solid-State Storage: Non-volatile computer storage that uses
electronic circuits to store data.
• Unlike traditional hard disk drives, there are no moving
parts.
• Makes it more durable!
• Uses integrated circuits, typically NAND flash memory, to
store data persistently.
• Consumes less power which makes it ideal for portable
devices like flash drives and memory cards
• Offers faster read and write speeds compared to magnetic
storage
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Converting Decimal to Binary
1. Divide any number by 2
2. Continue dividing the quotient by 2 until you reach 0
a. Be sure to record each remainder
3. Read the remainders in reverse order
Let’s do this for 32, because it is my go-to roulette number.
32/2=16, remainder 0
16/2=8, remainder 0
8/2=4, remainder 0
4/2=2, remainder 0
2/2=1, remainder 0
1/2=0, remainder 1
Read the numbers
from bottom to top
The binary
representation of 32
is 100000
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Converting Binary to Decimal
Lets convert 1000101 to its decimal form
1. Write down the binary number and assign powers of 2 to
each bit
a. 1 x 2^6
b. 0 x 2^5
Shout out the
c. 0 x 2^4
answer when you
d. 0 x 2^3
e. 1 x 2^2
get it!
f. 0 x 2^1
g. 1 x 2^0
2. Calculate the value of each bit
3. Add up all the values
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Binary Operations
Boolean Operations: Operations that have one of two values,
True (1) or False (0).
• AND - 1 if both inputs ar 1
• OR - 1 if either input is 1
• NOT - negate the input (1 becomes 0, 0 becomes 1)
• XOR - 1 if both inputs differ
• NAND - 1 if both inputs are not 1
• NOR - 1 if both inputs are 0
• COINCIDENCE - 1 if both inputs are the same
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Break time!
Please report back to class in 10 minutes
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Group Activity
Break up into 4 groups
Group 1: The CPU Station
Group 2: The Memory Station
Group 3: The Storage Station
Group 4: The Binary Station
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Quiz Review
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