Students interested in learning the basics of Linux, Python, data security, and networking will have the opportunity this fall with the addition of a new elective course being offered in the MLIS program.

Students interested in learning the basics of Linux, Python, data security, and networking will have the opportunity this fall with the addition of a new elective course being offered in the Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree program at the San José State University School of Information (iSchool).

According to instructor Dr. Glen Mules, the initial impetus behind creating the new course, INFO 246 Information Technology Tools and Applications – Advanced, was to provide students a richer background in the booming data science field where “it’s become painfully clear that data scientists and analytics talent in general are in chronically short supply.”

The topics addressed in the course—the Linux Operating System, relational database management systems (RDBMS), SQL and Python programming languages, data security, and networking—apply to all aspects of modern business environments and information systems. Students who take the course will conduct hands-on lab exercises throughout the semester, a “critical and essential element in understanding the concepts and applying them in practical situations,” said Mules, adding, “We start from scratch, and at the end of the semester, the participants will have a solid, but basic, understanding of these important areas of technology.”

Course learning outcomes include:

• Understand concepts of, and work at an introductory level with, the Linux Operating System;
• Work with Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) as both an administrator and an end-user;
• Write SQL statements to access and update relational data;
• Design and write simple Python programs to manipulate non-relational data;
• Apply best practices to data security and privacy of data in a network-centric environment.

The information technology tools advanced course is also an option for non-matriculated students who are considering earning a Certificate in Big Data but do not meet the Big Data program’s prerequisites. “The course is intended to be a bridge to the courses in the new Big Data certificate program that focuses on data science,” explained Mules. Non-matriculated students can enroll in the new course on a space-available basis through the iSchool’s Open Classes program, a continuing education program that offers master’s-level courses for college credit.  

Students in the MLIS program can register for INFO 246 Information Technology Tools and Applications – Advanced course now through August 21, 2016. Enrollment in the Open Classes program for the fall semester opens June 27, 2016.