RIT’s Vision of
Information Technology
Prof. Jeff Sonstein
Department of Information Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology
jxsast@rit.edu
http://www.it.rit.edu/~jxs/
Center for the Handheld Web
http://chw.rit.edu/blog/
Mobile Web Best Practices Working Group
http://www.w3.org/2005/MWI/BPWG/Group/

My Background
• began teaching at RIT in 2000
• established one of the first 2500 Web sites in
the world in1994
• worked in industry & research on the US
West Coast since 1971
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

My Background (cont)
• currently RIT’s representative to the World
Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Advisory
Committee
• active contributing member of the W3C
Mobile Web Best Practices Working Group
• founding Director of the Center for the
Handheld Web
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

Some IT Dept. History
• late 1980’s: discussions begin in CS Dept.
• 1992: BS-IT degree begins, Dept formed
• 2003: ACM SIG-IT formed
• 2005: 1st programs ABET accredited
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

Some School of
Informatics History
• 2006: Networking, Security, & Systems
Administration (NSSA) grows large enough
to become its own Dept
• 2008: Game Design & Development
(GD&D) grows large enough to become its
own Dept
• 2009: School of Informatics formed from
IT, GD&D, and NSSA Departments
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

What We Mean by IT
• We approach technology from the user’s
point of view, not the computer’s
• We think of the computer as a tool, rather
than as an end in itself
• We care more about how people use
computers, than about how they work
“under the hood”
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

Core Competencies
• We have seen the emergence of a
consensus on a set of core competencies
which every IT professional must possess
• These core competencies provide a
foundation upon which students build
greater depth in selected specialty areas
• We call these 5 core competencies the
“Pillars of IT”
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

5 Pillars of IT
• Programming & application development
• Web & interactive media
• Database management systems &
enterprise application development
• Networking, systems administration, &
security
• User-centered design & deployment
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

IT Specialists &
Generalists
• Some students choose to build on the 5
Pillars of IT by specializing in one or two
areas
• Many students choose a broader path to
prepare for “general practitioner” careers
• Neither approach is right or wrong for
everyone; we do not see a “one size fits all”
solution or pathway
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

1st Year Entrance
Requirements
• High School graduation, with:
‣ at least elementary algebra & geometry
‣ solid English writing & verbal
communications skills
‣ basic “computer literacy”
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

Transfer Student
Requirements
• 1 or more years at an accredited institution
of higher learning, with:
‣ minimum 2.7 GPA in a computer-related
curriculum
‣ successful completion of a strong 2-
course programming sequence
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

Discussion: Pillars of IT
A little more detail about what we focus on
in each of the 5 “Pillars of IT” areas is
probably appropriate here, for the titles we
use are a form of “shorthand”.
In addition, each of the “Pillars” forms the
core of either one of our IT Dept
concentrations or a School of Informatics
degree program.
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

Reminder:
The 5 Pillars of IT
• Programming & application development
• Web & interactive media
• Database management systems &
enterprise application development
• Networking, systems administration, &
security
• User-centered design & deployment
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

Pillar I: Programming &
App Development
We do not teach programming as “an end in
itself”, we teach programming as a way of
thinking about and solving problems in the
“real world” for “real users”.
We require every student to take a year-long
programming sequence, using Java so we can
start them out with object-oriented thinking.
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

Pillar II: Web &
Interactive Media Dev
We see basic Web page and site design &
implementation as a tool every Information
Technologist should have in their “box of
tricks”. Documentation, training, online help
systems and the like need to be created in a
Web context by all professional-level
Information Technologists.
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

Pillar II (cont): Web &
Interactive Media Dev
In addition to reaching end-users with
information and services, the Web forms the
backbone of modern business transactions
through the use of HTTP/HTTPS and XML-
related software technologies like XHTML.
With the explosion of mobile connectivity,
designing & constructing for the mobile user
has become essential for real world work.
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

Pillar III: DBMS &
Enterprise App Dev
Modern Web sites utilize 3-tiered and n-
tiered systems to enable presentation of
aggregated & filtered data & information to
users.
Database-backed Web sites & content
management systems form the core of
modern business, government, and non-profit
(“enterprise”) operations.
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

Pillar III (cont): DBMS &
Enterprise App Dev
The majority of communications transactions
across the Web are invisible to end-users.
This “Invisible Web” depends heavily on XML
and XML-related software technologies such
as Schema & XSLT.
We expose students to basic XML though
DB generation of XML data and through
coding experience using XHTML.
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

Pillar IV: Networking,
Security, & Sys Admin
The modern IT professional needs to
understand how to set up and administer
secure and stable systems, and to be “O/S
agnostic”. Basic Unix skills are critical, and we
use a mix of “commodity” PCs running Unix
along with Apple computers (which run
FreeBSD “under the hood”) in our labs &
classrooms.
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

Pillar V: User-Centered
Design & Deployment
We informally call this area “the human
stuff”, and in some senses this is the defining
competency for modern IT professionals.
Students must learn to see the world
through their users’ eyes, and to select,
integrate, and deploy technologies which
enhance the lives of users.
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

All Students are not
Equally Prepared
I cannot just take our curriculum materials
and “drop them in” here. I need to gain some
understanding of the “prior knowledge”
upon which your entering students will
build. That is a big part of why I am here: to
learn about what your entering students
require to “get up to speed”.
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

Summary
• The world is just at the beginning of the
Information Revolution, and the effects are
as powerful as those of the Industrial
Revolution in its’ day
• We see IT as a distinct discipline from
those of CS, Software Engineering,
Computer Engineering, & Information
Systems
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

Summary (cont)
• Specialization can be useful, but the 5
“Pillars of IT” form a common base upon
which all Information Technologists build
and which all Information Technologists use
to “get work done”
• IT can be seen as a key element in local,
national, & regional development
Prof. Jeff Sonstein

RIT’s Vision of
Information Technology
Prof. Jeff Sonstein
Department of Information Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology
jxsast@rit.edu
http://www.it.rit.edu/~jxs/
Center for the Handheld Web
http://chw.rit.edu/blog/
Mobile Web Best Practices Working Group
http://www.w3.org/2005/MWI/BPWG/Group/