To give you a flavour of T171, a small selection of course material will be made available on a demonstration site shortly, which you will be able to access from a link on this page.

At the core of the course is a dynamic World Wide Web site to which only registered students have access.

All of the specially prepared teaching, extension and assessment material is published on this site, which grows and develops as the course progresses.

The course also includes:

		A CD-ROM containing the software necessary for e-mail and conferencing.
		Three set books which students need to purchase. Accidental Empires by Robert X. Cringely, Penguin, Revised Edition 1996 A Brief History of the Future by John Naughton, Phoenix Press, 2nd Revised Edition 2000 Blown to Bits: How the New Economics of Information Transforms Strategy by Philip Evans and Thomas S. Wurster, Harvard Business School Press, 1999

The vision underpinning T171 is the desire to create a new generation of 'digital generalists' - people who:

		Understand the principles behind the new communications and computer technologies, and the impact they have had on the business world;
		Feel confident about operating in the online world as well as in the real world;
		Are not intimidated by technology because they don't suffer from fear of the unknown.

The course will thus appeal to a wide variety of people. For example:
 

		Those who have some experience of the Internet, but feel that they don't really understand how it works or what they are doing when they attempt to use it. Why do search engines throw up so many apparently irrelevant references in response to a simple inquiry? How does one evaluate the quality of information published on the Net? How safe is the Net? What's a TCP/IP stack and why is it important? What are the pros and cons of Internet telephony?
		Those who feel apprehensive about the apparently inexorable march of the new communications technologies and would like to understand how they came about and where they might be leading us.
		Those who want to understand more about how the Internet impacts upon businesses.

Although T171 is a Faculty of Technology course it is emphatically NOT a course for technical specialists. It is about history and context and significance as much as about bits and bytes. Its tone is friendly and accessible and non-elitist. The three set books have been carefully chosen, not just because of their technical accuracy, but also because they are supremely readable. And much of the technical material is taught in the course by telling the riveting stories about how the modern world was created. 

You will need to be a fairly confident computer user, able to install software, use office type applications and browse the Internet. Being able to produce simple web pages would be an advantage but it is not essential. If you don't feel comfortable with the above you may want to take TU170 Learning Online: Computing with Confidence. If you cannot decide which course, TU170 or T171, is the right course for you guidance is available online.

You will also need an account with an Internet Service Provider before the course begins.

The Module looks at the key technologies involved with the PC, such as the microprocessor and the operating system, and explains their importance and how they work. It also looks at the social implications of the IT revolution, the nature of the computer industry and the reasons behind the success and failure of computer products.

The treatment emphasizes three aspects of the story at each stage:
 

		Key personalities - people such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates who have shaped the industry.
		Key institutions - companies such as IBM, Apple, Microsoft and Intel which led the IT revolution.
		Key technologies - such as the microprocessor and the Graphical User Interface which determined the computers we use today.

 

The Module covers the history of the Net in four stages:
 

		Prehistory: the evolution of ideas about computing and communications from the 1930s to the 1960s.
		The ARPANET: the creation of the first packet-switched wide area network.
		From ARPANET to Internet: the metamorphosis of the original ARPANET concept into the 'global network of networks' which constitutes today's Internet
		The World Wide Web: the evolution of the Web from its invention in 1989 to its current form.

		Key personalities - the people who made it happen
		Key institutions - the organizations in which they worked
		Key ideas - the principles underlying the design at various stages

Module 3 Understanding e-business
This module aims to give you an informed appreciation of the ways in which the Internet impacts on businesses and business processes. It is based around a Book (Blown to Bits, by Philip Evans and Thomas S. Wurster, Harvard Business School Press, 1999, £18.99) which, again, is supported by further material on the website.
This module aims to give you an understanding of the four distinct categories of online commercial practices, and the impacts of the Internet on a range of existing commercial practices. It also covers the role of information in business and some of the technological issues such as security and encryption. The significance of key
e-business concepts is explained as are the wider implications of e-business.

Four Tutor Marked Assignments (TMAs) and one final consolidation exercise at the end of the course.

There is no final examination.

None.
However we do expect you will already have acquired skills in using ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) at a level similar to that gained from having completed TU170 Learning Online: computing with Confidence.

A personal computer fitted with a multimedia kit (i.e. a CD-ROM drive, a sound card and speakers) and capable of running Netscape versions 3 or 4 or Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4, or later versions of these web browsers.

A 28.8 kbps modem or better.

You will be expected to have an account with an Internet Services Provider (ISP). Most of these are free. If you would like more information about free ISPs, then the Learning Technologies and Teaching Office has up-to-date information on its website.

Since this is an online course, you should be prepared to spend significant amounts of time online (at least 3 hours a week). This will have an impact on your telephone bill.

The next presentation of the course begins in February 2002.

If you wish to register for T171 or reserve a place you should contact your local region.

Addresses and telephone numbers for Open University Regional Centres can be found here. Alternatively, you can reserve a place online at the Open University web site. You will find details of T171 under Technology in Courses and Qualifications.

If you want further information about the course then please contact your local Regional Centre. Enquirers from outside the United Kingdom should contact Region 09.