The course aims at improving student’s Informatics skills with regard to the needs of their future occupation in the field of sociology and of social work, providing a linkage between information science, and sociology and social work. A starting overall introduction to Information and Computer science will undertake the distinction between information and data on one hand, and between hardware and software on the other hand. On this basis, general discourse will turn on the empirical use of Informatics for social scientists. In their professional activities sociologists and social workers are asked to use a variety of tools developed by Information and Computer science, for instance softwares oriented to specific goals. Students will improve their skills on editing and managing texts, developing spreadsheets data analysis and graphs, framing complex communication via email and social networks, displaying results slides on a screen, storing files and organizing folders as well as sharing and transferring on the cloud, searching activities for references, information and data through the Internet and featured datasets. A part of the course will focus on applications used massively within the community of professional sociologists and social workers.

Discourse will undertake the following issues:

• Introduction to ICT;
• Word Processing: Framing and Typing Texts
• The Use of Spreadsheets Editors
• Presentations
• Online Communication, Sharing Tools, Managing Files and Folders
• Searching through the Web: Information and Data
• Apps for Social Work and Sociologists

Although there are no mandatory prerequisites for this exam, students are strongly recommended to take it after the following courses:

Methodology and tecniques fos social research

Social Statistics

English Language

Knowledge and understanding:

• Students will show fully acquaintance about the fundamentals of Information Science, its main theoretical approaches and evolutions over the time, up to the use of information technologies into modern society;
• Students will deeply understand the variety of theoretical and empirical fields developed by the modern social sciences, more specifically sociology and social work, and tasks related to their professional career, in line with the labour market’s needs.

Applying knowledge and understanding:

• Students will have full mastery over the empirical use of information technologies (such as computers and softwares) into social sciences research work, such as word editing, spreadsheet analysis, powerpoint presentation, and web search;
• Students will be able to manage epistemological and theoretical discourse over the use of Information and Computer Sciences technologies within social sciences, in particular for sociologists and social workers, and with regard to methodology and techniques for social research;
• Students must deeply understand links between the use of information technologies and Computer Science itself.

Making judgements:

• Students will be able to demonstrate mastery on making judgments while dealing with issues related to the use of information technologies into social sciences, and on applying the right tool as a solution to specific issues while undertaking social research;
• Students will have full mastery in addressing specific methods and techniques to empirical use of information technologies, especially with regard of the search of information and data through the Internet;
• Students will be able to quickly select functions and tools brought out by Information and Computer Sciences in order to give the social researcher knowledge, instruments and technologies suitable to their needs, usually through handbooks, textbooks, and web contents. 

Communication skills:

• Students will have skills in learning from managing professional issues by communication channels, and to select the proper communication channel (spoken or written for instance);
• Students will be able to quickly and efficiently select relevant contents to communicate, as well as to distinguish between relevant (primary) and marginal (secondary) contents to share;
• Students will have full mastery in managing communication empirically, with regard to the process of framing the communication, and to the recipient.

Learning skills. 

• Students will show fully acquaintance of the need to undertake a longlife learning approach in using information technologies for social research and social work;
• Students will be able to select and apply the proper methodology and technique in order to fix issues related with the professional use of computer.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

The teaching material and specific communications from the lecturer can be found, together with other supporting activities, inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

Frontal lessons and laboratory activities

Attendance

Although recommended, course attendance is not mandatory. Attendance is required to at least ¾ of the lessons (9 classes), active participation, and the study of the course book and articles

Course books

Excercises stored into folder “Materiale per esame” inside blended.uniurb.it platform;

Lazzari M. 2010, Informatiche umanistica. II edizione, Milano, McGraw-Hill (except chapters 6, 7, 10 and 12).

Assessment

Exam consists of a live test held at the computer, while the student will be asked to undertake practical activities regarding some of the issues developed during the course and on the excercises stored into blended.uniurb.it. IMPORTANT: username and password to access uniurb web services are required to undertake the examination.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Attendance

Attendance to less than ¾ of the lessons (missing for more than 3 classes), and study of the course books

Course books

Excercises stored into folder “Materiale per esame” inside blended.uniurb.it platform;

Email the lecturer in order to arrange a bibliography that fits the student’s needs;

Assessment

Exam consists of a live test held at the computer, while the student will be asked to undertake practical activities regarding some of the issues developed during the course and on the excercises stored into blended.uniurb.it. IMPORTANT: username and password to access uniurb web services are required to undertake the examination.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.