Developing a Human Computer Interaction Course for an Information Technology Major

It has been reported that even in the slowing economy in the United States, that the field of technology will continue its projected growth in the job market through the year 2018. Consequently, many institutions have begun to offer degrees that specialize not just in engineering or computer science, but in information technology, as well. Degrees are offered at the associate's, bachelor's, master's, and PhD levels from a variety of two-year and four-year institutions. Students who major in information technology explore management and information theory. More specifically, students focus on current technology trends and applications as it relates to the business and communication applications of computing with special emphasis on e-business, e-commerce and business computing. As a result of the merger between technology and business many of the degree programs especially at the undergraduate and graduate levels offer specific courses in human factors in information systems or human-computer interface to cover designing systems with human behavior in mind. The aim of this paper is to present the development of an undergraduate human computer interaction course for a newly developed information technology major leading to a bachelor's degree in information technology. The paper presents the teaching pedagogy selected for the course; course description including course outcomes and topics; and, student assessments. Also discussed are challenges in the development of the course as it relates to being cross-listed for enrollment by both information technology and computer science majors.