The course is comprised of four primary units. A description of what's included in each unit is below. While you may have been exposed to some of these topics in the past, the curriculum is specific to the CMU environment making it highly unlikely that you have sufficient prior knowledge, particularly to the depth and complexity that is required for collegiate-level work.
Responsible Computing
Identify the computing privileges and responsibilities that apply to you as a member of the CMU community, including specific issues involved with protecting information and resources and the associated penalties/impact if you fail to do so.
Effective Computing
Learn about the most commonly used electronic tools and services that the university offers. Regardless of major, every student will need to complete work that requires specialized software and hardware, printing services and online file storage/sharing/collaboration.
Information Literacy
Whether it's writing a paper, preparing for a role or conducting an experiment, you'll do some sort of research while at the university. In this unit, you'll learn how to define the information that you need, how to locate the best sources and how to appropriately use the information in your work. The unit also presents critical information on academic integrity issues related to finding and using information.
Safe Computing
Recognize online threats that can compromise your own and the broader community's information and resources, along with protective measures you can take to prevent such attacks and what you need to do should a compromise occur.