This course is ideal for:

• Individuals exploring a career in IT or looking to validate foundational IT knowledge
  
• Students, high-school or college entrants, or career changers who want to gain essential IT literacy
  
• Non-technical professionals who work in technology-adjacent roles and need a solid understanding of IT infrastructure, software, and security
  
• Professionals preparing to take the ITF+ certification exam

• No prior deep IT experience is required — the certification is entry-level.
  
• Comfortable using computers, perhaps some familiarity with applications or internet usage
  

After completing this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand and use foundational IT terms and concepts (computing, data, storage)
  
• Identify internal computer components, peripheral devices, and basic networking connections
  
• Deploy and use common operating systems, install and manage applications, and understand software delivery models
  
• Recognize basic software development logic and explain programming concepts at an introductory level
  
• Describe database structures and perform simple operations on records and tables
  
• Apply basic security measures: device hardening, patching, safe browsing, authentication basics
  
• Navigate the technology environment confidently, making informed decisions about further IT study or a career path
  
• Be prepared to take and pass the CompTIA ITF+ certification exam
  

• Notational systems (binary, decimal, hexadecimal)
• Data types (char, string, number, Boolean)
• Computing fundamentals: input, processing, output, storage
• Value of data/information as assets
• Troubleshooting methodology (identify, theory, test, implement)

• Common internal computing components (motherboard, CPU, RAM, storage)
• Input/output devices, peripheral installation
• Basic networking: LAN/WAN, client connectivity, wired/wireless concepts
• Storage types: SSD, HDD, local vs cloud

• Purpose of operating systems and application software
• File systems, utilities, mobile/desktop OS differences
• Application architecture models (local, network, cloud)
• Web browser configuration, add-ons, private browsing operations

• Categories of programming languages (interpreted, compiled, markup, assembly)
• Organizational techniques (pseudocode, flowcharts)
• Basic programming logic: identifiers, functions, loops, conditionals

• Purpose of databases vs flat-file
• Relational vs non-relational structures
• Data manipulation: select, insert, update, delete
• Storage concepts: records, schema, fields

• CIA triad: Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability
• Securing devices: anti-malware, host firewall, patching
• Safe browsing, authentication (MFA, SSO), encryption basics
• Behavioral security: social engineering, phishing, password management