Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

Information Technologies are transforming every aspect of our lives: health, education, entertainment, work and research. Few other technologies have had such a large impact on society as a whole. IT is about change which may be evolutionary or disruptive. The rapid pace of technological change is a challenge and one which IT professionals in particular must be prepared for. IT professionals need to understand information technologies and how they are changing in order to effectively participate in industry. All IT professionals need a foundation in underpinning technologies and technology drivers in order to understand and anticipate future technological trends.

Aims

While the underlying principles of computation and communication have largely remained unchanged, increases in the speed of computation and information transmission continues to dramatically alter the way society goes about its business. Computers have become ubiquitous, from simple microprocessors embedded in electronic devices to huge data centres running social networking services. The speed of processing and communication has increased to an extent where users all over the world can interact in virtual simulated environments.

The aim of this unit is to provide you with a conceptual framework to understand the technologies that enable IT. This will be a fun exploration of a wide spectrum of ideas where we will examine some currently popular technologies, their history and their future. Information Technology has become so entwined with everyday life that identifying its scope is difficult, which also makes it difficult to identify opportunities where IT might further infiltrate into our daily lives for work and play. To achieve these aims, the unit introduces you to some of the theories and engineering practicalities that have produced recent technological advances in IT. Concepts leading to existing technologies are introduced during lectures, which are followed by laboratory sessions where you will be encouraged to discuss social change, future information tools and explore the concepts required for constructing these technologies.

Objectives

The objective of this unit is to use common computing technology to provide you with an understanding of the basic architectural and functional structure of systems. By exploring computing devices you will gain a fundamental understanding of computer hardware, operating systems, application software, networks, cloud computing, web services and social computing. The content of this unit is structured into three modules: introduction to technologies, evolution of technologies and case studies in emerging technologies. The emerging technology case studies will focus on a selection of contemporary topics, such as in-vehicle technologies (e.g. driverless car), 3D graphics and sensor network. The objective is to provide a broad understanding of these technologies and their impact.

At the successful completion of this unit you will:

1. understand the basic architectural design of computer hardware and how it applies across powerful computer systems and small electronic devices. (Processors, memory and how they work together to perform tasks.) - e.g. What's inside a computer? (GC1, GC2, GC3)
   
2. understand how software enables computing devices to operate and meet user needs. You will understand the reasons for different types of software, including operating systems and application software. - e.g. How is a computer controlled? (GC1, GC2, GC3)
   
3. understand the basic principles of networking and how they apply across the different types of networking technologies (mobile, wireless, internet). - e.g. How does a computer communicate? (GC1, GC2, GC3)
   
4. understand the evolution of technology and how that has created contemporary tools such as cloud computing, web 2.0 and social computing (GC1, GC2, GC3)
   
5. be able to critically analyse technological developments in IT to evaluate the practical possibilities of emerging technologies (e.g. in-vehicle communication, sensors network, and next-generation games). (GC2, GC3, GC4, GC7)

Key: Graduate Capabilities
GC1 - Knowledge and Skills
GC2 - Critical and Creative Thinking
GC3 - Communication
CG4 - Lifelong Learning
GC5 - Independence and Collaboration
GC6 - Social and Ethical Responsibility
GC7 - Leadership and Change

Content

This unit uses several contemporary technologies as case studies. These case studies are critically analysed during the semester to identify:

key components that define these as new technologies;

the target audience of the technologies;

user interaction models; and

how the technologies are being introduced into the market.

The analysis also looks at existing technologies that are central to the development of the case studies; this analysis examines the theoretical and engineering concepts involved in their development. The core technologies considered are:

Computer architecture;

Networking (the Internet).

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

The unit offers a hands-on approach to understanding key concepts in the development of several different technologies by working through steps in a series of laboratory sessions. The unit consists of a single one to two-hour lecture and one two-hour laboratory session per week. The unit aims at providing an introduction to Information Technologies that is accessible to students with different background knowledge. The lecture and associated notes will guide you through some of the scientific discoveries and the engineering required for significant technological achievements in the area of Information Technology. Your understanding of the material covered will be demonstrated during laboratories where you will have the opportunity to work closely with tutors and other students to investigate existing and future technologies.

Assessment

Your participation in weekly laboratories work will require understanding the technologies discussed in lectures and this will be assessed during practicals by evaluating whether your work has met predefined criteria. This assessment will provide most of your marks for the unit, with the remaining marks from an assignment due at the end of lectures.You will be provided with feedback during weekly laboratories where your active participation will assist you in developing material for exercises. While this participation will provide you with instantaneous feedback, further feedback will be provided to you via a critique of your practical submissions.

Assessment name: Report - Module 1
Description: Practical Outputs and Further Work for Module 1
Relates to objectives: 1 to 4
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group with Individual Component
Due date: Week 6

Assessment name: Report - Module 2
Description: Practical Outputs and Further Work for Module 2
Relates to objectives: 1 to 5
Weight: 35%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group with Individual Component
Due date: Week 10

Assessment name: Report - Module 3
Description: Description: Practical Outputs and Further Work for Module 3
Relates to objectives: 1 to 5
Weight: 35%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group with Individual Component
Due date: Week 14

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

There is no prescribed textbook; there will be readings from chapters in online books. (These will be made available through the QUT library and the course material database.) You will be expected to read widely from online resources to gain a good understanding of emerging technologies.

Other Resources
No extraordinary charges or costs are associated with the requirements for this unit.

Risk assessment statement

There are no unusual health or safety risks associated with this unit.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 25-Jun-2012