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

This unit is designed for first year, first semester students. This unit will provide you with an appreciation of the diversity of technical and professional skills required to be successful in the ICT Industry. This requires the capability to work on IT projects both individually as well as collaboratively in a team environment, working creatively and in an ethical manner. ICT professionals also require essential information literacy skills to efficiently and effectively retrieve, review, critically apply and use information in innovation projects.

Aims

This unit aims to develop your professional skills through an innovation team project for a specific industry. This will increase your awareness of the career possibilities in the ICT industry so that you can select an area of ICT specialisation. The activities in this unit will also equip you with some of the essential skills required of an ICT professional. The unit will also introduce you to the inter-disciplinary nature of ICT careers.

Objectives

On completion of this unit you should have developed:

1. A broad understanding of the ICT industry (GC1)
   
2. A broad understanding of the technical and professional skills required on ICT professionals. (GC1, GC4)
   
3. Skills to participate effectively both as an individual and as a collaborative team member in a project (GC3, GC5, CG7)
   
4. Skills to use information creatively, and reflectively in order to learn (GC1, GC2, GC4)
   
5. An appreciation of entrepreneurial opportunities in the discipline (GC2, GC7)
   
6. An understanding and appreciation of the ethical issues pertinent to the profession (GC6)
   
7. An ability to communicate effectively and professionally in written and oral form, including the retrieval and correct use of appropriate and relevant sources of information (GC3, GC4)
   
8. Skills in creative and innovative thinking (GC2).

Key: Graduate Capabilities
GC1 - Knowledge and Skills
GC2 - Critical and Creative Thinking
GC3 - Communication
GC4 - Lifelong Learning
GC5 - Independence and Collaboration
GC6 - Social and Ethical Responsibility
GC7 - Leadership and Change

Content

This unit introduces you to the ICT industry expectations of technical and professional skills of an ICT professional. This will be achieved by your active participation in industry briefings on their technical and professional skill requirement in their specific company. You will develop a deeper understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses and be given an opportunity to develop professional skills applied in a team based IT project which details opportunities in a specific industry or develops a concept for an ICT driven innovation. Through this team project, you will acquire the skills and knowledge required to participate as an individual and as an effective team member, learning how to critically reflect upon information to ensure you acquire high quality resources to utilise in your project. You will also be introduced to professional ethical issues and project management.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

This unit runs weekly during the semester from Week 1 to Week 13. There are lectures which develop your understanding of industry requirements for ICT professional and presents the techniques required to support your professional skill development. In addition, there are weekly workshops designed to develop these professional skills through the ICT project development. Workshops commence week 1. There will be an Industry Insight Conference in week 4 which will allow you to engage with representatives from specific organisations or activities. There will be a Profession Skills Conference in week 6 which develops an understanding of critical professional skills. Attendance at these conferences is required as is attendance at all workshops. Though a variety of online learning tools and modules will be used, you should attend all lectures. Finally, learning occurs through the assessment elements.

Lead Tutor: Mr. Richard Medland

NOTE: For any enquiries relating to the unit, please email: INB103@qut.edu.au

Assessment

You will submit your written assessments through the Assignment minder and online submissions via QUT Blackboard. Further details will be announced during the lectures. You are expected to work on the assignments independently, but you can ask for assistance from the teaching staff. There are three assessment items, which are described below.You can obtain feedback on your progress throughout the unit through the following mechanisms:
- Ask the teaching staff for advice and assistance during lectures and practical sessions
- Your major assignments and/ or marking guides will be returned to you (normally 2 weeks from the submission date) with comments on your progress
- Consultation hours are available to clarify the contents of the assignment and to provide constructive feedback
- Most practical activities are designed to provide early feedback for your assessment tasks

Assessment name: Portfolio
Description: Accumulation of artefacts collected during the workshop activities completed throughout the semester. See the week 1 document for due dates.
Relates to objectives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Throughout Semester

Assessment name: Quiz/Test
Description: A quiz on the key theoretical elements covered in the unit.
Relates to objectives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Weight: 20%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 10

Assessment name: Project (applied)
Description: This is a team assignment proposing an ICT innovation or undertaking an ICT innovation. Parts of the team project are due throughout the semester. There are three parts to this assessment item, due approximately in week 5, 8 and 13. The first part is completed in pairs. The remainder of this assessment is completed in teams of 4 students. second part is due presents a refinement of the material previously presented. The last component is due in week 13. Penalty marks apply for poor performance in teams. Non-performing team members will be assigned an individual assignment worth a maximum 20% weight to the unit as teamwork is a major element being assessed in this assessment item. See the week 1 document for due dates.
Relates to objectives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Weight: 50%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group
Due date: Throughout Semester

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

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

Required text:
There is no set text for this unit. Most home work tasks are set around freely available university modules and resources and will be made available through the unit's Blackboard site.

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: 19-Oct-2012