DRAFT

Students should check the subject’s web site regularly as important information, including details of unavoidable changes in assessment requirements will be posted from time to time. Any information posted to the web site is deemed to have been notified to all students.

Content

This subject aims to develop academic skills relevant to postgraduate studies and postgraduate writing in Information Technology and Computer Science. Students will develop an understanding of disciplinary expectations and requirements and the development of skills in critical listening, reading and analysis of text and data, the development of academic argument and the communication of text, data and analysis in written and spoken form. Students will also develop skills in locating, evaluating, and effectively using information appropriately in postgraduate studies. Topics covered include; • Critical reading in software engineering, network management, multimedia and content management • Analysis and evaluation of problems and solutions in Computer Science and Information Technology.

Objectives

On successful completion, students will be able to:

1.Describe the current major business applications & critically assess their suitability for specific business environments.

2.Describe current software development methods & tools & critically assess their suitability for specific development environments.

3.Describe recent developments in networking & telecommunications & critically assess their suitability for various personal, business & organisational settings.

4.Describe recent developments in computer operating systems, computers, & other computerised devices & critically assess their suitability for a variety of uses.

5.Critically evaluate the impact of ICT on individuals, businesses & on society.

6.Identify & use a variety of writing styles commonly used in PG studies in IT & Computer Science.

7.Access information & sources efficiently.

8.Critically evaluate whether generalisations are warranted & demonstrate the ability to assess the plausibility of conceptual arguments.

Attendance Requirements

It is the responsibility of students to attend all lectures/tutorials/labs/seminars/practical work for subjects for which you are enrolled.

Attendance and participation in lectures, tutorials and web-mediated activities is a requirement for the successful completion of this course. Failure to do so may result in a fail grade being recorded. A good indicator of satisfactory attendance is approximately 80% of the allocated contact hours. Attendance per se is not an assessable component of the course.

It should be noted that according to Course Rule 003{Interpretation Point 2 (t)} each credit point for a single session subject has the value of about two hours per week including class attendance. Therefore, the amount of time spent on each 6 credit point subject should be at least 12 hours per week, which includes lectures/tutorials/labs etc

Satisfactory attendance is deemed to be attendance at approximately 80%* of the allocated contact hours. Attendance rolls may be kept for lectures, TUTORIALS and laboratories. If you are present for less than 80%* you need to apply for special consideration, otherwise a fail grade may be recorded.

Students MUST attend their allocated tutorial unless they have the written permission of the subject coordinator.

Tutorial Attendance

Tutorials will commence in week two (2) and continue until week thirteen (13). Satisfactory attendance at lectures, tutorials and seminars is a requirement for the successful completion of this subject. Failure to comply may result in a fail grade being recorded. Satisfactory attendance is deemed to be attendance at approximately 80% of the allocated contact hours. If you miss a tutorial for legitimate reasons you must apply for special consideration through SOLs and contact the subject coordinator as soon as possible if alternative arrangements are required.

Signed rolls will be used to ascertain attendance at tutorials. It is YOUR responsibility to sign rolls each week. Attendance rolls may not be signed outside of your allocated tutorial time.

Lecture Schedule

Week	Lecture Topic	Tutorial Activity	Assignment Due
Week	Lecture Topic	Tutorial Activity	Critical Summary	Oral	Written
1	Introduction Subject Structure	NO TUTORIAL
2	Critical Reading and Writing, Reading for Argumentation	EndNote Tutorial in library
3	Introduction to Presentation Skills and Group Work Skills	Critical Summary Worksheet and Template
4	Referencing and Plagiarism Annotated Bibliographies	Presentation Preparation	CS1
5	Critical Comparisons and Argument Development	Group Presentations 20 minutes	CS2	Group: Research Tools
6	Essay writing	Argument Identification & Development Worksheet	CS3		Individual: Annotated Bibliography
Mid session Break
7	Principles of Poster Design and Graphical Layout	Critical Comparison Worksheet	CS4
8	DTP with MS Office Applications	Essays Worksheet	CS5		Individual: Critical Comparison and Argument Table
9	Literature Reviews	Flip Chart Presentation	CS6	Individual: Flip Chart	Individual: Essay
10	Case Studies and business cases	Lit Review Worksheet	CS7
11	Strategic Plans	Poster Preparation	CS8		Individual: Literature Review
12	User Guides	Poster Presentation	CS9	Individual: Poster
13	Exam Preparation Techniques	Persuasive Presentation	CS10	Group: Persuasive	Group: Business Case and Strategic Plan

Method of Presentation

This subject will be delivered in face to face mode. It is not available in distance education mode. The availability of lectures notes and other course materials online is NOT a substitute for attendance at lectures.

Subject Materials

References

(1) Craswell, Gail (2005) Writing for academic success : a postgraduate guide (Library Call No - 808.066/67)

(2) Hart, Chris (1998) Doing a literature review : releasing the social science research imagination (Library Call No - 300.72/187)

(3) P. J. Hurley (2000) A concise introduction to logic, (Library Call No – 174.9004/3)

(4) McLaren, Stephen (1997) Easy writer; A Student Guide to Writing Essays and Reports (Library Call No - 808.042/158)

(5) McLaren, Stephen (2003) Writing essays and reports (Library Call No - 808.02/140)

(6) Paul, Richard (2002) Critical thinking [electronic resource] : tools for taking charge of your professional and personal life, Available through Safari Tech Books online

(7) Tavani, Herman (2004) Ethics and technology : ethical issues in an age of information and communication technology (Library Call No – 160/289)

Additional Readings will be provided during lectures and tutorials.

These readings/references are recommended only and are not intended to be an exhaustive list. Students are encouraged to use the library catalogue and databases to locate additional readings.

Assessment

This subject has the following assessment components.

Assessment Items & Format

Percentage of Final Mark

Due Date

Individual: Critical Summaries	10 * 1%	Hard copy in tutorials weeks 4 to 13 Electronic copy of EndNote library file and summary via UoW eLearning each Friday weeks 4 to 13 at 5:00pm
Individual Report: Annotated Bibliography	15%	Hard copy in lecture week 6 Electronic copy of EndNote library file and annotated bibliography via UoW eLearning Friday 6 April 2007 at 5:00pm
Individual Report: Critical Comparison and Argument Table	10%	Hard copy in tutorial week 8 Electronic copy of EndNote library file and Critical Comparison via UoW eLearning Friday 27 April 2007 at 5:00pm
Individual Report: Essay	10%	Hard copy in tutorial week 9 Electronic copy of EndNote Library file and Essay via UoW eLearning Friday 4 May 2007 at 5:00pm
Individual Report: Literature Review	15%	Hard copy in tutorial week 11 Electronic copy of EndNote library file and literature review via UoW eLearning Friday 18 May 2007 at 5:00pm
Group Report: Business Case and Strategic Plan	20%	Hard copy in tutorial week 13 Electronically via UoW eLearning Friday 1 June 2007 at 5:00pm
Group presentation: PowerPoint	5%	Oral presentation and hard copy of summary sheet during tutorial class week 5 Electronic copy of PowerPoint file and summary via UoW eLearning Friday 30 March 2007 at 5:00pm
Individual Presentation: Flip Chart	5%	Oral & Written presentation during tutorial classes week 9
Individual Presentation: Poster	5%	Oral & Poster presentation during tutorial classes week 12 Electronic copy of Poster file via UoW eLearning Friday 25 May 2007 at 5:00pm
Group presentation: Persuasive	5%	Oral presentation during tutorial classes week 13 Electronic copy of Presentation file and summary via UoW eLearning Friday 1 June 2007 at 5:00pm

Notes on Assessment

Submission of Assessment Items

All assessment work is to be submitted during your allocated tutorial unless otherwise noted.
If you cannot submit an assessment item during your tutorial then it must be submitted to the subject coordinator as soon as possible. Late submission of assessment items MUST be accompanied by a special consideration application via SOLs.
All submissions must be accompanied by an Assignment Cover Sheet. This is available in hard copy from the student enquiry centre in building three or online at http://www.itacs.uow.edu.au/info/current/coversheet.pdf

Return of Assessment Items

All assignments, except the Final Report will be returned to students in tutorials.
The Final Report will be available from the subject coordinator after being marked.

Penalties for late submission of Assessment Items

Penalties apply to all late work, except if special consideration has been granted. Late submissions will attract a penalty of 10% of the assessment mark per day including weekends. Work more than 7 days late will be awarded a mark of zero.
Your tutor cannot grant you an extension.

Requests for extensions should be emailed to the lecturer or coordinator, prior to the due date.

Special consideration

Special consideration applications must be submitted via SOLs and medical certificates or supporting documentation shown to the subject coordinator as well as to the Academic Registrar’s Division.

Electronic submission of Assessment Items

· Electronic submissions, except via the UoW eLearning submission process, eg. faxes and un-receipted mail submissions will NOT be accepted.

· All assignments will be submitted in hard copy as well as electronically via UoW eLearning as indicated above.

· Electronic submissions format will be a PDF file accompanied by an endnote library file as indicated above.

Participation

· Students are required to participate in tutorials. This means not only attending and listening to the tutorial presentations, but contributing insights to the discussion.

Additional Information

Students must refer to the Faculty Handbook or online references which contains a range of policies on educational issues and student matters.

Plagiarism

When you submit an assessment task, you are declaring the following

1. It is your own work and you did not collaborate with or copy from others.

2. You have read and understand your responsibilities under the University of Wollongong's policy on plagiarism.

3. You have not plagiarised from published work (including the internet). Where you have used the work from others, you have referenced it in the text and provided a reference list at the end ot the assignment.

4. Plagiarism will not be tolerated.

5. Students are responsible for submitting original work for assessment, without plagiarising or cheating, abiding by the University’s policies on Plagiarism as set out in the Calendar under University Policies, and in Faculty handbooks and subject guides. Plagiarism has led to the expulsion from the University.

This outline should be read in conjunction with the following documents:

Code of Practice - Teaching and Assessment

http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/codesofprac/teaching_code.html

Key Dates

http://www.uow.edu.au/student/dates.html

Code of Practice - Students

http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/codesofprac/cop_students.html

Information Literacies Introduction Program

http://www.library.uow.edu.au/helptraining/workshops/ilip/

Acknowledgement Practice Plagiarism will not be tolerated

http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/courserules/plagiarism.html

Student Academic Grievance Policy

http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/codesofprac/cop_supervision.html#8

Special Consideration Policy

http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/courserules/specialconsideration.html

Code of Practice-Honours

http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/honourscode.html

Non-Discriminatory Language Practice and Presentation

http://staff.uow.edu.au/eeo/nondiscrimlanguage.html

Intellectual Property Policy

http://www.uow.edu.au/research/researchmanagement/1998IP.html

Occupational Health and Safety

http://staff.uow.edu.au/ohs/commitment/OHS039-ohspolicy.pdf

SISAT Internet Access & Student Resource Centre

http://www.SISAT.uow.edu.au/info/current/internet_access_and_resource.shtml

SISAT Computer Usage Rules

http://www.itacs.uow.edu.au/info/current/support/labs/rules.shtml

SISAT Style Guide for Footnotes, Documentation, Essay and Report Writing

http://www.SISAT.uow.edu.au/info/current/styleguide.pdf

SISAT Student Guide

http://www.itacs.uow.edu.au/info/current/regulations.shtml

Informatics Faculty Librarian, Ms Annette Meldrum, phone: 4221 4637,ameldrum@uow.edu.au

SISAT Subject Outlines

http://www.itacs.uow.edu.au/info/current/subject_outlines/

Subject Coordinator	Mr Bob Brown
Telephone Number:	TBA
Email:	bobbrown@uow.edu.au
Location:	39.217

Day	Time
Thursday	12:30 – 14:30
Friday	12:30 – 14:30

Session:	Autumn session, Wollongong Campus
Credit Points	6 credit points
Contact hours per week:	2 hrs lecture,2 hrs tutorial
Lecture Times & Location:	Thursday 14:30 – 16 30 35G45
Tutorial Day, Time and Location can be found at:	http://www.uow.edu.au/student/sols/timetables/index.html

SISAT

General Information