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INFO1003: Foundations of Information Technology (2017 - Semester 2)

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Unit: INFO1003: Foundations of Information Technology (6 CP)
Mode: Normal-Day
On Offer: Yes
Level: Junior
Faculty/School: School of Computer Science
Unit Coordinator/s: Dr Poon, Josiah
Session options: Semester 1, Semester 2
Versions for this Unit:
Site(s) for this Unit: http://learn-on-line.ce.usyd.edu.au
Campus: Camperdown/Darlington
Pre-Requisites: None.
Prohibitions: INFO1000 OR INFO1903 OR ISYS1003 OR INFS1000.
Brief Handbook Description: Information technologies (IT) and systems have emerged as the primary platform to support communication, collaboration, research, decision making, and problem solving in contemporary organisations. The essential necessity for all university students to acquire the fundamental knowledge and skills for applying IT effectively for a wide range of tasks is widely recognised. It is an introductory unit of study which prepares students from any academic discipline to develop the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to be competent in the use of information technology for solving a variety of problems. The main focus of this unit is on modelling and problem solving through the effective use of using IT. Students will learn how to navigate independently to solve their problems on their own, and to be capable of fully applying the power of IT tools in the service of their goals in their own domains while not losing sight of the fundamental concepts of computing.

Students are taught core skills related to general purpose computing involving a range of software tools such as spreadsheets, database management systems, internet search engine, HTML, and JavaScript. Students will undertake practical tasks including authoring an interactive website using HTML, JavaScript and AJAX and building a small scale application for managing information. In addition, the course will address the many social, ethical, and intellectual property issues arising from the wide-spread use of information technology in our society.
Assumed Knowledge: None.
Lecturer/s: Dr Poon, Josiah
Tutor/s: Pauline Hor

Crystal Yoo

Joe Yin

Mahsa Bayat
Timetable: INFO1003 Timetable
Time Commitment:
# Activity Name Hours per Week Sessions per Week Weeks per Semester
1 Lecture 2.00 2 12
2 Laboratory 2.00 1 13
3 Workshop 1.00 1 10
4 Independent Study 6.00 13

Attributes listed here represent the key course goals (see Course Map tab) designated for this unit. The list below describes how these attributes are developed through practice in the unit. See Learning Outcomes and Assessment tabs for details of how these attributes are assessed.

Attribute Development Method Attribute Developed
Analysing and solving problems in an application development framework. Design (Level 1)
Familiarisation with general principles and practices of the IT discipline and develops basic skills in program design and conceptual modelling. Engineering/IT Specialisation (Level 1)
Computer based information analysis and visualisation, using Excel and standard DBMS software. Information Seeking (Level 1)
Basic proficiency in writing and presentation of web content. Communication (Level 1)
Understanding ethical and social aspects of information technology use.

Completion of group project.
Professional Conduct (Level 1)

For explanation of attributes and levels see Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table.

Learning outcomes are the key abilities and knowledge that will be assessed in this unit. They are listed according to the course goal supported by each. See Assessment Tab for details how each outcome is assessed.

Engineering/IT Specialisation (Level 1)
1. Understanding of modern concepts, principles and practical approaches to using information technology based on substantial realistic context.
2. Ability to analyse and solve problems through designing and developing application by effective use of standard software packages graphical user interfaces, internet search tools, word processor, spreadsheet, databases and HTML editor)
3. Ability to develop on-line application using HTML, JavaScript and AJAX
4. Ability to develop simple conceptual data models and manage data using appropriate DBMS software
5. Ability to develop models and implement models using tools such as Microsoft Excel.
6. Experience of document and content management systems.
Professional Conduct (Level 1)
7. Understanding of the ethical and social impact of information and information technology
8. Experience in teamwork, planning, communication and co-ordination
Assessment Methods:
# Name Group Weight Due Week Outcomes
1 Quiz 1 No 10.00 Week 7 1, 2, 5,
2 Quiz 2 No 10.00 Week 13 4,
3 Web project Yes 25.00 Multiple Weeks 3, 6, 7, 8,
4 Final Exam No 50.00 Exam Period 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7,
5 Online quizzes No 5.00 Multiple Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
Assessment Description: Lab Skills: Students have to do the Lab Book exercises through out the whole semester. Specific sections will be marked off each week.

Quiz 1 is about basic computing concept, HTML/CSS and Javascripting.

Quiz 2 has more focus on the ERD and database concepts, forecasting and optimization using Spreadsheets.

Assignment: It is an Internet Assignment - Group Project with three milestones in Week 5 (Conceptual Design), Week 9 (Peer Review) and Week 12 (Final Presentation)

Final Exam: Written examination (two hours)
Grading:
Grade Type Description
Standards Based Assessment Final grades in this unit are awarded at levels of HD for High Distinction, DI (previously D) for Distinction, CR for Credit, PS (previously P) for Pass and FA (previously F) for Fail as defined by University of Sydney Assessment Policy. Details of the Assessment Policy are available on the Policies website at http://sydney.edu.au/policies . Standards for grades in individual assessment tasks and the summative method for obtaining a final mark in the unit will be set out in a marking guide supplied by the unit coordinator.
Minimum Pass Requirement It is a policy of the School of Computer Science that in order to pass this unit, a student must achieve at least 40% in the written examination. For subjects without a final exam, the 40% minimum requirement applies to the corresponding major assessment component specified by the lecturer. A student must also achieve an overall final mark of 50 or more. Any student not meeting these requirements may be given a maximum final mark of no more than 45 regardless of their average.
Special Conditions to Pass UoS INFO1003 requires a minimum attendance of 80% at the labs. Attendance will be kept. Failure to meet the minimum attendance requirements will result in an immediate failure. Late attendance will not be counted.
Policies & Procedures: IMPORTANT: School policy relating to Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism.

In assessing a piece of submitted work, the School of IT may reproduce it entirely, may provide a copy to another member of faculty, and/or to an external plagiarism checking service or in-house computer program and may also maintain a copy of the assignment for future checking purposes and/or allow an external service to do so.

Other policies

See the policies page of the faculty website at http://sydney.edu.au/engineering/student-policies/ for information regarding university policies and local provisions and procedures within the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies.
Online Course Content: http://learn-on-line.ce.usyd.edu.au

Note that the "Weeks" referred to in this Schedule are those of the official university semester calendar https://web.timetable.usyd.edu.au/calendar.jsp

Week Description
Week 1 Unit Introduction
IT Ethics
Week 2 Hypermedia Technologies
Introduction to HTML
Week 3 User/Task-Driven Design
User Interface
Week 4 CSS Concepts
CSS Positioning and Layout
Week 5 JavaScript: Introduction
Javascript: Control Statements
Week 6 Javascript: Functions
Database: Data Modelling
Week 7 JavaScript: Functions (Event)
Database: Conceptual Model
Assessment Due: Quiz 1
Week 8 Javascript: DOM / AJAX
Database: Physical Model
Week 9 NO CLASS: Labour Day
Week 10 Javascript:Web Storage
Database: SQL
Week 11 Spreadsheet: Forecasting
Spreadsheet: Scenario
Week 12 Spreadsheet: Optimization 1
Spreadsheet: Optimization 2
Week 13 Information Visualisation
Revision
Assessment Due: Quiz 2
Exam Period Assessment Due: Final Exam

Course Relations

The following is a list of courses which have added this Unit to their structure.

Course Year(s) Offered
Bachelor of Computer Science and Technology (Computer Science) 2014 and earlier 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Bachelor of Computer Science and Technology (Information Systems) 2014 and earlier 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Civil Engineering / Design in Architecture 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Electrical Engineering (Telecommunications) / Law 2011, 2012, 2013
Civil / Design in Architecture 2015
Bachelor of Computer Science and Technology 2015, 2016, 2017
Bachelor of Computer Science and Technology (Advanced) 2015, 2016, 2017
Bachelor of Computer Science & Tech. Mid-Year 2016, 2017
Aeronautical Engineering / Science 2014
Aeronautical Engineering (Space) / Science 2014
Biomedical Engineering / Science 2014
Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering / Science 2014
Civil Engineering / Science 2014
Electrical Engineering / Science 2014
Electrical Engineering (Computer) / Science 2014
Electrical Engineering (Power) / Science 2014
Electrical Engineering (Telecommunications) / Science 2014
Aeronautical / Science 2015, 2016, 2017
Aeronautical (Space) / Science 2015
Biomedical /Science 2015, 2016, 2017
Chemical & Biomolecular / Science 2015
Civil / Science 2015
Electrical / Science 2015
Mechanical / Science 2015, 2016, 2017
Mechanical (Space) / Science 2015
Mechatronic / Science 2015, 2016, 2017
Mechatronic (Space) / Science 2015
Software Mid-Year 2016, 2017, 2018
Software 2015, 2016, 2017
Software / Science 2015
Mechanical Engineering / Science 2014
Mechanical Engineering (Space) / Science 2014
Mechatronic Engineering / Science 2014
Mechatronic Engineering (Space) / Science 2014
Software Engineering / Arts 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Software Engineering / Commerce 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Software Engineering / Medical Science 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Software Engineering / Project Management 2012, 2013, 2014
Software Engineering / Science 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Software Engineering / Law 2014
Bachelor of Information Technology 2015, 2016, 2017
Bachelor of Information Technology/Bachelor of Arts 2015, 2016, 2017
Flexible First Year (Stream A) / Science 2014
Flexible First Year (Stream B) / Science 2014
Bachelor of Information Technology/Bachelor of Commerce 2015, 2016, 2017
Bachelor of Information Technology/Bachelor of Medical Science 2015, 2016, 2017
Bachelor of Information Technology/Bachelor of Science 2015, 2016, 2017
Bachelor of Information Technology/Bachelor of Laws 2015, 2016, 2017

Course Goals

This unit contributes to the achievement of the following course goals:

Attribute Practiced Assessed
Project and Team Skills (Level 1) No 0%
Design (Level 1) Yes 0%
Engineering/IT Specialisation (Level 1) Yes 78.92%
Information Seeking (Level 1) Yes 0%
Communication (Level 1) Yes 0%
Professional Conduct (Level 1) Yes 21.09%

These goals are selected from Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table which defines overall goals for courses where this unit is primarily offered. See Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table for details of the attributes and levels to be developed in the course as a whole. Percentage figures alongside each course goal provide a rough indication of their relative weighting in assessment for this unit. Note that not all goals are necessarily part of assessment. Some may be more about practice activity. See Learning outcomes for details of what is assessed in relation to each goal and Assessment for details of how the outcome is assessed. See Attributes for details of practice provided for each goal.