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COMP1200 Description

The computer has transformed our world. Its ability to process, store, and communicate information is enormous. Also, the pace at which different technologies are invented, employed, and made redundant is furious. This makes working as a computing professional both challenging and interesting. It also makes having an overall view to provide a perspective on the computing discipline vital. The intent of "Perspectives on Computing" is to provide students with such a perspective.

This course provides a framework to embed your computing studies. It is divided up into 6 modules: Computer Architecture, Operating Systems and Networks, Computation, The History of Computing, Software Engineering, and Information Systems and Information Technology Issues. These modules will focus on different aspects of computing. The lecture series will cover all of these modules and will also include a number of lectures relating to professional topics.

This course also consists of tutorials and laboratories. The tutorials will enhance your understanding of the topics covered in the lectures. The laboratories will be run by people from the Information Literacy Group, and Academic Skills and Learning Centre. The focus will be on learning how to produce a well-researched, well-structured, properly referenced technical report incorporating tables and graphs, and on issues such as plagiarism. Although the skills learnt in these labs are general and may be applied generally within academia, the content of the research and reports will will relate to the topics covered in this course.

Syllabus

This course presents the important concepts in the computing discipline and places them in context, in order to introduce the nature of the computing profession and the education of a computing professional.

The course covers the following topics, through case studies:

• Abstractions and the user view: the interactive machine, the stored-program machine, data, programming languages and virtual machines, computational objects.
• Applications of computer systems: personal computation, application software, information systems, knowledge-based systems, real-time control.
• Computer systems and their environment: the personal computer, networked computers and concurrency, the world-wide web.
• The nature of the computing discipline: mathematical theory, scientific experimentation and engineering design.
• Professional issues: the engineering of software systems, the client focus, professional ethics.
• Educational issues: curriculum issues, the ANU experience.

Assessment

The final mark is composed of two components, the class mark (C) and the exam mark (E), with the class mark worth 30% and the exam mark 70%, of the total assessment. The class mark and the exam mark will be given as a mark out of 100. Note that consistent scaling across all students may occur with these marks. The final mark will also be given as a mark out of 100 and will be calculated using the following formula:

Final Mark = 0.3*C + 0.7*E, if (C >= 40 and E >= 40)
= min (0.3*C + 0.7*E, C+10, E+10), otherwise

The minimum final mark required for a pass grade is 50. In addition, the above marking scheme ensures that students must obtain at least 40% in each component to pass the course.

The class mark, as stated earlier, is out of 100 and consists of the following components:

• Tutorial Preparation and Participation Mark - 10
• Lab Mark - 10
• Assignment 1 - Group report - 30 (Due Week 8)
• Assignment 2 - Individual Report - 50 (Due Week 12)

The exam mark is also out of 100 and consists of the following components:

• Mid-Semester Examination - 20 (Week 7)
• Final Exam - 80

Supplementary exams will be awarded only to those students who meet the following criteria:

He/she has obtained a final mark between 45 and 49, and by getting a bare pass (50) in the supplementary exam, will pass the course. (This will require a class mark of 50 or over.)

Mid-Semester Examination

The mid-semester examination will be in week 7 and will cover material contained in the modules: Computer Architecture, Operating Systems and Networks, and Computation. The details of time/location of the mid-semester exam will be announced once they are finalized.

Note that there will be no supplementary mid-semester exam. If you miss this exam due to sickness or misadventure, then you should write a letter (not email) to the Lecturer in Charge, stating the reason for missing the exam and attaching any supporting documentation (e.g., medical certificate). The letter should be written and sent as soon as possible after (or before) the exam (normally within a week). Students who are granted consideration will be given a mark for the mid-semester exam based on their final exam mark.