Understanding the Digital Revolution (Masters)

Unit Outline (Higher Education)

Level of Unit in Course

AQF Level(s) of Course

Level of Unit in Course

Introductory

Intermediate

Effective Term:

2024/05

Institute / School :

Institute of Innovation, Science & Sustainability

Unit Title:

Understanding the Digital Revolution (Masters)

Unit ID:

ITECH5100

Credit Points:

15.00

Prerequisite(s):

Nil

Co-requisite(s):

Nil

Exclusion(s):

(GPSIT1100 and ITECH1100)

ASCED:

029999

Other Change:

Brief description of the Unit

This unit provides students with a broad foundation in Information Technology (IT), and establishes its context in society currently, historically and into the future. Students will develop an understanding of IT as a process that collects, stores, transports and transforms data to provide information and streamline practices. The unit will cover the lifecycle of data and introduces students to topics such as hardware, software, operating systems, input and output, data storage and manipulation, coding, networking and security, and privacy.

Grade Scheme:

Graded (HD, D, C, P, MF, F, XF)

Work Experience Indicator:

No work experience

Placement Component:

Supplementary Assessment:Yes

Where supplementary assessment is available a student must have failed overall in the Unit but gained a final mark of 45 per cent or above, has completed all major assessment tasks (including all sub-components where a task has multiple parts) as specified in the Unit Description and is not eligible for any other form of supplementary assessment

Course Level:

Learning Outcomes:

Knowledge:

K1.	Explain the historical evolution of IT and the digital revolution, including key milestones and technological shifts in networking, hardware and software components.

K2.	Articulate the multifaceted impact of IT on broader societies, considering its influence on culture, ethics, economics, and governance, while also exploring future trends and challenges.

K3.	Relate the significance of data and knowledge to key information systems, emphasising their role in enabling data-driven decision-making to achieve organisational objectives.

K4.	Identify strategic applications of emerging technologies across various industries, highlighting their potential for transformation and impact on innovation and competitiveness.

Skills:

S1.	Formulate basic programming logic such as text transformation for simple data manipulation.

S2.	Interpret and construct representations of business data flow and processes, utilising modelling techniques to visualise operational workflows.

S3.	Critically reflect on legal and ethical considerations, including IT security and privacy and their implications for responsible technology use and decision-making.

Application of knowledge and skills:

A1.	Research complex problems in authentic business scenarios to propose various solutions and justify those decisions by engaging with academic literature.

A2.	Utilise business information software for data visualisation and analysis, extracting valuable insights to inform strategic decision-making and enhance organisational performance.

Unit Content:

Fundamental IT Concepts and Definitions;
IT Past, Present & Future;
IT Architecture, Infrastructure, and Systems;
Hardware, Software and Networks;
IT in context and Industry use;
Data Management, Artificial Intelligence and Business Intelligence;
Programming Structures, Constructs, Methodologies, and Tools;
Software Development
Ethical, Legal and Green Issues for IT;
Social Media;
Networks, Security & Privacy;
Project, Product and Service Management

Graduate Attributes:

Federation University recognises that students require key transferable employability skills to prepare them for their future workplace and society. FEDTASKS (Transferable Attributes Skills and Knowledge) provide a targeted focus on five key transferable Attributes, Skills, and Knowledge that are be embedded within curriculum, developed gradually towards successful measures and interlinked with cross-discipline and Co-operative Learning opportunities. One or more FEDTASK, transferable Attributes, Skills or Knowledge must be evident in the specified learning outcomes and assessment for each FedUni Unit, and all must be directly assessed in each Course.

FED TASK and descriptor		Development and acquisition of FEDTASKS in the Unit
FED TASK and descriptor		Learning outcomes (KSA)	Assessment task (AT#)
FEDTASK 1 Interpersonal	Students at this level will demonstrate an advanced ability in a range of contexts to effectively communicate, interact and work with others both individually and in groups. Students will be required to display high level skills in-person and/or online in: • Using and demonstrating a high level of verbal and non-verbal communication • Demonstrating a mastery of listening for meaning and influencing via active listening • Demonstrating and showing empathy for others • High order skills in negotiating and conflict resolution skills\\ • Demonstrating mastery of working respectfully in cross-cultural and diverse teams.	Not applicable	Not applicable
FEDTASK 2 Leadership	Students at this level will demonstrate a mastery in professional skills and behaviours in leading others. • Creating and sustaining a collegial environment • Demonstrating a high level of self -awareness and the ability to self-reflect and justify decisions • Inspiring and initiating opportunities to lead others • Making informed professional decisions • Demonstrating initiative in new professional situations.	Not applicable	Not applicable
FEDTASK 3 Critical Thinking and Creativity	Students at this level will demonstrate high level skills in working in complexity and ambiguity using the imagination to create new ideas. Students will be required to display skills in: • Reflecting critically to generate and consider complex ideas and concepts at an abstract level • Analysing complex and abstract ideas, concepts and information • Communicate alternative perspectives to justify complex ideas • Demonstrate a mastery of challenging conventional thinking to clarify complex concepts • Forming creative solutions in problem solving to new situations for further learning.	K1, K2, K3, A1	AT1
FEDTASK 4 Digital Literacy	Students at this level will demonstrate the ability to work competently across a wide range of tools, platforms and applications to achieve a range of tasks. Students will be required to display skills in: • Mastering, exploring, evaluating, managing, curating, organising and sharing digital information professionally • Collating, managing complex data, accessing and using digital data securely • Receiving and responding professionally to messages in a range of professional digital media • Contributing competently and professionally to digital teams and working groups • Participating at a high level in digital learning opportunities.	K4, S1, S2, A1, A2	AT2
FEDTASK 5 sustainable and Ethical Mindset	Students at this level will demonstrate a mastery of considering and assessing the consequences and impact of ideas and actions in enacting professional ethical and sustainable decisions. Students will be required to display skills in: • Demonstrate informed judgment making that considers the impact of devising complex solutions in ambiguous global economic environmental and societal contexts • Professionally committing to the promulgation of social responsibility • Demonstrate the ability to evaluate ethical, socially responsible and/or sustainable challenges and generating and articulating responses • Communicating lifelong, life-wide and life-deep learning to be open to the diverse professional others • Generating, leading and implementing required actions to foster sustainability in their professional and personal life	S3	AT2

	Learning Outcomes Assessed	Assessment Tasks	Assessment Type	Weighting
1.	S1, S2, S3, K1, K2, K3, K4	Tests and examinations covering a range of taught IT-related topics.	Tests & examinations	30% - 50%
2.	A1, A2, S1, S2, S3, K1, K2, K3. K4	Presentations and/or reports covering a range of IT-related topics and how they can disrupt industries and societies, supported by academic literature, and incorporating demonstrations of practical IT skills.	Assignments & presentations	50% - 70%

Adopted Reference Style:

APA ()

Professional Standards / Competencies:

Standard / Competency

Australian Computer Society - Core Body of Knowledge: 2023 accreditation

Attribute			Assessed	Level
Core ICT Knowledge
	ICT Fundamentals
		Computational thinking: situation analysis and modelling using a range of methods and patterns to frame it so a computer system could operate effectively within it	Yes	Intermediate
		Design thinking: methods and tools that are used for handling abstraction could vary a great deal with the branch of ICT, from circuit diagrams to data modelling tools to business process modelling	Yes	Intermediate
		Information processing in humans and machines, artificial intelligence	Yes	Intermediate
		History of computing and ICT, drivers of technology evolution and trends for the future	Yes	Intermediate
		Social and individual impacts of ICT deployment	Yes	Intermediate
	ICT Infrastructure
		ICT hardware components and organisation: the creation, communication and processing of digital signals using sensors and activators, processors and storage	Yes	Introductory
		Cyber-physical systems: process control, the internet of things, robotics, biometrics, autonomous vehicles, GPS	No	Introductory
		Network and internetwork concepts and protocols, wireless and mobile computing, cloud and distributed systems	Yes	Introductory
		Systems software and operating systems managing the architecture	Yes	Introductory
	Information & Data Science and Engineering
		Data modelling and semantics, relational data engineering processes	Yes	Introductory
	Computational Science and Engineering
		Nature of computational functions, states and transitions, procedural, declarative and artificial neural net approaches to creating computational functions, abstraction and virtualisation, complex and adaptive computing	No	Introductory
		Programming: programming language constructs, coding methods, scripts and apps, interfaces	No	Introductory
	Application Systems
		User experience: interface design, physical and cognitive ergonomics	Yes	Introductory
	Cyber Security
		Information assets to be secured (hardware, networks, software, data) and the different means of securing them, cryptography	Yes	Introductory
	ICT Management and Governance
		Digital transformation and disruption, change management	Yes	Intermediate
Professionalism as it applied in ICT
	Professional ICT Ethics
		Fundamental ethics notions (stakeholders, responsibility, harm, benefit, rights, virtues, duty, respect and consequences) and ethics theories	Yes	Intermediate
		Methods of ethical reasoning, analysis and reflection, ethics canvas	Yes	Intermediate
		Professional ethics issues: general professional issues such as conflict of interest, confidentiality	Yes	Intermediate
		ICT specific ethics issues: adverse stakeholder impacts of ICT, surveillance and privacy, data matching, autonomous computing, digital divide, etc.	Yes	Intermediate
		Integrity systems: the ACS Code of Professional Conduct, ethics committees and protections whistle	Yes	Intermediate
	Impacts of ICT
		Impacts of ICT on society (cyber warfare; surveillance, privacy and civil liberties, cybercrime and hacking, digital divide, technology reliance, intellectual property and legal issues)	Yes	Intermediate
		Impacts of ICT on organisations, workplaces, jobs and skills	Yes	Intermediate

Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA): Version 8

Attribute			Assessed	Level
Change and transformation
	Change analysis
		BUSA Business situation analysis (Levels 3 - 6) Investigating business situations to define recommendations for improvement action.	Yes	3
		BSMO Business modelling (Levels 2 - 6) Producing abstract or distilled representations of real-world, business or gaming situations.	Yes	3
		BPTS Acceptance testing (Levels 2 - 6) Validating systems, products, business processes or services to determine whether the acceptance criteria have been satisfied.	Yes	3
Development and implementation
	Systems development
		TEST Testing (Levels 1 - 6) Investigating products, systems and services to assess behaviour and whether this meets specified or unspecified requirements and characteristics.	Yes	3