Module 18519 (2011)
Syllabus page 2011/2012
06-18519
Communication Skills & Professional Issues
Level 2/I
Links | Outline | Aims | Outcomes | Prerequisites | Teaching | Assessment | Books | Detailed Syllabus
The Module Description is a strict subset of this Syllabus Page. (The University module description has not yet been checked against the School's.)
Relevant Links
Outline
The module introduces students to ethical, social, legal and professional issues in computing in combination with report writing skills. Student participation is an important component of the module, both in researching and presenting material. Some lectures are given by external speakers with appropriate professional experience.
Aims
The aims of this module are to:
- encourage consideration of ethical, social, legal and professional issues in computing
- improve students' report writing skills
Learning Outcomes
| On successful completion of this module, the student should be able to: | Assessed by: | |
| 1 | identify and describe ethical, social, legal and professional issues in computing | Continuous Assessment |
| 2 | discuss these issues in a balanced and lucid way | Continuous Assessment |
| 3 | make good presentations of views in a formal report format | Continuous Assessment |
Restrictions, Prerequisites and Corequisites
Restrictions:
None
Prerequisites:
None
Co-requisites:
None
Teaching
Teaching Methods:
Formal lecture-format presentations by module staff and visiting lecturers, group work.
Contact Hours:
Assessment
- Sessional: Continuous assessment (100%).
- Supplementary (where allowed): Repeat only.
- The normal assessment consists of an individual report and group presentation material.
Recommended Books
| Title | Author(s) | Publisher, Date |
| The Essence of Professional Issues in Computing | Robert Ayres | Prentice Hall, 1999 |
| Ethics for the Information Age | Michael J. Quinn | Addison Wesley, 2005 |
| A Gift of Fire | Sara Baase | Prentice Hall, 2003 |
| Students Must Write | Robert Barrass | Routledge, 1995 |
| Plain English | Diane Collinson, Gillian Kirkup, Robyn Kyd and Lynne Slocombe | The Open University, 1992 |
| The Macmillan Guide to English Grammar | Rosalind Fergusson & Martin H Manser | Macmillan, 1998 |
| English Grammar | Richard Hudson | Routledge, 1998 |
| The Age of Access: Information Technology and Social Revolution. Posthumous Papers of Colin Cherry | Edited by William Edmondson | Croom Helm, 1985 |
| Professional Issues in Software Engineering | Frank Bott, Allison Coleman, Jack Eaton & Diane Rowland | UCL Press, 1996 |
| Introduction to Computer Law | D I Bainbridge | Pitman, 1996 |
| Ethics and Computing | Kevin W Bowyer | IEEE, 1995 |
| Intellectual Property Rights in Software | N/A | BCS, 2000 |
| Data Protection -- a practical guide | N/A | BCS, 2000 |
| Hackers: Crime and the Digitally Sublime | Paul A Taylor | Routledge, 1999 |
Detailed Syllabus
-
Communication Skills
- Presentation skills
- Written skills, including reports, documentation, manuals; press release, CV, web; code and commenting, lab notebooks
- Interaction skills, including requirements elicitation, iterative development, teamwork
- Professional Issues
- Social aspects/impacts
- Legal framework
- Ethical aspects
- Professional behaviour, duties & responsibilities
Last updated: 2 December 2008
Source file: /internal/modules/COMSCI/2011/xml/18519.xml
Links | Outline | Aims | Outcomes | Prerequisites | Teaching | Assessment | Books | Detailed Syllabus