Computers: Communication and Society

Course aim

To provide students with a foundation of Information Literacy knowledge and skills that can be built upon throughout their University careers; to enable students to understand and use computer technology to support undergraduate learning; to enable students to use computer technology to solve problems in information management.

Course content

Computers: Central processing unit, input and output devices, secondary storage, applications and systems software, files and databases, programming languages, history of computing, industrial and commercial applications.   Information Systems: Systems Life Cycle, analysis, applications design, implementation and evaluation of solutions to problems from appropriate domains. Communication: Introduction to networks and the Internet, E-Mail, World Wide Web and other network services.   Social and Ethical Issues: Computers and privacy, security of information, software ownership, adaptive technology for the assistance of the incapacitated, professional responsibility, computers in modern warfare, human disasters caused through software faults, the 'seduction of technology', and social practice on the Internet.   Globalisation of Technology: Utopian and dystopian views of a new world order, the commercialisation of information, 'information barons', distributive justice ('information rich' and 'information poor') global citizenship networks.   Practical Skills: Windows, word processing, spreadsheets, database management package usage, presentation sofware, networking, information literacy and the library.

Textbook(s)

Nil

Prerequisite(s)

Nil

Corequisite(s)

Nil

Teaching method

Note: These components may or may not be scheduled in every study period. Please refer to the timetable for further details.

Assessment

Journal: part 1, Journal: part 2, Report

Fees

EFTSL*: 0.125
Commonwealth Supported program (Band 2)
To determine the fee for this course as part of a Commonwealth Supported program, go to:
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Fee-paying program for domestic and international students
International students and students undertaking this course as part of a postgraduate fee paying program must refer to the relevant program home page to determine the cost for undertaking this course.

Non-award enrolment
Non-award tuition fees are set by the university. To determine the cost of this course, go to:
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Not all courses are available on all of the above bases, and students must check to ensure that they are permitted to enrol in a particular course.

* Equivalent Full Time Study Load. Please note: all EFTSL values are published and calculated at ten decimal places. Values are displayed to three decimal places for ease of interpretation.