ITEC217 - Programming Concepts

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Nil

Incompatible

ISYS217 Programming Concepts,ITED217 Programming Concepts

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

Computer programs are widely used to drive practical business applications. As a result, global demand for people with programming skills is increasing. Programmers are commonly required to ethically maintain legacy code, to develop new applications to make business competitive and to improve software security. This unit introduces students to key concepts of computer program design and development using appropriate data structures, control structures and functions. In addition, students will learn object-oriented programming and basic testing and debugging skills. The aim of this unit is to introduce the basics of a modern programming language for building simple software applications involving objects and functional components. Hence by studying this unit students will be able to support the common good of mankind by overcoming chronic shortages of programmers to drive modern business applications.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Demonstrate knowledge of programming concepts, structures, tools, terminology and format through consistent problem solving and program implementation (GA5, GA10)

LO2 - Implement basic to advanced programming concepts including program structures, control structures, data structures and software structures through reflective and analytical programming (GA4, GA5)

LO3 - Analyse real-life applications and programs using object-oriented concepts and appropriate programming structures and tools (GA5, GA8)

LO4 - Design object-oriented programming solutions for real-life practical systems to meet stakeholder needs and the responsibility to the common good (GA2, GA5)

Graduate attributes

GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA10 - utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively.

Content

Topics will include:

• Introduction to computers, programs and Java
• Programming terminology and concepts
• Elementary programming: identifiers, variables, constants, and operators
• Elementary program logic: selections and loops
• Elementary data types: numbers, strings and arrays
• System and Text I/O
• Functions and methods
• Objects and classes
• Object-oriented thinking
• Inheritance and polymorphism
• Exception handling and testing
• Programming solutions to stakeholder needs and the common good 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit can be offered in different modes. These are: “Attendance” mode, “Blended” mode and “Online” mode. This unit is offered in three modes to cater for the learning needs and preferences of a range of participants and maximise effective participation for isolated and/or marginalised groups.

Attendance Mode

In a weekly attendance mode, students will require face-to-face attendance in specific physical or online location/s. Students will have face-to-face interactions with lecturer(s) or lab demonstrators to further their achievement of the learning outcomes. This unit is structured with required upfront preparation before workshops, most students report that they spend an average of one hour preparing before the workshop and one or more hours after the workshop practicing and revising what was covered. The online learning platforms used in this unit provide multiple forms of preparatory and practice opportunities for students to prepare and revise.

Blended Mode

In a blended mode, students will require face-to-face attendance in blocks of time determined by the School. Students will have face-to-face interactions with lecturer(s) to further their achievement of the learning outcomes. This unit is structured with required upfront preparation before workshops. The online learning platforms used in this unit provide multiple forms of preparatory and practice opportunities for students to prepare and revise.

Online Mode

The online mode uses an active learning approach to support students in the exploration of knowledge essential to the discipline. Students are provided with choice and variety in how they learn. Students are encouraged to contribute to asynchronous weekly discussions. Active learning opportunities provide students with opportunities to practice and apply their learning in situations similar to their future professions. Activities encourage students to bring their own examples to demonstrate understanding, application and engage constructively with their peers. Students receive regular and timely feedback on their learning, which includes information on their progress.

Students should anticipate undertaking 150 hours of study for this unit, including class attendance, readings, online forum participation and assessment preparation.

Assessment strategy and rationale

A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements.

The first assessment item is a regular programming-based exercise with lab engagement that consists of programming environment setup, quiz and practical problem solving. The second or the final programming project assessment consists of one or several small to medium programming projects to implement with focus on modelling and solving real-world computational problems with potential impact to the common good. 

The assessment tasks for this unit are designed to demonstrate the achievement of each learning outcome. To pass this unit, students are required to obtain an overall mark of at least 50% .

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Liang DY, 2018. Introduction to Java Programming and Data Structures, Comprehensive Version, 11th Edition, Pearson Education.