ITEC618 - Programming Concepts

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Incompatible

Teaching organisation

150 hours over a twelve-week semester or equivalent study period

Unit rationale, description and aim

Computer programs are widely used to drive business applications. As a result, demand for people with programming skills is increasing. Programmers are commonly required to 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 grasp the essentials of the globally accepted useful and modern programming language Java with critical thinking and build software applications involving objects and functional components. In addition by studying this unit students will be able to address workers' working conditions by developing applications to offload their laborious or repetitive work so that they ca focus on more enjoyable or creative work.

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

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

LO4 - Develop efficient 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
• Abstract classes and interfaces
• Exception handling and testing
• Programming solutions to stakeholder needs and the common good that offload laborious or repetitive work

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit can be offered in different 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 tutor(s) 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 you 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 you to prepare and revise. 

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

ACU Online

This unit 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.

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 programming practical that consists of programming environment setup and consistent problem solving. The second assessment item is a programming assignment containing multiple programming tasks to solve which requires the understanding of basic to advanced programming concepts. The final assessment is a comprehensive programming case study that requires students to demonstrate programming concepts and skills gained in the unit through building and reporting on a larger object-oriented software program with potential impact to the common good.

The assessments 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, 2019. Introduction to Java Programming and Data Structures, Comprehensive Version, 12th Edition, Pearson Education.

Farrell J, 2018, Java Programming, 9th Edition. Cengage Learning.

Horstmann Cay S., 2018, Core Java Volume I -- Fundamentals, 11th Edition. Prentice Hall.

Schildt H, 2018, Java: The Complete Reference, 11th Edition. McGraw-Hill Education.