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Gary Marsden Slide 1University of Cape Town
Introduction to Conversion MSc IT
James [email protected]
Gary Marsden Slide 2University of Cape Town
Course status
In the beginning was the MSc…– completed by research
Then came the taught MSc– completed by teaching
Then came the conversion MSc– taught to domain non-experts
Gary Marsden Slide 3University of Cape Town
Masters in IT
Started life in 1993 as the MSc BIT (Business Information Technology) at Middlesex, London
Gary Marsden, taught at Middlesex and brought his experience with him
Developed and sponsored by EU for ‘continuing education’
Residential modes:– Regular, Fast-Track and Evening
Gary Marsden Slide 4University of Cape Town
Masters on holiday
Egyptian government wanted IT education– Taught in Cairo– Developed materials for self-study
Huge success– UK government praised course as future for
education
Gary Marsden Slide 5University of Cape Town
On-line Masters
Due to demand and having to develop for self-study, started conversion to on-line materials
Attempts to overcome failings in distance education– materials developed with Open University– accountability at regional centres– human contact / student status
Gary Marsden Slide 6University of Cape Town
Global campus
Middlesex write materialEgyptian government convert to electronic
formatRegional centres apply and are
awarded/denied membership– Quality audit
Students awarded Middlesex degree
Gary Marsden Slide 7University of Cape Town
Masters IT @ UCT
Gary Marsden was part of development team of MSc BIT since 1996
This course is part of the next iteration where we build on Middlesex material, but award local institution degrees (UCT)
There will be material in this course taught no where else, but still compatible with degree world-wide
Gary Marsden Slide 8University of Cape Town
Consequences
Material excellent – costs spread across many institutions
UCT degree has local and international currency
Can complete course overseas (UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Fiji…)
Gary Marsden Slide 9University of Cape Town
Who is the course for?
Traditionally IT has been split– Computer Science, Electronic engineering,
Information Systems
Now there is a new category– Knowledge worker
Few places seem to cater for this category
Gary Marsden Slide 10University of Cape Town
What can I do at the end of the course?
Very hard to say. You will have an excellent feel for core
elements of CS and IS– much, much more so than a training course
All the UK students who graduated well found jobs
Gary Marsden Slide 11University of Cape Town
How the course will run
Nine courses in total– possible exemption from 9th course
Three courses per semester
Networks Web sites Java
HCI Database Software engineering
Advanced programmin
g
Law and Ethics
Research techniques
Gary Marsden Slide 12University of Cape Town
Structure
At the end of the taught part you can exit with PG Dip
Completing a 6 month project will give you an Masters
Please note that if your original degree was a BA, you will be awarded an MPhil
Gary Marsden Slide 13University of Cape Town
Evaluation
Each course will have an examination and a practical component– exam worth 70% (in mid June)– coursework worth 30%
Assignments– One or two pieces of coursework per module– Submitted electronically to Teaching Assistant– First hand-in for April
Gary Marsden Slide 14University of Cape Town
Who are we – Support staff
I am responsible for pretty much everything to do with the course
There is a teaching assistant to help out– Rudi Neeser: [email protected]– Can be consulted face-to-face in the Research
Lab
general: – [email protected]
Please, please send any feedback about the course to me
Gary Marsden Slide 15University of Cape Town
Who are you – Status as student
To all intents and purposes, you are considered a student of the university– access to library– access to computer labs
The only difference is that (many of) you are not here physically
Gary Marsden Slide 16University of Cape Town
Material
Learning material will be delivered as CDROMs with HTML files
All the books mentioned in the course material are available in the library. Some you can get from me.
We also have institutional access to a number of digital libraries (speak to the librarians)
Gary Marsden Slide 17University of Cape Town
Learning material
Developed from Open UniversityComes in five sections
– Introduction: Self explanatory– Content: The actual material to read
and understand– Apply: Examples to apply
material to– Reflect: Questions about the material– Extend: Further work
Gary Marsden Slide 18University of Cape Town
Sample unit – will cover more later
Gary Marsden Slide 19University of Cape Town
Programming
A basic introduction to programming Java language:
– Good for internet applications
– Simple yet powerful
You will be taught how to create simple applications in the object-oriented paradigm.
Gary Marsden Slide 20University of Cape Town
Software Engineering
Introduce a range of techniques suitable for both structured and object-oriented methods
Enables you to analyse and design well engineered software solutions
CASE tools explored in modelling and documenting analysis and design specifications
Different life cycle models will also be discussed Install CASE software from the Select CD
Gary Marsden Slide 21University of Cape Town
Databases
A perspective on database management system structure and function is provided.
Topics introduced include: – architecture of databases– data models– Normalisation– front-end system– Security– recovery and concurrency– object-oriented database systems; – client-server and distributed database systems
Install DBMS software from the Oracle CD
