FIT3045 Industry-based learning - Semester 1, 2009

Unit leader

Lecturer(s) :

• Students learn by doing and from their co-workers, supervisors and managers.
• Students actively partcipate in projects, customer service activities and training programs, which confirm and improve technical skills, and develop business skills.
• Students are exposured to a supportive professional environment, which develops confidence and skills such as attention to detail, problem solving, communication and time management.

Communication, participation and feedback

Monash aims to provide a learning environment in which students receive a range of ongoing feedback throughout their studies. You will receive feedback on your work and progress in this unit. This may take the form of group feedback, individual feedback, peer feedback, self-comparison, verbal and written feedback, discussions (on line and in class) as well as more formal feedback related to assignment marks and grades. You are encouraged to draw on a variety of feedback to enhance your learning.

It is essential that you take action immediately if you realise that you have a problem that is affecting your study. Semesters are short, so we can help you best if you let us know as soon as problems arise. Regardless of whether the problem is related directly to your progress in the unit, if it is likely to interfere with your progress you should discuss it with your lecturer or a Community Service counsellor as soon as possible.

Unit Schedule

Week	Topic	Study guide	References/Readings	Key dates
1	Assignment 1	Not applicable	IBL folder	April 1st Mid placement performance evaluation
2	Assignment 2	not applicable	IBL folder	May 25th End placement performance evaluation
3	Assignment 3	not applicable	IBL folder	June 8th Placement presentation
4	Assignment 4	not applicable	IBL folder	June 8th Placement folder
Mid semester break

Prescribed text(s) and readings

Industry-based learning folder supplied by the Clayton School of Information Technology.

Text books are available from the Monash University Book Shops. Availability from other suppliers cannot be assured. The Bookshop orders texts in specifically for this unit. You are advised to purchase your text book early.

Recommended text(s) and readings

Required software and/or hardware

Software is supplied by industry partners in the workplace.

Equipment and consumables required or provided

Students on an industry based learning placement wil have access to a computer system, including Internet access, supplied by the industry partner hosting the placement . You will use the computer supplied up to 40+ hours per week as required by the industry partner. No time is required for newsgroups or discussion groups.

Study resources

Study resources we will provide for your study are:

An industry based learning folder will be provided containing:

• Placement dates
• Monash staff & contact numbers
• Important websites
• IBL folder guidelines
• Assessment criteria
• The five phases of a placement
• Hints for success on the placement
• IBL visit objectives
• Daily log guidelines
• Weekly report guidelines
• Mid-placement evaluation guidelines
• End-placement evaluation guidelines
• Placement evaluation guidelines

 

Library access

The Monash University Library site contains details about borrowing rights and catalogue searching.  To learn more about the library and the various resources available, please go to http://www.lib.monash.edu.au.

The Educational Library and Media Resources (LMR) is also a very resourceful place to visit at http://www.education.monash.edu.au/library/

Monash University Studies Online (MUSO)

All unit and lecture materials are available through MUSO (Monash University Studies Online). Blackboard is the primary application used to deliver your unit resources. Some units will be piloted in Moodle. If your unit is piloted in Moodle, you will see a link from your Blackboard unit to Moodle (http://moodle.monash.edu.au) and can bookmark this link to access directly. In Moodle, from the Faculty of Information Technology category, click on the link for your unit.

You can access MUSO and Blackboard via the portal: http://my.monash.edu.au

Click on the Study and enrolment tab, then Blackboard under the MUSO learning systems.

In order for your Blackboard unit(s) to function correctly, your computer needs to be correctly configured.

For example:

• Blackboard supported browser
• Supported Java runtime environment

For more information, please visit: http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/students/downloadables-student.html

You can contact the MUSO Support by phone : (+61 3) 9903 1268

For further contact information including operational hours, please visit: http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/students/contact.html

Further information can be obtained from the MUSO support site: http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/index.html

Unit assessment policy

This unit is assessed via

• A performance evaluation in the middle of the placement completed by the student's industry supervisor.
• A performance evaluation at the end of the placement completed by the student's industry supervisor.
• An an oral presentation of the placement.
• A written report of the placement.
• A daily log, weekly reports and major task list.
• An updated resume.
• A written description of the placement company.

Assignment tasks

• Assignment Task

  Title : Mid-placement evaluation

  Description :

  • A self evaluation by the student, including supporting data and performance comments, on a preformatted and scored performance evaluation.
  • A preformatted and scored performance evaluation, including performance comments, completed by the student's industry supervisor.

  Weighting : 20%

  Criteria for assessment :

  • Interest and Energy
  • Dependability and Work Output
  • Organisation and Planning
  • Communications
  • Initiative
  • Team Work
  • Problem Solving

  Due date : April 1

  Remarks ( optional - leave blank for none ) :

  Each criteria is scored by the industry supervisor on a 1-5 scale

• Assignment Task

  Title : End-placement evaluation

  Description :

  • A self evaluation by the student, including supporting data and performance comments, on a preformatted and scored performance evaluation.
  • A preformatted and scored performance evaluation, including performance comments, completed by the student's industry supervisor.

  Weighting : 30%

  Criteria for assessment :

  • Interest and Energy
  • Dependability and Work Output
  • Organisation and Planning
  • Communications
  • Initiative
  • Team Work
  • Problem Solving
  • Personal development and response to mid-placement evaluation

  Due date : May 25

  Remarks ( optional - leave blank for none ) :

  Each criteria is scored by the supervisor on a 1-5 scale

• Assignment Task

  Title : Oral Presentation

  Description :

  Students make a 15 minute presentation about the placement at Monash Clayton in front of their peers, academic and general staff, industry partners and assessors.

  Weighting : 25%

  Criteria for assessment :

  • Voice: Projection, speed, clarity, confidence, control, variation. 
  • Body Language: Posture, movement, animation, use of hands. 
  • Eye Contact: Maintaining eye contact with all the audience.           
  • Content: Explanation of role in organisation, tasks undertaken, evaluation of learnings from placement.                  
  • Time: Adherence to time limit
  • Use of Visual Aids: Quality, imagination, sophistication.          
  • Reliance on Notes: As little as possible.

  
  

  Due date : First week of July

• Assignment Task

  Title : Written reports

  Description :

  • Placement company report (one or more pages)
  • Placement report (five pages)
  • Resume (up to four pages)
  • Placement goals (two pages)
  • Daily log (one page per week)
  • Weekly reports (one page per week)
  • Task list (one to three pages)
  • Placement evaluation (five pages preformatted)

  Weighting : 25%

  Criteria for assessment :

  • Content
  • Presentation
  • Structure
  • Sequence
  • Insights

  Due date : First week of July

Assignment submission

The industry based learning folder including the two evaluations and all the written reports will be submitted to the chief examiner in person in the second week of July.

Assignment coversheets

No assignment cover sheets required

Due dates and extensions

The due dates for the submission of assignments are given in the previous section. Please make every effort to submit work by the due dates. It is your responsibility to structure your study program around assignment deadlines, family, work and other commitments. Factors such as normal work pressures, vacations, etc. are seldom regarded as appropriate reasons for granting extensions. Students are advised to NOT assume that granting of an extension is a matter of course.

Requests for extensions must be made to the chief examiner in the week before the due date. A copy of the email or other written communication of an extension must be attached to the assignment submission. Students are advised to NOT assume that granting of an extension is a matter of course.

Late assignment

Assignments received after the due date will be subject to a penalty of 5% per day, excluding weekends. Assignments received later than one week (seven days) after the due date will not normally be accepted.

Return dates

Students can expect assignments to be returned within two weeks of the submission date or after receipt, whichever is later.

Assessment for the unit as a whole is in accordance with the provisions of the Monash University Education Policy at http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/assessment/

Industry based learning folders will be available for students to collect after the FIT3045 results are published.

Plagiarism, cheating and collusion

Plagiarism and cheating are regarded as very serious offences. In cases where cheating  has been confirmed, students have been severely penalised, from losing all marks for an assignment, to facing disciplinary action at the Faculty level. While we would wish that all our students adhere to sound ethical conduct and honesty, I will ask you to acquaint yourself with the University Plagiarism policy and procedure (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/conduct/plagiarism-procedures.html) which applies to students detected plagiarising.

In this University, cheating means seeking to obtain an unfair advantage in any examination or any other written or practical work to be submitted or completed by a student for assessment. It includes the use, or attempted use, of any means to gain an unfair advantage for any assessable work in the unit, where the means is contrary to the instructions for such work. 

When you submit an individual assessment item, such as a program, a report, an essay, assignment or other piece of work, under your name you are understood to be stating that this is your own work. If a submission is identical with, or similar to, someone else's work, an assumption of cheating may arise. If you are planning on working with another student, it is acceptable to undertake research together, and discuss problems, but it is not acceptable to jointly develop or share solutions unless this is specified by your lecturer. 

Intentionally providing students with your solutions to assignments is classified as "assisting to cheat" and students who do this may be subject to disciplinary action. You should take reasonable care that your solution is not accidentally or deliberately obtained by other students. For example, do not leave copies of your work in progress on the hard drives of shared computers, and do not show your work to other students. If you believe this may have happened, please be sure to contact your lecturer as soon as possible.

Cheating also includes taking into an examination any material contrary to the regulations, including any bilingual dictionary, whether or not with the intention of using it to obtain an advantage.

Plagiarism involves the false representation of another person's ideas, or findings, as your own by either copying material or paraphrasing without citing sources. It is both professional and ethical to reference clearly the ideas and information that you have used from another writer. If the source is not identified, then you have plagiarised work of the other author. Plagiarism is a form of dishonesty that is insulting to the reader and grossly unfair to your student colleagues.

Register of counselling about plagiarism

The university requires faculties to keep a simple and confidential register to record counselling to students about plagiarism (e.g. warnings). The register is accessible to Associate Deans Teaching (or nominees) and, where requested, students concerned have access to their own details in the register. The register is to serve as a record of counselling about the nature of plagiarism, not as a record of allegations; and no provision of appeals in relation to the register is necessary or applicable.

Non-discriminatory language

The Faculty of Information Technology is committed to the use of non-discriminatory language in all forms of communication. Discriminatory language is that which refers in abusive terms to gender, race, age, sexual orientation, citizenship or nationality, ethnic or language background, physical or mental ability, or political or religious views, or which stereotypes groups in an adverse manner. This is not meant to preclude or inhibit legitimate academic debate on any issue; however, the language used in such debate should be non-discriminatory and sensitive to these matters. It is important to avoid the use of discriminatory language in your communications and written work. The most common form of discriminatory language in academic work tends to be in the area of gender inclusiveness. You are, therefore, requested to check for this and to ensure your work and communications are non-discriminatory in all respects.

Students with disabilities

Students with disabilities that may disadvantage them in assessment should seek advice from one of the following before completing assessment tasks and examinations:

• Faculty of Information Technology Student Service staff, and / or
• your Unit Coordinator, or
• Disabilities Liaison Unit

Deferred assessment and special consideration

Deferred assessment (not to be confused with an extension for submission of an assignment) may be granted in cases of extenuating personal circumstances such as serious personal illness or bereavement. Information and forms for Special Consideration and deferred assessment applications are available at http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/special-consideration.html. Contact the Faculty's Student Services staff at your campus for further information and advice.