Welcome to FIT5008 Digital communications project for semester 1, 2009. This 12-point project is a compulsory unit in the Master of Digital Communications degree program, unless the 24-point minor thesis option is taken. This unit maybe taken in a single semester or over two semesters (semester 1 and/or 2).
The purpose of the project unit is to provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate that they can carry out a reasonably large piece of individual research, investigation, development and/or reporting work under supervision, and have it assessed. The project unit should be undertaken after the completion (or close to completion) of other units in the course.
The project topic and summary must be approved by the project supervisor prior to its commencement. The students are encouraged to create their own project topics. Some general guidelines in the selection of a project topic are given below.
The above project topics normally fall into one of the following three areas:
On successful completion the student will be able to understand:
They will also have knowledge of:
and be able to:
Upon completion of this unit, students will have an appreciation of
Upon completion the student will have gained experience in
FIT5008 is a core unit in the Master of Digital Communications degree. It can only be replaced with a 24-point minor thesis which may consist of FIT5014 which is a 24-point unit taken over a single semester. It is also possible to take the 24-point Minor Thesis over more than one semester by enrolling in units that collectively comprise 24 points, ie FIT5016 (6 points); FIT5017 (12 points); and FIT5018 (18 points).
You may not study this unit and other graduate project subjects in your degree.
Monash is committed to ‘Excellence in education’ (Monash Directions 2025 - http://www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions/directions.html) and strives for the highest possible quality in teaching and learning.
To monitor how successful we are in providing quality teaching and learning Monash regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through Unit Evaluation Surveys. The University’s Unit Evaluation policy (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/unit-evaluation-policy.html) requires that every unit offered is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys as they are an important avenue for students to “have their say”. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.
Faculties have the option of administering the Unit Evaluation survey online through the my.monash portal or in class. Lecturers will inform students of the method being used for this unit towards the end of the semester.
Contact hours : Thursday: 1:00PM-2:30PM
Supervised individual research and experimentation as required by the project.
Students will work closely with their project supervisors during the entire period of the project. Students are expected to consult with and seek advice from their respective supervisors on a regular basis. In consultation with their supervisors, students are expected to produce a project proposal and project plan outlining the agreed project milestones and deliverable, and to steer the project to its completion.
Individual and group supervision and/or lecture to cover all objectives.
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.
| Week | Topic | Key dates |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Project Proposal | 12 noon, 13-03-2009 |
| 3 | Supervisor's approval | 4 PM, 20-03-2009 |
| 4 | Project Start | |
| Mid semester break | ||
| 10 | Report Writing | |
| 13 | Project Report | 12 noon, 8-6-2009 |
As recommended by the supervisor.
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.As recommended by the supervisor.
A project room equipped with PCs running Linux/MS Windows. Out of hours access if required should be arranged with the supervisor.
Students studying off-campus are required to have the minimum system configuration specified by the Faculty as a condition of accepting admission, and regular Internet access.On-campus students, and those studying at supported study locations may use the facilities available in the computing labs. Information about computer use for students is available from the ITS Student Resource Guide in the Monash University Handbook.You will need to allocate up to 5 hours per week for use of a computer, including time for newsgroups/discussion groups.
Study resources we will provide for your study are:
the standard resources made available to post graduate students and those available/procured specifically by your supervisor.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/
As with minor and major research theses, no library resources specific to this subject can be identified in advance. It is expected that project students will frequently make use of existing monograph and serial holdings. Where additional material specific to a particular project is required, this will be negotiated between the School and Library at the time, as occurs with research students.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:
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
The project will be assessed mainly by the project supervisor and the result approved by the course coordinator.
Depending on the project topic, the assessed material resulting from the project will consist of:
Project guidelines and assessment details are available at:
http://infotech.monash.edu.au/courses/2009/postgraduate/2406/study/project-guidelines.html
Title : FIT5008: Digital Communications Project Report
Description :
Refer to project guidelines at :
http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/courses/2009/postgraduate/2406/study/project-guidelines.html
Weighting : 100%
Criteria for assessment :
An approved project proposal is a hurdle requirement for the project, the absence of which will lead to a failure in the project unit FIT5008.
The main deliverable in the project will be the report, plus a demonstration of any hardware/software developed if applicable. The supervisor may also request an oral examination in the form of an interview or a presentation.
While materials from the Internet, published books and articles are good source of information, students should be extremely vigilant against plagiarism when writing their reports. Plagiarism can be easily detected with the submitted electronic copy of report. Plagiarism will lead to the failure of the project and may result in disciplinary action against the student. Please read assessment policies for a good guidance against plagiarism.
Due date : 12 noon, 8-06-2009
Cover sheet for the project report is available at:
http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/assignments/
Students MUST read and understand the assignment policies before submitting.
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 unit Chief Examiner at your campus at least two days before the due date.You will be asked to forward original medical certificates in case of illness, and may be asked to provide other forms of documentation where necessary.
A copy of the email or other written communication of an extension must be attached to the report submission.
Reports received after the due date will be subject to a penalty of 5% per day. Reports received later than one week (seven days) after the due date will not normally be accepted.
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/
Project report results will be made available to you with the semester exam results.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.
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.
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 that may disadvantage them in assessment should seek advice from one of the following before completing assessment tasks and examinations:
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.