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MMS3901 Commercial experience in multimedia systems B - Semester 1 , 2008

Unit leader :

Derrick Martin

Lecturer(s) :

Berwick

  • Derrick Martin

Introduction

Welcome to MMS3901.  This 6 point unit is a subject designed to give you real-life experience in working with multimedia, under joint supervision of an industry sponsor and your Unit Coordinator.  Learning will be oriented towards fulfilling the needs to the industry placement organisation, in conjunction with documentation of reflections, personal achievements and goals. 

Unit synopsis

Students will work 12 hours per week for a 15 week period (or the summer equivalent) at a commercial multimedia studio. There under the joint supervision of an industry sponsor and their lecturer, students will undertake a portfolio of commercial projects for business, government, university, or non-government organisations. All projects will be driven by client requirements and timetables. Work will be supervised and subject to formal peer review by unit participants and formal review by peers and an academic lecturer. In the context of this unit, multimedia systems will include any multimedia presentation, website, online service, digital video or print content for delivery via, for example, the Internet, CD-ROM, DVD or print publication.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding
  • managing pressures of commercial service delivery including managing client expectations and balancing workload
  • the roles and responsibilities of clients, strategists, designers and developers in a commercial multimedia project
  • applying commercially-accepted standard design, development, test and component re-use methodologies
  • applying quality management, resource and business management practices in a professional environment
  • the roles of commercially-standard methodologies, tools and techniques
  • the roles of external service providers (e.g. ISPs, CD ROM duplication services, print services, image libraries)
  • the processes and components of quality and business management systems
Attitudes, Values and Beliefs
  • adopting a professional service approach to the production of multimedia systems
  • adopting a business-value oriented and customer-driven approach to creative design
  • appreciation of social and ethical behaviour
Practical Skills
  • planning and managing the full range of activities in a multimedia systems project
  • problem-solving and working to commercial standards
  • managing sub-contracted services (e.g. CD ROM duplication services, printing services)
  • developing and delivering to strict, client-driven timelines, a multimedia system that meets the specified requirements and quality standards
Relationships, Communication and TeamWork
  • Ability to work within a team and discuss issues objectively
  • Development of leadership and management skills

Workload

Unit relationships

Prerequisites

To be eligible for an industry placement, a student must have completed all first year and second year, core units of a Bachelor of Multimedia Systems degree. Application by other students within the Faculty with equivalent standing will also be considered on a case-by-case basis. Students must submit an application, including a folio of their work and undertake an interview with the sponsoring business and SMS staff as part of a formal selection process (or equivalent).

Should students be deemed eligible for industry placement, and have found suitable employment, they are required to obtain a signed letter from their employer which clearly states:

  • The number of hours they will be working per week
  • If applicable, which particular days of the week the student will be undertaking work
  • A detailed listing of the various roles the student will be undertaking OR
  • The attachment of an existing position description document that describes the various roles the student will be undertaking.

Relationships

MMS3901 is a core unit in the Bachelor of Multimedia Systems (Games Development), and an elective in the Bachelor of Multimedia Systems (Applications / Enterprise / Programming or no major). degree. o be eligible for an industry placement, a student must have completed all first year and second year, core units of a Bachelor of Multimedia Systems degree. Application by other students within the Faculty with equivalent standing will also be considered on a case-by-case basis. Students must submit an application, including a folio of their work and undertake an interview with the sponsoring business and BSIT staff as part of a formal selection process (or equivalent). You may not study this unit and MMS2901 in your degree.

Continuous improvement

Monash is committed to ‘Excellence in education' 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. Two of the formal ways that you are invited to provide feedback are through Unit Evaluations and through Monquest Teaching Evaluations.

One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through Unit Evaluation Surveys. It is Monash policy for every unit offered to be 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.

Student Evaluations

The Faculty of IT administers the Unit Evaluation surveys online through the my.monash portal, although for some smaller classes there may be alternative evaluations conducted in class.

If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to http://www.monash.edu.au/unit-evaluation-reports/

Over the past few years the Faculty of Information Technology has made a number of improvements to its courses as a result of unit evaluation feedback. Some of these include systematic analysis and planning of unit improvements, and consistent assignment return guidelines.

Monquest Teaching Evaluation surveys may be used by some of your academic staff this semester. They are administered by the Centre for Higher Education Quality (CHEQ) and may be completed in class with a facilitator or on-line through the my.monash portal. The data provided to lecturers is completely anonymous. Monquest surveys provide academic staff with evidence of the effectiveness of their teaching and identify areas for improvement. Individual Monquest reports are confidential, however, you can see the summary results of Monquest evaluations for 2006 at http://www.adm.monash.edu.au/cheq/evaluations/monquest/profiles/index.html

Unit staff - contact details

Unit leader

Mr Derrick Martin
Assistant Lecturer
Phone +61 3 990 47131

Lecturer(s) :

Mr Derrick Martin
Assistant Lecturer
Phone +61 3 990 47131

Teaching and learning method

Students will be placed under an industry supervisor who will direct and assist the student in completion of real-world goals in the placement organisation.  A University supervisor will provide additional assistance to the student by monitoring appropriateness of the work and indicating areas of potential improvement.

Timetable information

For information on timetabling for on-campus classes at all Australian campuses please refer to MUTTS, http://mutts.monash.edu.au/MUTTS/

Students are expected to work 12 hours per week for 15 weeks with a business, government, university or non-government organisation (a total of 180 hours).  An equivalent total hourly period may be arranged with the placment organisation, and work may be completed as full-time, part-time or any combination of the two.

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 Key dates
1 As negotiated with industry supervisor  
2 As negotiated with industry supervisor  
3 As negotiated with industry supervisor  
4 As negotiated with industry supervisor  
Mid semester break
5 As negotiated with industry supervisor  
6 As negotiated with industry supervisor Mid-point assessment with employer
7 As negotiated with industry supervisor  
8 As negotiated with industry supervisor  
9 As negotiated with industry supervisor  
10 As negotiated with industry supervisor  
11 As negotiated with industry supervisor  
12 As negotiated with industry supervisor  
13 As negotiated with industry supervisor ISR, WPF, WPD, OP due (see assessment section)

Unit Resources

Prescribed text(s) and readings

Sponsoring company may recommend relevant articles and texts, depending upon the project and client business domain.N/A

Recommended text(s) and readings

Sponsoring company may recommend relevant articles and texts, depending upon the project and client business domain.

Required software and/or hardware

Sponsoring company may recommend relevant software, depending upon the project and client business domain.

Equipment and consumables required or provided

Students 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 2 hours per week for use of a computer, including time for newsgroups/discussion groups.

Study resources

Study resources we will provide for your study are:

This Unit Information outlining the administrative information for the unit

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.  Be sure to obtain a copy of the Library Guide, and if necessary, the instructions for remote access from the library website.

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.

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

If your unit is piloted in Moodle, you will see a link from your Blackboard unit to Moodle at http://moodle.med.monash.edu.au.
From the Faculty of Information Technology category, click on the link for your unit.

Assessment

Unit assessment policy

Achieve a score of at least 50% (based upon the formula used to calculate a student's overall score)

Assignment tasks

  • Assignment Task

    Title : Mid-point Visit

    Description :

    The mid-point visit is an interview between the industry placement supervisor and university supervisor.  The student work and progress will be discussed, and recommendations for the student to follow may be created.

    Weighting : 20%

    Criteria for assessment :

    Due date :

  • Assignment Task

    Title : Industry Supervisor Report

    Description :

    The industry placement supervisor completes a report at the end of the placement that rates the student work, attitudes, abilities and progress.

    Weighting : 50%

    Criteria for assessment :

    Due date :

  • Assignment Task

    Title : Work Placement Folio

    Description :

    Students  create a folio of work completed during their placement

    Weighting : 10%

    Criteria for assessment :

    Due date :

  • Assignment Task

    Title : Work Placement Diary

    Description :

    Based on the online diary that students must keep as part of this subject, students will create a diary of their processes, achievements and reflections.

    Weighting : 10%

    Criteria for assessment :

    Due date :

  • Assignment Task

    Title : Oral Presentation

    Description :

    Students present their folio to a panel of examiners, and discuss their processes, achievements and reflections (based on their diary).  Students will be asked to expand on their personal choices and achievements, discuss their goals and own reflections of their placement.

    Weighting : 10%

    Criteria for assessment :

    Due date :

Examinations

  • Examination

    Weighting : 0%

    Length :

    Type ( open/closed book ) :

Assignment submission

To submitted by electronic/paper submission to the lecturer at the end of the student's work placement period.

University and Faculty policy on assessment

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 unit lecturer at least two days before the due date.

Late assignment

Assignments received after the due date will be subject to a penalty of a ten percent reduction in the awarded mark for each day a submission is late. For example, if an assignment is received three days late, the mark awarded to a student will be reduced by thirty percent.

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/

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 Student Rights and Responsibilities (http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/about/committees-groups/facboard/policies/studrights.html) and the Faculty regulations that apply to students detected cheating as these will be applied in all detected cases.

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:

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.