Gary MarsdenSlide 1University of Cape Town Introduction to Conversion MSc IT James Gain

Gary MarsdenSlide 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 MarsdenSlide 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 MarsdenSlide 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 MarsdenSlide 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 MarsdenSlide 6University of Cape Town Global campus  Middlesex write material  Egyptian government convert to electronic format  Regional centres apply and are awarded/denied membership –Quality audit  Students awarded Middlesex degree

Gary MarsdenSlide 7University of Cape Town Masters 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 MarsdenSlide 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 MarsdenSlide 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 MarsdenSlide 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 MarsdenSlide 11University of Cape Town How the course will run  Nine courses in total –possible exemption from 9 th course  Three courses per semester NetworksWeb sitesJava HCIDatabaseSoftware engineering Advanced programming Law and Ethics Research techniques

Gary MarsdenSlide 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 MarsdenSlide 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 MarsdenSlide 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: –Can be consulted face-to-face in the Research Lab  general:  Please, please send any feedback about the course to me

Gary MarsdenSlide 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 MarsdenSlide 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 MarsdenSlide 17University of Cape Town Learning material  Developed from Open University  Comes 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 MarsdenSlide 18University of Cape Town Sample unit – will cover more later

Gary MarsdenSlide 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 MarsdenSlide 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 MarsdenSlide 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