Seminar 12/13

XP Introduction  The seminar assignment will be done individually by students  The seminar assessment consists of two parts, namely written report (60%) and oral presentation (40%).  Students are required to complete these two parts of the seminar in order to register a pass.

XP Objectives  The purpose of the seminar assignment is to assess a student’s ability to:  Resourcefully find and research on contemporary issues/areas related to IT concepts or theories learned in the subject or unit.  Critically analyse, understand and evaluate relevant current issues/areas involved in the selected areas of IT concepts or theories.  Professionally produce a written document in a proper, clear, interesting and logical manner.  Clearly and convincingly deliver the seminar content in a proper, clear, easy-to-understand, interesting and logical manner via an oral presentation with some visual aids.  Technically link the seminar topic and to use its findings as theoretical support for possible practical implementation in relevant application based projects.

XP 1. Selection of Seminar Title ways to choose a seminar title for research:  looking at the textbook, magazines or journals.  can look at the chapter headings or at the references used in these textbook or magazines.  search relevant web sites or ask friends.  The final year project can also be a source of the seminar title. 4

XP  A seminar title selected by a student must fulfill the following criteria : – IT content. The selected seminar title should be one that includes a substantial amount of IT content. Examples of such a title include: object- oriented approach, wireless communication, e-commerce. – Current and contemporary. The selected seminar title should concern with IT issues/areas that are contemporary and current in nature. The selected IT issues/areas should reflect the recent trends, interests and research. – Knowledge and skills. The selected seminar title should be simple enough to allow the student to complete it within the boundary of his/her capability, knowledge and skills, but should be sufficiently challenging enough that would stretch his/her intellectual ability for research and studies. 5

XP – Relevance. Issues/areas covered under the selected seminar title should be one that is relevant and related to the student’s course of study. – Time frame. It must be completed within the time frame allocated. – Researchable. The seminar topic must be academically researched and written, and where there are adequate references available. – Link to Project. The seminar topic should has substantive potential link to student’s project as a further support for its practical application or implementation.  Seminar titles that do not comply with the above requirements, such as : optical mouse, hard disks, ORACLE, Windows 7 etc will not be accepted. 6 continued

XP 2.Steps in Approval of Seminar Proposal  Assignment of Supervisor. Supervisor will only provide supervision, guidance, and evaluation of the seminar from the start to the end.  Selection of Title. Before starting to prepare for the seminar, students are required to submit a seminar proposal to the relevant program supervisor on or before the date as may be announced in due course.  Submission of Proposal. The submission of seminar title should be done on a prescribed form (see Appendix 1 attached).Appendix 1  Agreeing on Title. On receiving the seminar proposal, the supervisor may suggest changes, such as adding, deleting, or amending the main headings, sub-headings or even the seminar title itself. Such a discussion session may be done online or face- to-face as agreed upon with the supervisor. 7

XP continued  Resubmission. Once receiving the suggestions for amendments from the supervisor, need to resubmit the new seminar proposal for approval.The same prescribed form will be used.  Iteration. The above process may be repeated until the supervisor is satisfied with the student’s proposal. Note that a student may NOT proceed with the seminar until the seminar title and its outline contents have been duly approved by the supervisor concerned. 8

XP 3. Completion and Submission of Seminar  Literature Search. once receiving approval from the supervisor, the student may proceed to conduct research and study of materials and then to complete the seminar report. The materials must be from various reliable and authoritative sources : journals, textbooks, newspapers, magazines, Internet, etc.  Writing up Report. Having collected sufficient materials, the student will begin to write up the seminar report in the format as described in Section 8. Students should not simply ‘cut and paste’ materials.  Approval of Draft. On completion of the seminar but before submitting the final copy of the seminar report, the student should first seek approval from the supervisor of the completed seminar by showing a draft copy of the report. 9

XP continued  Meeting Supervisors. It is recommended that a student should make an effort to meet his/her supervisor on a regular basis in the process of writing up the seminar report.  Submission of Report. On receiving approval of the draft seminar report, the student should proceed to make all the necessary amendments (if any) and to submit two hard copies of the seminar report (one copy must be original and the other may be photocopied) and one soft copy (on diskette or CD) to the supervisor concerned. The submission of seminar report should be done at least 7 days before the oral presentation date of the student concerned. A penalty may be imposed for late submission. 5% deducted per working day late, more than 7 working days late will not be accepted.  Recommended Time. For a seminar of this nature, it is recommended that students should spend about 50 hours for its completion 10

XP 4. Roles and Responsibilities Students  To complete the seminar assignment individually and independently.  To arrange and attend regular meetings with their supervisors.  To complete and submit the seminar assignment within the time stipulated and fulfill all requirements stated.  To strictly observe all the seminar policy with regard to completion and submission of the seminar assignment.

XP Roles and Responsibilities Supervisors  available for regular meetings and discussions with the students, twice a month.  To motivate or encourage students throughout the seminar.  To provide students with advice, guidance feedbacks and suggestions for improvement with regard to seminar assignment. 12

XP 5. Evaluation of Seminar  divided into 2 main parts, namely : documentation and presentation. Evaluation Criteria (Documentation) see rubrics:rubrics 1. Complexity of Topic (5%) 2. Problem Statement (5%) students must explain specifically the areas involved in the research and why such a research is relevant, interesting or important to support the development of the final year project in one short paragraph of words. 3. Source and Use of References (10%) Assessment will be based on both the quality of references and the number of references used in the report. A minimum of 5 relevant and quality literature from reliable sources are required. The year of journal can not earlier more than 4 years from now. 13

XP 4.Literature review (20%) - required to demonstrate their understanding by provide a summary of the findings (or key developments) about what you have read from the literature review and related to the problem statement. you must also be able to make comparisons (similarities, differences, common issues raised), carry out meaningful analysis, evaluation (pros and cons, strength and weaknesses), and draw meaningful conclusions of the literature selected. 5. Application to Final Year Project (10%) -This section should describe clearly how the various findings are related to the topic, and how they are to resolve, either wholly or partially, the issues as stated in the above problem statement. 6.Presentation Format (5%) 7.Format of Referencing (5%) -The written work should be properly referenced using the Harvard Referencing System. The reference list should be placed at the end of the report and sorted in alphabetical order. 14

XP Explanation of Each Criteria for Presentation( 20 minutes) Date: 17/9/2012 to 22/9/2012 ( 4 th semester) 1. Content (20%) The presented work should be relevant to the selected topic. Students should also show that how their research findings can be used to support development of the final year project. 2.Use of Visual Aids (5%) Visual aids e.g diagram, illustrations or charts should be used to support clarity of presentation and generate interest amongst the audience. 3.Presentation (10%)  Effective use of body language  Clarity of presentation  Voice projection 4. Understanding (5%)  Handling Q&A  Clear explanation 15

XP Length of Seminar Report  at least 2,000 words but NOT more than 2,500 words long, excluding appendices and references. Marks will be deducted for insufficient length or unreasonably exceeding the page limit. Documentation Format  Line Spacing. 1.5 line spacing.  Font Size. A body text of font size,headings and sub-headings use a larger font size.  Type Style. New Times Romans for body text. Main headings and sub-headings - Arial.  Headers and Footers.  Outline Numbered. The report must be outline numbered for its headings and subheadings, up to second level eg. 1., 2., 3. etc for main headings and 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 etc for sub-headings Documentation Details

XP  Margin. adequate width of 3 cm (1 inch) all around.  Page numbering. Ensure that all pages (except the cover page) are numbered.  Paper Size. Use A4 white and clear paper.  Binding. All pages may be stapled bind (with black cellophane tape at the side).  Cover. Both front and back cover of the documentation must be in black. 17

XP Seminar Policy NO cheating, plagiarism, collusion!!!