CSE2325 Multimedia programming and the world wide web - Semester 1 , 2007 unit guide

Semester 1, 2007

Chief Examiner

Alan Dorin

Lecturers

Clayton : Alan Dorin

Outline

This course is aimed at those students wishing to produce innovative web-based multimedia. The World Wide Web provides an international audience for multimedia developers and has become a vital global resource.

Practical assignments and exercises provide ample scope for creative expression and utilization of the theory presented in lectures. Students will be assessed on their ability to think and design innovatively, as well as on their understanding of the theoretical issues presented in lectures.

Objectives

Students successfully completing this course will have an understanding of the practical and theoretical issues relevant to web site design and the online presentation of information using multiple media.

Prerequisites

Pre-requisite: CSC1030 or CSE1303 or equivalent
Assumed knowledge includes: (i) programming to first year Computer Science level in an object-oriented programming language such as C++ or Java (ii) programming within a UNIX environment (iii) effective use of FTP, telnet/rlogin/ssh under UNIX.

Unit relationships

CSE2325/3325 is a core unit in the Bachelor of Software Engineering Degree.

CSE2325/3325 is an elective unit in the Bachelor of Computer Science Degree.

Before attempting this unit you must have satisfactorily completed cse1303 or equivalent.

You may not study this unit and cse3325, sft2200 in your degree.

 

Texts and software

Required text(s)

N/A

 

Textbook availability

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.

Software requirements

Please consult the course outline and lecture notes for software requirements. There are different requirements for different elements of multimedia design and WWW programming including: text editing, image editing, image-map editing, typography, code compilation etc.

Hardware requirements

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

*n=10

Recommended reading


Lynch, P.J. Horton, S., "Web Style Guide: Basic Design Principles for Creating Web Sites", Yale University Press, 1999 (now available in 2nd edition)

Sebasta, Robert W., Programming the World Wide Web, third edition, Addison Wesley, 2006. ISBN: 0-321-30332-6

 

Library access

You may need to access the Monash library either personally to be able to satisfactorily complete the subject.  Be sure to obtain a copy of the Library Guide, and if necessary, the instructions for remote access from the library website.

Study resources

Study resources for CSE2325 are:

The CSE2325/3325 web site, where lecture slides, weekly tutorial requirements, assignment specifications, sample solutions and supplementary material will be posted.

Unit website

http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~cema/courses/CSE3325/index.html

Structure and organisation

Week Topics
1 Introduction, Behind the WWW
2 Basic XHTML, Intro. to HCI
3 Intro. to Interactivity, Info. Design
4 Info. Architecture, Organisation and Navigation
5 Labelling, Writing Style
6 Site and Page Design
Non teaching week
7 Javascript
8 Forms, CGI Programming and Perl
9 Perl, Digital Audio
10 DHTML, Cascading Style Sheets, Document Object Model, Typography
11 Colour and Imagery
12 Animation and Interactive Virtual Worlds
13 Revision

Timetable

The timetable for on-campus classes for this unit can be viewed in Allocate+

Assessment

Assessment weighting

Assessment for the unit consists of 2 assignments with a weighting of 30% and an examination with a weighting of 70%. Students must also complete two "peer-assessment" tasks which are hurdle requirements for passing the unit.

Assessment Policy

To pass this unit you must:

A pass grade in each of: the examination and assignment exercises and peer-assessment task is a hurdle requirement for successful completion of this unit.

The assessment is different for 2nd and 3rd year students. Students taking CSE3325 will be required to answer more questions in the final examination than students in CSE2325. Also, the standard required for a pass is higher in CSE3325 than in CSE2325. The exact difference in pass grade is determined following a decision on standardization made at the examination committee after the course is completed. Hence, in general, a pass in CSE2325 will not count as a pass in CSE3325 as the two units have different assessment criteria. The decision as to whether or not to take CSE2325 or CSE3325 will be based on the course maps of individual students.

Your score for the unit will be calculated by:

In the case of unsatisfactory performance in the examination, assignment work or peer assessment exercises, the student's final grade will be the lowest of either (i) the weighted sum of the two formally assessed components or (ii) a total mark of 44%.

Assessment Requirements

Assessment Due Date Weighting
Assignment 1 30 March 15%
Peer assessment 1 (hurdle requirement) 6 April
Assignment 2 25 March 15 %
Peer assessment 2 (hurdle requirement) 1 May
The exam is 3 hours long and is closed book. Exam period (S1/07) starts on 07/06/07 70 %

Assignment specifications will be made available online.

Assignment Submission

Assignments will be submitted by electronic submission as detailed on the unit web pages. The due date is the date by which the submission must be received/the date by which the the submission is to be posted online.

Extensions and late submissions

Late submission of assignments

Assignments received after the due date will be subject to a penalty: late assignments will not be assessed by your peers and risk receiving a result of zero. Due to the "peer-assessment" system, there can be little flexibility in this regard.

This policy is strict because comments or guidance will be given on assignments as they are returned, and sample solutions may also be published and distributed, after assignment marking or with the returned assignment. 

Extensions

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. 

Requests for extensions cannot be made.

Grading of assessment

Assignments, and the unit, will be marked and allocated a grade according to the following scale:

Grade Percentage/description
HD High Distinction - very high levels of achievement, demonstrated knowledge and understanding, skills in application and high standards of work encompassing all aspects of the tasks.
In the 80+% range of marks for the assignment.
D Distinction - high levels of achievement, but not of the same standards. May have a weakness in one particular aspect, or overall standards may not be quite as high.
In the 70-79% range.
C Credit - sound pass displaying good knowledge or application skills, but some weaknesses in the quality, range or demonstration of understanding.
In the 60-69% range.
P Pass acceptable standard, showing an adequate basic knowledge, understanding or skills, but with definite limitations on the extent of such understanding or application. Some parts may be incomplete.
In the 50-59% range.
N Not satisfactory failure to meet the basic requirements of the assessment.
Below 50%.

Assignment return

Assignment results will be made available to you online after the completion of the "peer assessment" by all students.

Feedback

Feedback to you

You will receive feedback on your work and progress in this unit. This feedback may be provided through your participation in tutorials and class discussions, as well as through your assignment submissions. It may come in the form of individual advice, marks and comments, or it may be provided as comment or reflection targeted at the group. It may be provided through personal interactions, such as interviews and on-line forums, or through other mechanisms such as on-line self-tests and publication of grade distributions.

Feedback from you

You will be asked to provide feedback to the Faculty through a Unit Evaluation survey at the end of the semester. You may also be asked to complete surveys to help teaching staff improve the unit and unit delivery. Your input to such surveys is very important to the faculty and the teaching staff in maintaining relevant and high quality learning experiences for our students.

And if you are having problems

It is essential that you take action immediately if you realise that you have a problem with your study. The semester is 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 improvements

Every year improvements have been made to this unit based on a survey run by the lecturer at the conclusion of the unit, according to informal recommendations by students made during semester and as new information and ideas come to hand.

Plagiarism and cheating

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 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.

Communication

Communication methods

Discussion groups are available in MUSO. Please contact the lecturer by email or attend his consultation sessions as advertised on the unit homepage.

Notices

Notices related to the unit during the semester will be placed on the Unit Website under "What's New?". Check this regularly. Failure to read the Notices newsgroup is not regarded as grounds for special consideration.

Consultation Times

Please consult the unit website. These times may vary during semester as demand dictates.

If direct communication with your unit adviser/lecturer or tutor outside of consultation periods is needed you may contact the lecturer and/or tutors at:

Dr Alan Dorin
Senior Lecturer
Phone +61 3 990 53576
Fax +61 3 990 31077

All email communication to you from your lecturer will occur through your Monash student email address. Please ensure that you read it regularly, or forward your email to your main address. Also check that your contact information registered with the University is up to date in My.Monash.

Last updated: Mar 6, 2007