Smarter Student's Study Guide: Skills and Strategies for Success at University, Kathleen McMillan and Jonathan Weyers, 2006, Pearson Education Ltd, ISBN-10: 0273695320

Reflective learning in practice. Publisher: Aldershot, Hants, England, Burlington, VT : Gower, c2002 available as e-book form University library ISBN/ISSN: 0566083779

Routing Protocols and Concepts, CCNA Exploration Companion Guide (Cisco Systems Networking Academy Program), 2007, Cisco Press, ISBN: 1587132060

Network Fundamentals, CCNA Exploration Companion Guide (Cisco Networking Academy Program), 2007, Mark Dye, Rick McDonald and Antoon Rufi, ISBN: 1587132087

Embedded systems Laboratory.
Specialist networking laboratories with Cisco equipment.

For those students who wish to, access to the Cisco Academy portal where further material and learning resources are available. The Academy access part of the course is entirely optional but is highly recommended for working in the networking industry.

Laboratory exercise sheets provided by course instructor

NOTE
Instructors teaching this module who use the CISCO material must have completed Semesters 1 and 2 of the CCNA program

None

48 hours lectures / 48 hours labs/tutorials.

The course relies heavily on prescribed reading with lectures supporting the student in complex areas. The lectures will comprise a mix of delivered material (including presentations) and guided tutorial work, which will include individual and group activities.

The tutorials will include problem based learning where students will be set a specific problem that requires a solution to be found, working through a tutorial book or analysing a case study.

Weekly lecture to supplement on-line material and Lab sessions every week to gain practical experience and re-enforce theory.

Extensive use is made of the technique of learning via problem solving.
The students will be able to identify the extent and type of help the students require from these sessions by active learning self assessments which will be provided as an integral part of the module.

1. A COURSEWORK weighted at 50%.

50% Coursework consisting of a portfolio assessing learning outcomes 1-3.

The portfolio (3000 words excluding appendices) will consist of
1) research into the internet of things industry and career opportunities in a global context.
2) a personal development and career plan that reflects on a skills audit industry(a phased series of tasks) will comprise a series of written and practical exercises which underlies the design of an enterprise grade network.
3) make a presentation on an internet of things topic, as part of a team and reflect on this in the portfolio

As part of the module the student will be expected to attend a number of events attended as directed by the tutor. These events may vary according to student need and timing of occurrence, but will be considered as being suitable and beneficial learning opportunities. The portfolio will include a reflection on the event, what was learnt from it and how it impacts on a student¿s thoughts and aspirations on the development of career skills.

2. A COURSEWORK weighted at 50%,

50% Coursework (3000 words) assessing learning outcomes 3-5 consisting of:
i) Analysis, design of a computer network, associated sensors and simple prototype (derived from a case study) for a typical SME, weighted at 40% assessing Learning Outcomes 4&5.
ii) A discussion of how hardware / software could be used to improve the performance of the system developed in 1) weighted at 10%, assessing Learning Outcome 5.

This module explicitly focuses on significant elements required for the achievement of STAFFORDSHIRE GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES:

- Work-ready and employable
- Understanding of enterprise and entrepreneurship
- Understanding of global issues and their place in the global economy
- Communication skills
- Presentation skills
- The ability to interact confidently with colleagues
- Skills of team working
- Ability to carry out inquiry-based learning and critical analysis
- Technologically, digitally and information literate
- Able to apply Staffordshire Graduate attributes to a range of life experiences to facilitate life-long learning.

The module will cover the following topics:

Internet of Things industry and careers, in UK, Europe and globally. Commercial opportunities of internet of things. Personal Development Planning (PDP), skills audit and career planning, principles of teamworking and effective communication, information searching and evaluation

Network fundamentals, including concepts around the OSI model, TCP/IP, network design and interconnection problems, network devices, Ethernet routing and switching, LAN, WAN, PAN and Wireless networks (WLAN)based on 802.11.

Telecommunication - principles of data communication wire, air, intro to protocol based system, ISO layer applied to software design and hardware design, interconnection protocols and wireless communications standards such as IEEE 488, Canbus, ARINC, IEE 485 serial, TCP/IP, ZigBee, Bluetooth etc.

Sensor and interface technologies - Analogue-to-Digital Converter (ADC), and Digital-to-Analogue Converter (DAC) as well as physical limitations, considerations of real sensors - physical properties, temperature, velocity, time and pressure.