Module: Communication Skills

Module Specifications.

Current Academic Year 2024 - 2025

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Date posted: September 2024

Module Title	Communication Skills
Module Code	CA360 (ITS) / CSC1091 (Banner)
Faculty	Engineering & Computing	School	Computing
Module Co-ordinator	Ray Walshe
Module Teachers	Abigail Walsh, Monica Ward
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5
Pre-requisite	Not Available
Co-requisite	Not Available
Compatibles	Not Available
Incompatibles	Not Available

None
Array

Description

INACTIVE - Â· give the students the necessary knowledge and skills to make technical presentations in both written and oral form Â· introduce the students to professional ethics and related issues

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate an ability to give an oral presentation on both a technical and non-technical topic.
2. Explain a technical topic in an accessible manner for both a technical audience and the general public in oral and written formats.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of project management and the ability to work to a schedule and to work cooperatively in a group.
4. Undertake relevant research, plan and write a group report on the use of technology in a given deployment context.
5. Develop a screencast, demonstrating the technical and communication skills required to create an informative screencast.
6. Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of ethics in any technology related project.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full-time hours per semester
Lecture	27	Daily lectures
Assignment Completion	10	Students will deliver oral presentations (individually and in groups)
Independent Study	18	No Description
Group work	70	Students will work in their groups on their project
Total Workload: 125

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Oral Presentation Skills
Students will apply the techniques outlined in lectures in their oral presentations.

Presentation tools
Students will learn about the tools available for presentations.

Technical report writing
Students will learn about writing a technical report, including guidelines on what should and should not be in such a report.

Ethics in Computing
Students will be made aware of the importance of ethics in any computing related project.

Role of ethics
Students will be shown the importance of ethics in society in general.

Project management
Students will learn about project management in general, as well as software project management.

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment	100%	Examination Weight	0%

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Course Work Breakdown
Essay	Students will write an individual report on a light-weight technical topic for a general audience.	10%
Oral Examination	Students will deliver two presentations - one on a general topic and one on a technical topic. (Note: students must give both presentations to be eligible for 30%, otherwise, the presentation will be out of 15%).	30%
Reflective journal	Students will produce an individual analysis on the module.	10%	n/a
Group project	The group project will consist of researching, planning and writing a group report, as well as an oral presentation. Students are also expected to contribute to the group wiki.	50%

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories: Resit category 1: A resit is available for both* components of the module. Resit category 2: No resit is available for a 100% continuous assessment module. Resit category 3: No resit is available for the continuous assessment component where there is a continuous assessment and examination element.
* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a Continuous Assessment/Examination split; where the module is 100% continuous assessment, there will also be a resit of the assessment
This module is category 2

Indicative Reading List

0: Essential Supplementary Writing for Science and Engineering: Papers, Presentations and Reports, Heather SilynRoberts,ButterworthHeinemannISBN: 0750646365 Technically Speaking: A guide for Communicating Complex Information, Jan D'Arcy,ISBN: 078035367,

Other Resources

None