COIT20249 Assessment Details

Objectives

Please refer to the Unit Profile to see how this assessment item relates to the Unit Learning Outcomes.
This assignment is designed to stimulate critical thinking outside of the classroom by requiring students to write a formal academic report as the Supplementary Assessment for those students who met the criteria to be eligible for a Supplementary Assessment in COIT20249.
You will need to follow the ARE process described in chapters 2 and 3 of Your Business Degree 2 (prescribed textbook for COIT20249) to analyse the assessment task, research relevant information and evaluate the information you find. This information should be used to write an academic report in which you present your findings or outcomes and make recommendations for future practice Professional writing and writing reports are described in chapters 4 and 5 of Your Business Degree 2. This assessment task will assess your skills in critical thinking, researching information, forming an opinion, academic writing, logical ordering of ideas and your ability to support your arguments with quotes from literature. These objectives will be measured by the ‘closeness of fit’ to meeting the assessment task, assessment requirements and marking criteria
Please note that there is a wealth of material available on the Moodle Unit website that you should use to help you through the process of searching for and gathering relevant information, evaluating that information and writing your report.

General Assessment Criteria

Assessments provide the opportunity for students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills to achieve the required standard. To do this, assessment responses need to be both clear and easy to understand. If not, the University cannot determine that students have demonstrated their knowledge and skills. Assessments will, therefore, be marked accordingly including the potential for 0 (zero) marks where relevant.
 
The report must focus on the case study scenario given in the Assessment Task section. Any assessment items that do not address the case study scenario may be awarded 0 (zero) marks.
If you use Track Changes when writing your report you must ensure that the submitted document is the final and correct version of the document. That is, if your submitted report contains Track Changes or Comments or any other editing marks it may be awarded 0 (zero) marks. It is your responsibility to submit the final and correct version of your report.
 
The length of the report must be within the recommended range. If the report exceeds the maximum word count the marker will stop marking after 2750 words.   
Moodle auto-submits draft files that are in Moodle at the originally set deadlines. Files that are auto-submitted will not be reverted to draft status except in extenuating circumstances (evidence required). It is your responsibility not to leave draft assessments in Moodle at the due date and time if the files are not ready to be submitted for marking. However, late submissions may attract penalties.

Assessment Task

Students are required to write an academic report as per the format outlined in chapter 5 of the textbook. The report must follow the CQU APA referencing style. See the American Psychological Association (APA) abridged guide updated Term 1 2018 available from: Please note that the prescribed textbook uses APA referencing guidelines. See also the Referencing Style subsection below.

 
The report is to be based on the following case study scenario about introducing online collaboration and communication applications to a higher education organisation.
Web 2.0 based online communication and collaboration technologies have increased the opportunities of engagement in many industries including the higher education industry. The options allow for distance and multi-campus models and for increased staff and student engagement among other opportunities.
You are the ICT Manager in a medium sized educational institution which has the main campus in Sydney while there are two other campuses in Brisbane and Melbourne. Your organisation was established 3 years ago and caters to both local and international students who study for higher education qualifications in various disciplines. The organisation uses a few legacy systems for online learning and teaching, and for organisational communications among staff at different campuses.
The organisation is expanding as more students are enrolling and the organisation is planning to expand to other parts of Australia if the growth continues. However, the organisation needs to update its IT systems and practices before a comprehensive expansion can be implemented. One of the key areas identified for change is the management of learning & teaching platforms as well as online communication methods. Your CEO has asked you to investigate possible options to consider for this change. She has asked you to investigate and recommend three web 2.0 based applications that can be used for learning & teaching and for online meetings.
You have to complete this investigation in the next two weeks and draft a report with recommendations for the next Executive Management meeting about the best options for the organisation.
Your research and the subsequent report should cover the following tasks:

1. Definitions of web 2.0 communication & collaboration technologies. Investigate at least 5 different technologies used at other higher education institutions in Australia and at least 2 other countries in the world. You must focus on countries which have similar type of education systems as Australia. Provide a short analysis of the different software applications. There must be examples of use within Australia and globally for each of the applications. Your report should not just focus on generic applications but must identify actual examples of uses within organisations.
2. Based on the findings from the previous section, propose the best applications you would recommend for your organisation from your investigations. Evaluate the potential advantages and disadvantages of the applications you have investigated – consider the pros and cons and cost benefit aspects. Explain how the adoption of each of your recommended applications will impact on your organisation and enhance the reputation as a high quality education provider.
3. Additionally, explore the ethical, social and legal considerations that your organisation should consider as a part of your proposed solution. Discuss some proposals to address these concerns and make relevant recommendations.

Your analysis and proposed solutions in tasks 2 and 3 should provide three to five recommendations at the end of your report. Do not make the analysis of your recommendations in the Recommendations section itself. Discuss them in the body of the Report and present the recommendation at the end, after the Conclusion.
The report should be at a strategic level and must not consist of highly technical or operational details as some of your Executive Managers are not from an Information Technology background.

Please note that you will need to make some assumptions about the organisation in order to write this report. These assumptions should match the information in the case study and not contradict with the objectives of the report. They should be incorporated in the introduction of your report when you describe the organisation and outline the problem to be solved. Relevant assumptions should be incorporated when addressing tasks 2 and 3 above. To avoid loss of marks, do not make assumptions that are not relevant or contradictory, or will not be used in your report discussion.
 
Specifically your report should include the following (word count details are approximate guidelines):

1. Title page: Unit code and name, assessment name, Report title, assessment due date, word count (actual), student name, student number, CQU email address, campus lecturer/tutor, and Unit Coordinator. Must be formatted to a standard required for a professional/business report. Check week 6 materials for example of a professionally formatted title page. Not included in the word count.
2. Executive summary: should include the purpose of the report, the problem including key issues considered and how they were investigated, your findings, and overview of your recommendations. This part should be approximately three quarters (3/4) of an A4 page but must not be longer than one (1) A4 page. Not included in the word count.
3. Table of Contents (ToC): should list the report topics using decimal notation. Need to include the main headings and subheadings with corresponding page numbers, using a format that makes the hierarchy of topics clear. Because you are including a ToC the report pages should be numbered in the footer as follows: title page has no page number; and main text to have Arabic numerals commencing at 1. Create the ToC using MS Word’s ToC auto-generator rather than manually typing out the ToC. Instructions can be found here Not included in the word count.
4. Introduction: provide a brief description of the organisation as given in the case scenario including any assumptions, a concise overview of the problem you have been asked to research, the main aims/purpose of the report, the objectives to be achieved by writing the report (include the tasks outlined in the case study) and how you investigated the problem. Provide an outline of the sections of the report. Should be approximately 250 words.
5. Body of the report (use appropriate headings in the body of the report.): Define key terms you will use in your report that are directly related to the problem and the technology considered. Then present your ideas on the topic and discuss the information you found in your research that was relevant to the report’s objectives. Provide an analysis of the information that you gathered. Ensure that you explore the tasks listed in the case study scenario. In your discussion, examine the issues from a global perspective as well as from the local perspective (of the fictional organisation that is the centre of this report).

1. Do NOT use generic words such as ‘Body, Body of the Report, Tasks’ as section headings. Create meaningful headings and subheadings that reflect the topic and content of your report. Should be approximately 1850 words.

1. Conclusion: restate the purpose of the report and key issues investigated and the related findings based on your research and analysis. Explain the significance of your findings for addressing the problem stated in the case scenario and any limitations. State how your report has achieved its objectives and any future work to be considered. Should be approximately 250 words.
2. Recommendations: 3 to 5 recommendations required. The recommendations must be based on your findings and proposed solutions discussed in the body of the report. Provide some guidelines for the organisation with respect to the future directions for your organisation based on your discussions. Format according to the Report Writing Guidelines discussed in the Unit. Should be approximately 150 words.
3. Reference list. Not included in the word count.
4. Appendices if necessary. Not included in the word count.

• Note: Additional information regarding this assignment may be placed on the Moodle Unit website as required. Check the Moodle Unit website at least once a week for further information relating to the report. Regular access to the Moodle Unit website is a requirement of this Unit.

Other Assessment Requirements

1. Your response should be structured as a report (chapter 5 of textbook), written in accordance with standard academic writing principles (chapter 4 of textbook). The report must be written using your own words with any in text citations clearly marked (see Referencing Style subsection below). You may discuss the assessment task with other students and the lecturing staff but you must WRITE the report YOURSELF in your own words.

You will need to conduct research to support your arguments using at least ten (10) but no more than 15 current references.
Note that all the references you choose to use should be evaluated using the Triple-R framework in the research stage of preparing your Report (do NOT include this evaluation in the Report). You must have a minimum of ten (10) current references in your reference list.  At least six (6) of these references should be from refereed academic journals and books. Other references could be sourced from industry websites and magazines. All sources should be current that is, dated 2013 or later. Minimum requirements relate to a Pass mark. You are encouraged to use more than the minimum requirements for a better quality outcome to your report through improving the quality of your analysis.