Computing with Education BSc (Hons)

You develop intricate programmes to solve complex problems, using data structures and appropriate algorithms. You study a variety of algorithmic techniques and the use and importance of data structures. You are introduced to classifying data according to its abstract behaviour, as distinct from its representation.

A range of well-established data structures are examined and their properties are described. You gain an understanding of the basic skills needed in algorithmic design and the interaction between algorithm and data structure in creating efficient code.

This module will develop your understanding of language acquisition in early years and the continuous development of language skills as well as help you explore the impact of language on learning. It will consider language acquisition theories as well as current research in the area. It will explore language use in a variety of contexts and consider the role of language in informal, formal and professional contexts. The module will introduce you to other aspects of language development such as language in digital contexts, bilingualism and AEL (English as Another Language). It will help you with your own academic and personal language development as well as prepare you for a variety of roles in education.

This module will introduce you to the core elements of classroom practice. It aims to provide you with opportunities to develop your understanding of key definitions, theories and approaches relating to learning, teaching and assessment. Throughout the module you will be encouraged to reflect on your experiences of learning and consider how these experiences may shape your professional practice. This module will also introduce you to the processes involved in searching for and reviewing journal articles on relevant research. This will enable you to develop an understanding of the importance of using research in order to support your claims in academic writing, as well as provide you with an awareness of how research can be used to shape an educational practitioner’s practice.

You are introduced to the fundamental concepts of software development through the Python programming language.  

You look at key aspects of the software development process including designing solutions, writing application code, developing documentation and formal approaches to testing.

The module will explore issues of data representation and data quality, information architectures and scale. The principles and techniques of information security and governance will be introduced.

Successful, robust and user-friendly systems or applications begin with a requirements analysis and detailed design. You are introduced to the concepts and techniques of systems analysis and design, enabling you to break down and simplify complex systems and represent them visually using industry-standard approaches such as Unified Modelling Language (UML). In industry, the resulting models are used to communicate designs to developers and stakeholders prior to implementation.

You learn to design and implement fully normalised relational databases as part of an information system. Using data modelling techniques you define how the system stores data and interacts with it. You implement your design using Structured Query Language (SQL): Data Definition Language for creating tables, and Data Manipulation Language for accessing the data.

You develop professional practice and transferrable skills essential for industry, including project management."

A practical module where you undertake the development of an IT based project usually in the form of an approved Web/Database System, taking into consideration appropriate legal issues and professional ethics. You will be placed in an active learning environment to enable development of group working, project process skills, and an identified product by a given deadline.

Working in small teams, you will take responsibility for determining project aims, objectives, roles, tasks, deliverables, schedules and documentation. The work will culminate with the teams providing a group report and a group presentation of the product or application to a panel of academics and/or industry experts. You will also be required to submit an individual report to reflect on the project process as a whole, review the ethical and legal issues considered, evaluate group members’ performance, your own strengths and weaknesses and relate those to their future career aspirations.

Key aspects of network and systems administration as applied to the IT scenario are introduced in this module, which includes a study of current network filing systems, user account issues including account setting up (bulk and individual), generating IDs and passwords, password policies account administration, suspending accounts, changing quotas and passwords and issues associated with wireless networks etc.

The importance of secure storage and backup of user data will be addressed, along with other maintenance issues, network management issues and network performance monitoring.
The significance of licences and legality (or otherwise) of user software will be investigated, as will policies on network and account security, viruses, and attack by hackers (DOS) and spammers. Finally, some of the ethical and moral concerns surrounding account privacy will be investigated.

You develop your ability to design and implement database applications to meet business needs. A case study is used to follow the system development life cycle, and you develop a server database application from inception to implementation for a real world scenario.

The module investigates the issues and technologies associated with implementing and supporting databases and the services that are needed to maintain and access a repository of data. Investigations are undertaken in a number of areas including data modelling, data management and approaches that support the modelling and visualisation of data for a range of use views.

This module will provide students with a broad introduction to the key skills and underpinning knowledge that students would need to develop in order to be confident to deliver learning. The module will enable students to plan a learning event, implement appropriate learning and teaching strategies, develop resources and assess learning.

This module aims to provide you with an introduction to technology enhanced learning (TEL). You will be encouraged to explore the use of technology in education, and to evaluate the opportunities technology affords as well as its limitations. The module will enable you to gain the knowledge and skills required to adapt, use and analyse technological tools for educational purposes.

This module aims to help you to develop your knowledge about norms and complexities that define education in different domestic and international contexts. You will critically reflect upon the role of the culturally sensitive and ethical practitioner in diverse educational contexts. It is intended that this module will give you a breadth of understanding of education in a variety of contexts that considers the ways in which policy, politics and society have shaped different attitudes and approaches to education.

You complete a large scale piece of work, under the supervision of an academic staff member. You produce a substantial artefact relating to the computing field, and complete your report and viva consisting of a presentation, demonstration and discussion of the artefact.

You are guided to develop an appropriate sense of work-discipline coupled with a professional outlook. You take responsibility for the planning and execution of an extended piece of work including the consideration of associated legal, social, ethical and professional issues. You are able to explore in depth a chosen subject area, and thereby demonstrate your ability to analyse, synthesise, and creatively apply what has already been studied on the programme while demonstrating critical and evaluative skills and professional awareness.

Business intelligence tools are used to show the state of the business to facilitate better and faster business decision making. The next evolution is business analytics which is a technology-aided process which analyses the data to predict future performance.

You will develop skills in combining the analysis of a given data set from a business case study and the creation of dynamic, interactive visualisations that enable decision makers to explore the data through a variety of perspectives.

Using an interactive graphic gives the option to zoom in on sections of the data which are of interest, explore more than one dimension at a time, and sort and filter to discover new patterns and themes within the data.

This module will enable students to explore and critically consider education in relation to the reproduction of social inequalities and the formation of identify. Students will utilise theory and current research to develop their understanding of the structuring influences of post-war education, exploring it in relation to social class, ethnicity, sexuality and gender. Attention will be focus upon the extent to which, across these factors, education and schooling are characterized by difference, divisions and inequalities, which reflect wider issues in society and how language, culture and power are used in education systems to reproduce or, possibly, change inequalities.

You identify the goals of information governance, from protecting the needs of the stakeholder to ensuring the transparency of processes and how these link together to support data governance principles such as integrity, transparency, auditability, accountability, standardization and change management.
You study a range of governance topics including law, regulations, and compliance; security governance and risk management; security for cloud architectures and issues around 3rd party data storage.