Week 1

Practical classes start in week 2, however, there is a quiz / activity that students must do in week 1 in place of the practical class. The week 1 activity can be done at home and only requires access to iLearn to attempt / complete the activity and quiz questions (as part of an induction). Lectures start in week 1.

Note that while the practical material is structured to follow the lecture material, students need to keep in mind that there will not always be a one to one mapping between the practical exercises and the lecture topics. This is because of a need for some practical sessions to introduce new tools and devices before following up with the related concepts.

Module Exams

The module exams are iLearn-based quizzes that assess concepts covered in lectures (and associated practcial class exercises). There is only 1 attempt at each module exam. Details of the 'fit to sit' model for exams can be found here.

If you miss a module exam due to illness / misadventure, then a supplementary exam will only be arranged upon an approved special consideration application through the university ask.mq.edu.au site. Otherwhise, a mark of 0 will be applied for that module exam. For details of the module exam schedule, see the unit schedule section of the unit guide, but also check the COMP2250 unit information section in iLearn for updates and scope of examination.

Requirements to pass this unit

In order to pass the unit, you must achieve a final grade of 50 out of 100 or above and have cleared the hurdle requirement for the unit as detailed below. Each assessment contributes to a certain percentage of the final grade. These weightings are listed in the assessment tasks table in this unit guide.

Hurdle Requirement

For the practical classes: there are in-class practical activities and associated submissions / answers required for each practical class - a total of twelve practical submissions - six practicals activity submissions in the first half of the semester, and six practical activity submissions in the second half of the semester. To be eligible to pass the unit you must make a reasonable attempt at a minimum of four out of the six submissions for the first half AND a minimum of four out the six submissions for the second half. It is strongly recommended that students engage in all of the practical activities and submissions as they will assist in the study (and feedback) preparations for the module exams. The practical tasks are a very important component of the unit - especially for unit learning outcome 5.

Late Assessment Submission

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of '0' will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for Assignment 1 and 2 are set at 11:55 pm of the end of the week (Sunday) specified. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern. No special consideration is required for the grace period.

Special Consideration

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment.

Written Assessments: If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the written assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au.

Weekly practice-based tasks (weeks 1 through 6): To pass the unit you need to demonstrate ongoing development of skills and application of knowledge in 4 out of 6 of the weekly practical classes within the first half of the unit .

Weekly practice-based tasks (weeks 8 through 13): To pass the unit you need to demonstrate ongoing development of skills and application of knowledge in 4 out of 6 of the weekly practical classes within the second half of the unit . If you miss a weekly practical class due to a serious, unavoidable and significant disruption, contact your convenor ASAP as you may be able to attend another class that week. If it is not possible to attend another class, you should still contact your convenor for access to class material to review in your own time.

If you miss a practical class or submission due to illness / misadventure, there are catchup practicals scheduled for the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of week 7, and the first week of the final exam period. Details about days / times and how to self-enrol in these catchup classes will be provided in the unit iLearn page.

Note that a Special Consideration should only be applied for if you miss more than two of the weekly practical classes in weeks 1 through 6 inclusive, and/or your miss more than two of the weekly practical classes in weeks 8 through 13 inclusive.

Lectures

Lectures are the primary introduction for content along with the prescribed readings (see below for details). The lecture is 2 hours each week. Students enrolled in the "live stream" class for the lecture are welcome to attend the lecture on campus. The lectures are recorded using the ECHO360 platform and recordings (assuming no technical difficulties occur) are made available through the unit iLearn page.

Practical Classes

There is a take-home practical activity for week 1 that students need to complete, however, scheduled pracical classes for COMP2250 start in week 2. Also note that due to the Easter public holidays the following will apply: Students who's scheduled practical class is on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday will not have a scheduled practical class during week 7. Students who's scheduled practical class is on Friday will not have a practical class on week 6, rather they will do the week 6 practical during week 7.

Each week, students should attend two hours of lectures, and a two hour practical workshop (except in week 1, and either week 6 or 7 as noted above). For details of days, times and rooms consult eStudent.

Face to face classes have a requirement of enclosed shoes for OH&S reasons. Further communication and details are provided in iLearn.

Students must attend the practicals that they are enrolled in.

Text Books and Digital Resources (Leganto)

The textbook for this semester is:

    Fitzgerald, J. & Dennis, A, Business Data Communications and Networking, Fourteenth Edition, Wiley, 2021

Additional reading that students may find useful for this unit:

    Kurose, J. & Ross, K. Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach 7th edn, Pearson, 2016

The univetsity does have a *limited number* of 'seats' available for online access to the text book (using your OneID to log in) through the Leganto block on iLearn.

Technologies Used and Required

This unit will be using networking lab equipment and lab computers for the practicals. The lab computers have Wireshark and other software installed.

Communication Methods in COMP2250

All annoucnements about unit-realted matters will be communicated through iLearn. It is the student's responsibility to ensure they check iLearn announcements, forums, and FAQ sections regularly.

Students are encouraged to use the iLearn forums for asking questions about unit content and concepts. Where questions are about specific details in an assessment submission, this may need to be sent via a private forum post in the first instance (details are provided in iLearn about how this is set up) so as not to be at risk of breaching the university academic integrity policy.

Students should use the appropriate iLearn forms for contacting staff. There may be occasions where unit staff will email a student directly to their @students.mq.edu.au email address. It is the student's responsibility to ensure they check their official university email regularly for communications from the university staff. While a best effort is made for fast responses, please do be mindful that some units have in excess of 500 to 1000 students. So, read the unit iLearn communications section carefully about where to best direct your query depending on the nature of the query.

COVID Information

For the latest information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please refer to the Coronavirus infection page on the Macquarie website: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs. Remember to check this page regularly in case the information and requirements change during semester. If there are any changes to this unit in relation to COVID, these will be communicated via iLearn.

We value student feedback to be able to continually improve the way we offer our units. As such we encourage students to provide constructive feedback via student surveys, to the teaching staff directly, or via the FSE Student Experience & Feedback link in the iLearn page.

Student feedback from the previous offering of this unit was very positive overall, with students pleased with the clarity around assessment requirements and the level of support from teaching staff. As such, no change to the delivery of the unit is planned, however we will continue to strive to improve the level of support and the level of student engagement.