Unit rationale, description and aim
Technological advances over the past decades have fundamentally changed the nature of work and communications. As technology continues to evolve at an ever-increasing pace, all employees need an appreciation of how technology impacts various aspects of their lives.
In this unit, students will obtain a general understanding of Information Technology (IT) components, and emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), Extended Reality (XR), etc. that are having a significant impact on our work and life. Students will explore different applications of emerging technologies, and critically discuss ethics in IT, and technology's broader impact on the stewardship of creation e.g. considering sustainability and the environment.
In addition to the foundational knowledge of IT, this unit will also develop students’ applied skills in using Microsoft Office applications and digital productivity tools which enables them to be a powerful contributor in many career fields. Microsoft’s Excel Associate curriculum has been embedded in this unit, and as part of the assessments, students are provided the opportunity to gain industry certification by completing the Microsoft Excel Associate exam which is recognised and validated by employers’ community.
The aim of this unit is to enhance students' ICT (information and Communication Technology) literacy and knowledge of emerging technologies and their impact on the individuals, organisations, society, and the environment, highlighting both positive and negative impacts of technology on stewardship of creation, and to develop students’ skills in using IT to contribute positively to the effective operation of the workplace.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Describe how emerging information and related inte...
Learning Outcome 01
Discuss how emerging technologies create digital d...
Learning Outcome 02
Explain how businesses use data analysis technique...
Learning Outcome 03
Distinguish threats to digital security and data p...
Learning Outcome 04
Apply MS Office applications for data manipulation...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
- Understanding IT components
- Emerging Technologies (e.g. AI, IoT, Blockchain, …)
- Digital disruption
- Cybersecurity, data privacy
- Digital information and digital property
- Ethical Computing
- Green IT
- Collaborating and working on the web
- Social and environmental impact of technology
- Office applications (Microsoft Office)
- Digital communication and productivity applications
Assessment strategy and rationale
To pass this unit, students are required achieve an aggregate mark of at least 50%. Marking will be in accordance with a rubric specifically developed to measure students’ level of achievement of the learning outcomes for each item of assessment. Students will also be awarded a final grade which signifies their overall achievement in the unit.
A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with university assessment requirements.
The first assessment is an online quiz to evaluate students’ knowledge of essential concepts in IT and emerging technologies. The second assessment item allows students to demonstrate knowledge and skills in using MS Excel through the official Microsoft Excel Associate Certification exam. This certification exam is included in this unit to enhance students’ employability skills by providing students the opportunity to demonstrate a proven competency at an industry associate-level and being ready to enter the job market. The final assessment item encourages students to actively engage and participate in a range of activities. It allows students to demonstrate their critical thinking skills, evaluative judgment skills (through peer review activities) and knowledge of emerging technologies.
Strategies aligned with transition pedagogies will be utilised to facilitate successful completion of the unit assessment tasks. For each assessment, there will be the incorporation of developmentally staged tasks with a focus on a progressive approach to learning. This will be achieved through activities, including regular feedback, particularly early in the unit of study to support their learning; strategies to develop and understand discipline-specific concepts and terminology; in-class practice tasks with integrated feedback; and greater peer-to-peer collaboration.
Overview of assessments
Assessment 1: Online Quiz This assessment includ...
Assessment 1: Online Quiz
This assessment includes an online quiz including various question types (MCQs, Matching, Short Answer etc.). The goal of this assessment is to test students’ knowledge/understanding of technology concepts.
Submission type: Individual
Assessment method: Online quiz
Artefact: Online quiz
20%
Assessment 2: Microsoft Excel Certification exa...
Assessment 2: Microsoft Excel Certification exam
The assessment requires students to take the Microsoft Excel Associate Certification exam. Students are also required to attempt a practice certification exam (as a hurdle task) to become prepared for the certification exam. This certification demonstrates competency in the fundamentals of creating and managing worksheets and workbooks, creating cells and ranges, creating tables, applying formulas and functions, and creating charts and objects.
Submission type: Individual
Assessment method: MS Excel Associate Certificate test
Artefacts: MS Excel Associate Exam transcript
40%
Assessment 3: e-Portfolio This assessment requir...
Assessment 3: e-Portfolio
This assessment requires students to develop a portfolio of work undertaken during the semester to showcase their learning achievements. This assessment includes on a variety of tasks including reflections on the impact of emerging technologies on the future of work, society and the environment and discussing ethical challenges in IT, data privacy and cybersecurity issues.
Submission type: Individual
Assessment method: e-portfolio
Artefact: e-portfolio of work
40%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit takes an active learning approach guiding students in both the practical use of technology and the analysis of its impact on work and life. Students engage with online learning materials, workshops, and computer lab tutorials to build foundational skills in IT and emerging digital technologies. The unit is delivered in multiple modes to accommodate diverse learning needs.
Multi-mode: Workshops encourage collaborative knowledge construction, helping students explore ethical and environmental issues while understanding technology’s influence on organisations and society. Practical skills development is embedded through PC labs, where students apply MS Office Tools to business problems and work toward obtaining the Microsoft Excel Associate Certificate.
ACU Online: This unit uses an active learning approach to support students in the exploration of knowledge essential to the discipline. Students are provided with choice and variety in how they learn. Students are encouraged to contribute to asynchronous weekly discussions. Active learning opportunities provide students with opportunities to practice and apply their learning in situations similar to their future professions. Activities encourage students to bring their own examples to demonstrate understanding, application and engage constructively with their peers. Students receive regular and timely feedback on their learning, which includes information on their progress.
Further to this, to ensure students are ready to transition from the Diploma and articulate into the second year of undergraduate study, transition pedagogies will be incorporated into the unit as the key point of differentiation from the standard unit. This focuses on an active and engaging approach to learning and teaching practices, and a scaffolded approach to the delivery of curriculum to enhance student learning in a supportive environment. This will ensure that students develop foundation level discipline-based knowledge, skills and attributes, and simultaneously the academic competencies required of students to succeed in this unit.
Representative texts and references
Required text
Evans, A, Martin, K & Poatsy, MA 2023, Technology in Action Complete, Global edition, 18th edn, Pearson Education.
Reference texts
Kumar, P, Tomar, A & Sharmila, R (eds) 2022, Emerging Technologies in Computing: Theory, practice and Advances, CRC Press.
Reynolds, G 2019, Ethics in Information Technology, 6th edn, Cengage Learning, Boston.
Stair, R.M., Reynolds, G.W. Bryant, J., Frydenberg, M, Greenberg, H., Schell, G., 2021, Principles of Information Systems, 4th edn, Cengage Learning, Boston.