Day: July 26, 2010

Started off the subject with a two hour lecture which was mostly housekeeping. The second half of the lecture was quite interesting though with the focus on previewing the topics we would be covering this semester.

Amoung the topics to be covered:

• Application Layer
• Transport Layer
• Network Layer
• Data Link Layer
• Physical Layer

1. Concepts of networking
2. Technologies in use today
3. Management of networking technologies

Five Layer model of internet networking

• Physicals – Hubs, switchers, routers,cables satelites etc. [Ethernet]
• DataLink Layer – Controls physical layer, formats transmission etc. [Ethernet]
• Network and Transfer protocols – [TCP/IP]
• Application Layer – [Web Browsers and web pages]

Also covered was the important of standards and the evolution of data comms/networks

Had the 1 hour seminar and 3 hour studio session last Thursday. We were assigned into groups which will be key for the remainder of the semester and for every assessable submission. I am not really sure what the rationale behind the selection of the groups was, how it can enable a merit based grading system or how it reflects real world, work place situations. I know several students who worked very hard to get high distinction averages who were placed in groups with team members that did not aim for the same level. This is a bit of a pickle as those students working towards high grades should be able to do so without encumbrance. Additionally students who are happy with Ps and Cs should not be forced into a position where they need to dedicate a much larger amount of time to the subject just to achieve someone else’s goals. In any case it is how the subject is run.

‘It will be interesting to see if we cover the technical skills required to undertake the web development project. From my perception we will not be doing much technical learning, the subject will be focused on generating reports in teams.

For meetings a document link: www.mwclearning.com/casestudy/Apollo13.TeamProjectManagement.Draft26.JUL.2010.docx