ICT30005-Professional Issues in IT

Introduction

In order to develop and grow we need to develop the habit of linking and constructing meaning from our experiences. This practice is referred to as reflection. Reflecting on our experiences encourages insight and learning. Meaning is derived from both the learning content and the process of learning it. When we are continually reflecting on our learning process we are actively engaged in our learning. Reflection can help you to better understand your strengths and Swinburne University of Technology Faculty of Business & Law ICT30005 Professional Issues in IT – Briefing Paper Assessment Guidelines Page 2 of 6 weaknesses and identify areas for improvement. It can help you recognize possible areas of bias and assumptions that limit your development and progression. Reflective practice is also critical to your professional development. It assists with increasing self-awareness which is a key foundation of emotional intelligence, it enables you to make intelligent decisions about how to move ahead with your learning requirements and about your future career plans.

The structure of this reflective journal encourages you to reflect strategically on what you have learned through progressing through the unit and hopefully encourages you not only to think about your next stage of development but the importance of lifelong learning. The concept of professionalism is strongly associated with the skills of reflection and lifelong learning.

This assessment task directly relates to the following four unit intended learning outcomes.

1. Critically review the roles and responsibilities of ICT professionals in organisations and society from a range of perspectives such as work-life balance, mentoring and life-long learning.

2. Critically evaluate the role of standards, codes of conduct and legislative/regulatory obligations on the level of professionalism of the ICT industry.

3. Exhibit a cognizance of the impacts of business compliance imperatives and how this impacts on the work of the ICT professional.

4. Communicate effectively as a professional and function as an effective leader or member of a diverse team.

Description of Assignment

This assignment has two parts. Students will provide an individual reflection on what they have learnt from their participation in PIIT. This commentary will draw on the learning content, briefing papers, the group report, readings and the experiences of working as part of a team. Students should also describe any changes in perspective they may have had during the unit from the perspectives of Interpersonal and IT-related issues.

Part A 

For your reflection on Interpersonal issues you must answer the TWO compulsory questions (see below) and TWO of the optional questions (see below). Do not answer all questions. You will be assessed on evidence of the level of your critical analysis and reflection on these topics. Compulsory items – Answer both:

A. What was your goal/motivation in deciding to embark on the type of degree you are studying? When you enrolled into PIIT, how did you envisage PIIT fitting into your overall goal/motivation? Has the unit made you re-evaluate the type of degree or major/specialisation you have chosen and the career path you had planned? How have your aspirations and plans changed because of what you have learnt in the unit?

B. What kinds of behaviours might be important for an ICT professional working in a group or team with members from a wide variety of different backgrounds (e.g. diversity of skills, gender, age, religion and ethnicity)? In what ways, did you contribute to a sound team performance? What could you have done better to make sure your team worked better? How could you have helped others in your team to perform better?

Other items – choose ANY TWO:

1.What are your most memorable moments of PIIT, and why?

2. What are some of the key professional roles and responsibilities for a modern ICT Professional? How might these affect you in your future wor

3. How did you judge your Professionalism, Legitimacy and Competency in the field of ICT before you began this unit and how will you judge these qualities when you are working in industry? (An acceptable answer is “I didn’t judge, hadn’t thought about it before” … but your marker will want you to describe further, e.g. why you didn’t think about the issues etc.)

3. What kinds of changes do you feel have occurred to the way you perceive the work of ICT professionals during this unit? In what ways have your ways of thinking changed in the course? What have you learnt in the course? How have you benefited?

4. How might having taken this unit improved your induction into the ICT profession?

Part B

For the IT-related issues reflection you need to select ANY FOUR of the weekly learning topics and provide an analysis of each in terms of how they have had an impact (or not) on you and your way of thinking about being an ICT professional faced with certain issues.

Each reflection should be around 250 words (approximately one page). Some of the same questions for individual issues discussed in Part A as above may apply and you should especially note if you changed your view or gained new knowledge as a as a result of the learning activity.

This assignment may be too personal to share with your group. The reflection provided will be treated in confidence by the tutor. 

Skills to be developed Writing the reflective journal is designed to help you develop the following skills: ? Reflection. Reflective practice is a conscious effort to think about your learning and experiences, to make sure you are focusing on the things that really matter, in terms of your career goals. It will assist you with your professional development. Our professional development relies strongly on self-analysis and appraisal to develop our professional profile and to analyse our preferred learning styles. We need to plan our own way forward. 

Criteria Used to Assess Assignment 5 The following criteria will be used to assess your work. Considering these criteria and the assessment rubric will provide further guidance about what is expected. ? The coverage and relevance of the reflection to the assignment guidelines. (Weighting 35%) ? The level of discussion and understanding/self-evaluation evidenced in the reflective journal. (Weighting 35%) ? The level of connection to unit ULO’s and learning content. (Weighting 20%) ? Presentation and clarity of discussion. (weighting 10%)

Criteria Used to Assess Assignment 

The following criteria will be used to assess your work. Considering these criteria and the

assessment rubric will provide further guidance about what is expected.

1. The coverage and relevance of the reflection to the assignment guidelines.

2. The level of discussion and understanding/self-evaluation evidenced in the reflective journal. 

3. The level of connection to unit ULO’s and learning content. 

4. Presentation and clarity of discussion.