Agenda for Teaching Committee Meeting on 20 August 1999

  1. Change of title of COMP9024 from "Data Structures, Files and Databases" to "Data Structures and Algorithms". This was agreed in principle late last year but never implemented.

    The last line of the description then also needs to be changed from something about databases to something about algorithms.

  2. Arun has asked the TC to respond to the following from Ian Morrison:

    1. In conjunction with the Faculty Computing Committee I would like to devise some way of expanding the discussion within the Faculty of the use of educational technology in engineering education. In this context, "educational technology" means recent, probably computer &/or Web-based, technologies, but is not restricted to these.

      As a first step I would like to develop a picture of what is already happening within the Faculty so that we could consider sharing the knowledge and experience of existing users with others.

      It would help if you could let me know(email, fax, phone) of people and courses in your School where there is a significant use of educational technology. Initially a short list of not more than five examples would be very helpful.

    2. I would like to make a similar request for specific examples of the use of novel/new/alternative modes of delivery of courses. I have in mind any innovative. departure from the familiar lecture, laboratory, tutorial patterns. This might involve distance delivery, compressed time, field work, self-taught, experiential learning...

      Again, it would help if you could let me know(email, fax, phone) of people and courses in your School where there is a significant use of these modes of delivery. Initially a short list of not more than five examples would be very helpful.

  3. Gernot has asked for the following modification to the subject description for COMP9242 Advanced OS:

    Following the approval of the new Distributed Systems subject I propose to adjust 9242 to minimise overlap.

    Covers operating systems design and implementation issues at an advanced level, focussing on specific issues such as performance and on current OS research areas. Topics selected from: Microkernels, user-level servers, design and implementation of microkernel-based systems; performance; kernel design and implementation; device drivers; scheduling for real-time; effects and control of hardware caches; security and protection; persistent systems; security; dealing with large, sparse address spaces; experimental systems. A laboratory running a state-of-the-art microkernel system will be used to provide hands-on experience with low-level implementation of OS components.

  4. It is proposed that the description of COMP9022 and COMP2021 be modified to include and introduction to C for Java programmers. C is needed for certain later year subjects including COMP3231/9201.

  5. Proposal to allow first year CS students to enrol in INFS subject Business Data Management. At present, for historical reasons, CS students are not permitted to enrol in BDM until second year. We need to recommend to BSSM that this now be allowed. We may as well make the proposal that all INFS1* subjects be regarded as level 1 for CS. [Geoff Whale's proposal]

  6. John Potter has raised the question of using sirius to allow students to register for tutorials at enrolment time, rather than in the first week, in order to make tut/lab allocations less frantic. Any comments?

  7. Report from Ken Robinson on design of BE(SE)/BSc and BE(SE)/BA combined programmes. These need to be ready for Courses and Careers Day on 4 September.

  8. Courses and Careers Day plans.

  9. John Shepherd: We need to decide on summer teaching *now* ... at least decide on which subjects will be running .... I've been telling students who are having trouble finishing their courses that they could do graphics over the summer rather than overloading now (and risking failure) ... I did warn these people, though, that we hadn't finalised summer teaching.

    In future, this needs to be done *before* the start of session 2, because students need to make these kind of decisions in the first couple of weeks of the session (and the people I spoke to were in the week before session started.

  10. Ian Morrison has requested that the schools provide some feedback on this year's CEQ and the Graduate Destination Survey (copies of these are available from Ann). Andrew T to report.

School of Computer Science & Engineering
The University of New South Wales
Sydney 2052, AUSTRALIA
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