IS10060 Digital Technology

Academic Year 2023/2024

How do mobile phones actually work? Why are binary and hexadecimal of fundamental importance to computers? How do I read a CPU spec? What is the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web? These questions and more will be answered in this module. It aims to provide students with a grounding in the principal technological components of modern information systems. This background will help students to successfully tackle some of the technological aspects of subsequent level 2, 3 and 4 I&CS modules.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

An understanding of:
* Binary and hexadecimal
*How computers work
* Networks, the Internet and the WWW
* Hardware and software
* Artificial Intelligence

Indicative Module Content:

*Data representation
Number systems
Decimal, binary, hexadecimal
How to convert between number systems, particularly between decimal, hex and binary
Uses of binary and hexadecimal in computers
How to name multiple bytes

*Hardware: binary to circuit boards
How binary numbers are stored via transistors
Boolean logic and how it is implemented in logic gates
How logic gates are combined to produce digital circuits
Hardware: circuit boards to PCs
CPUs and CPU specs
Hardware: Motherboard and memory
Buses, bridges and expansion slots
RAMs, ROMS, caches and more

*Mobile phones
How they work
How to read mobile phone specs

*Networks
The technology
5G

*The Internet & the WWW
HTML, CSS

*Spreadsheets
Using Google Sheets

*Artificial Intelligence


Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

22
Specified Learning Activities

79
Online Learning

24
Total

125
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
2 lectures per week, 1 group exercise, 2 individual exercises, 1 quiz.
 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Exclusions:

Students registered on ANY programme offered by the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering OR by the School of Computer Science are NOT eligible to take this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Incompatibles:
COMP20020 - Digital Systems, COMP30010 - Foundations of Computing, COMP30030 - Introduction to AI, EEEN20050 - Digital Electronics


 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Continuous Assessment: 1 quiz; 1 group-work practical exercise; 2 individual practical exercises. Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

100

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
 
Spring
      
Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Tues 12:00 - 12:50
Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 10:00 - 10:50
Spring