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IS41090

Academic Year 2026/2027

Informatics (IS41090)

Subject:
Information Studies
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Information & Comms Studies
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Dr Arjumand Younus
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
Blended
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

The process of information creation, storage, and access are core interests in the study of informatics. These processes are inextricably tied to web based applications, the use of which is prevalent in many aspects of daily life and are a core component of modern industries. These systems are typically predicated on the exposure of some underlying structured storage of data in a contextual way to clients in the form of a web interface. These types of applications include online shops (e.g. Ebay, SuperValu.ie), social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Tumblr), online encyclopedias (e.g. Wikipedia, Scholarpedia) and even content management systems (e.g. Wordpress, Drupal).

This module will discuss some of the technologies underpinning these applications and the underlying principles of how such applications are developed. Attention will be paid to the manner in which data can be stored, and practical means of accessing and delivering information to a frontend. Students can expect to obtain both practical experience and theoretical knowledge relating to the development of such systems.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module students should be able to
• formulate, explain and compare the fundamental data storage concepts
• understand the purpose and application of markup and data exchange
• design and implement a relational database
• have familiarity with both client and server side scripting

Indicative Module Content:

Web and database technologies, featuring both markup and scripting

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Practical

22
Autonomous Student Learning

254
Total

300

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lecture; in-class discussion; hands-on classroom based activities

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade Component repeat (in-module) Offered
Individual Project: Final project where you develop your own Django Web app on CRUD principes based on all covered during module Week 15 Graded Yes
50
 Yes
Practical Skills Assessment: Various assignments from within labs based on incremental understanding of how Python works followed by Django web development aspects. Week 3, Week 5, Week 8, Week 11 Graded Yes
30
 Yes
Quizzes/Short Exercises: Questions (with few MCQs) to test your understanding of various concepts covered in class: chiefly Python, HTML, MVC architecture of Django Week 9 Graded Yes
20
 Yes

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback and grades will be provided for project component practical work prior to end of semester deliverable. End of semester components will have grades released online through SIS.

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 09:00 - 09:50
Spring Laboratory Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Tues 14:00 - 14:50
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