CQUniversity Unit Profile
COIT20269 Mobile Web Apps
Mobile Web Apps
All details in this unit profile for COIT20269 have been officially approved by CQUniversity and represent a learning partnership between the University and you (our student).
The information will not be changed unless absolutely necessary and any change will be clearly indicated by an approved correction included in the profile.
General Information

Overview

This unit shows you how to design and implement dynamic mobile web apps that allow complex user interaction and build on knowledge of responsive web design. You will examine the viability of web apps versus native apps, with particular attention being paid to cross platform considerations using tools such as Apache Cordova, implementing web middleware using server-side tools such as Node.js and integrating these with cloud databases to store mobile data. The business drivers for mobile portals will also be discussed, as will the social impact of mobile technology. Research skills will be introduced as a means of keeping up to date with the changing mobile development landscape.

Details

Career Level: Postgraduate
Unit Level: Level 9
Credit Points: 6
Student Contribution Band: 8
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load: 0.125

Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-Req: COIT20268 Responsive Web Design Anti-Req: COIT20231 Mobile Computing

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Offerings For Term 1 - 2019

Brisbane
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Class and Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Class Timetable

Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Assessment Overview

1. Practical Assessment
Weighting: 20%
2. Practical Assessment
Weighting: 30%
3. Project (applied)
Weighting: 50%

Assessment Grading

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.

Previous Student Feedback

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Feedback from Unit feedback link

Feedback

Tutorial code was found not to work.

Recommendation

Tutorial code is based on open source API's that change and cause example programs to fail. These problems will be corrected by the coordinator during the term as they arise. This is a common problem when using contributed APIs and is typical of what happens in the real world.

Unit Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
  1. Design, create and implement a mobile web app
  2. Design, create and implement a hybrid mobile app, a web service and then use these to store mobile data to a cloud database
  3. Analyse and evaluate design alternatives for the app
  4. Use an integrated development environment (IDE) build, debug and test mobile systems to develop a working app
  5. Assess the current and future business impact of mobile web apps
  6. Critically evaluate key research areas in mobile web apps.

Australian Computer Society (ACS) recognises the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). SFIA is in use in over 100 countries and provides a widely used and consistent definition of ICT skills. SFIA is increasingly being used when developing job descriptions and role profiles.

ACS members can use the tool MySFIA to build a skills profile at https://www.acs.org.au/professionalrecognition/mysfia-b2c.html

This unit contributes to the workplace skills as defined by SFIA. The SFIA code is included:

Systems Design (DESN),

Systems Integration (SINT),

Data Analysis (DTAN),

Database/Repository Design (DBDS),

Testing (TEST),

Release and Deployment (RELM),

Applications Support (ASUP).

Alignment of Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Graduate Attributes
N/A Level
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Professional Level
Advanced Level

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes

Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Practical Assessment - 20%
2 - Practical Assessment - 30%
3 - Project (applied) - 50%

Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes

Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Knowledge
2 - Communication
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills
4 - Research
5 - Self-management
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility
7 - Leadership
8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes

Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 - Practical Assessment - 20%
2 - Practical Assessment - 30%
3 - Project (applied) - 50%
Textbooks and Resources

Textbooks

Prescribed

Beginning Mobile Application Development in the Cloud

(2012)
Authors: R. Rodger
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Indianapolis Indianapolis , IN , USA
ISBN: 978-1-118-03469-9
Binding: Other

Additional Textbook Information

Paper copies are available at the CQUni Bookshop here: http://bookshop.cqu.edu.au (search on the Unit code)

IT Resources

You will need access to the following IT resources:
  • CQUniversity Student Email
  • Internet
  • Unit Website (Moodle)
  • Android studio (latest version)
  • Apache cordova from https://cordova.apache.org/
  • mongodb from http://mongodb.org
  • nodejs from http://nodejs.org
Referencing Style

All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)

For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.

Teaching Contacts
Ron Balsys Unit Coordinator
r.balsys@cqu.edu.au
Schedule
Week 1 Begin Date: 11 Mar 2019

Module/Topic

Introduction mobile computing using Javascript. Mobile application development.

Chapter

Rodger, Chapter 1, pp. 1-29.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 2 Begin Date: 18 Mar 2019

Module/Topic

Introducing cloud computing. Mobilising your application.

Chapter

Reading 1: Singh and Jangwal, April, 2012.

Rodger, Chapter 2, pp. 31-67.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 3 Begin Date: 25 Mar 2019

Module/Topic

Building mobile web applications. The jQuery and JQuery Mobile JavaScript APIs.

Chapter

Reading 3. Charland and Leroux, May, 2011.

Rodger, Chapter 3, pp. 71-108

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 4 Begin Date: 01 Apr 2019

Module/Topic

Enhancing Your Apps. Context aware mobile computing.

Chapter

Reading 4. Chen and Kotz, 2000.

Rodger, Chapter 4, pp. 111-132.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 5 Begin Date: 08 Apr 2019

Module/Topic

Building Apps in the Cloud. Using the Cloud.

Chapter

Rodger, Chapter 5, pp. 136-174.

Rodger, Chapter 6, pp. 177-209.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Vacation Week Begin Date: 15 Apr 2019

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 6 Begin Date: 22 Apr 2019

Module/Topic

Tab-bar interfaces. Working with the Cloud. Understanding memcache. Installing Android Studio.

Chapter

Rodger, Chapter 7, pp. 211-232.

Rodger, Chapter 8 pp. 235-271

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assignment 1 due


Assignment 1 Due: Week 6 Friday (26 Apr 2019) 11:00 pm AEST
Week 7 Begin Date: 29 Apr 2019

Module/Topic

Using Cordova PhoneGap. Building and running native hybrid Apps. Uploading files using node. Business model for location based services.

Chapter

Reading 5. Dhar and Varshney, May, 2011.

Rodger, Chapter 9 pp. 273-294.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 8 Begin Date: 06 May 2019

Module/Topic

The Phonegap API. Building a photo blogging App. Creating a mLab cloud database account.

Chapter

Rodger, Chapter 9 pp. 294-311.

Rodger, Chapter 10, pp. 315-345.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 9 Begin Date: 13 May 2019

Module/Topic

User registration. Mobile web usability and system testing. Issues in mobile cloud computing.

Chapter

Reading 6: Frederick and Lal, 2009

Rodger, Chapter 10, pp. 345-369.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 10 Begin Date: 20 May 2019

Module/Topic

Social mobile computing. Software principals and patterns in mobile middleware.

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assignment 2 due


Assignment 2 Due: Week 10 Friday (24 May 2019) 11:00 pm AEST
Week 11 Begin Date: 27 May 2019

Module/Topic

The App store and selling Apps. Introduction to the scientific philosophy of research.

Chapter

Reading 9: Stephan et al., 2012.

Rodger, Chapter 13, pp. 435-441.

Rodger, Chapter 14, pp. 455-469.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 12 Begin Date: 03 Jun 2019

Module/Topic

Revision.

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Review/Exam Week Begin Date: 10 Jun 2019

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Creative work/project due


Creative work Due: Review/Exam Week Friday (14 June 2019) 11:00 pm AEST
Exam Week Begin Date: 17 Jun 2019

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment Tasks

1 Practical Assessment

Assessment Title
Assignment 1

Task Description

You are assigned the task of creating a data logger to capture experimental data in a mobile application that stores data in a local database. The app has fields to record data for each of five days of use of drone aircraft. When a day is selected, a page is shown to record data values for drones that are recorded by the app. A drone entry consists of a date and log data. When the Save Log Entry button is pressed these values are saved locally in the devices' localStorage. When the Show Log Entries button is pressed a related page is shown that lists all the date/time and drone entries. More details of these pages will be given in the moodle course website.

The specification of this app will be further refined in Assignment 2.

This app is to be tested using the Safari, FireFox or Chrome browser and tested on an Android or iPhone mobile device.


Assessment Due Date

Week 6 Friday (26 Apr 2019) 11:00 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Week 8 Friday (10 May 2019)


Weighting
20%

Assessment Criteria

Assignment Component Criteria Marks
Client Side application
Drone.html / drone.css The required scripts are all correct and available The multi-page logic is correct The home page displays and works as intended The navigation buttons on the pages are correct and function as expected - The date, latitude, longitude, Serial #, Pilot, Key, Contract # and Category fields are displayed correctly and have the right hints The Show log page shows all the drone' data logs, and has the required functionality 6
Drone.js The user interface of the drone app meets the guidelines given in the assignment - All navigation buttons have the required effect on the page view - The drones' page pageinit and pageshow methods are implemented correctly - Clicking on the Show logs button takes you to a new page where the current logs are all listed in required form - The Clear button on the page header clears all fields - All required dialogs are displayed - Drone values range checked and all save log entries dialogs shown based on contents of the drones' fields - Click on a day's button on home page takes you to the correct drone page - The drone data is saved in localStorage so when the application quits and restarts the values are retained (unless the Send logs button is used). 10
Hardware/Software & commentary
Hardware / Software requirements 1
Application commentary 2
General
Feedback given as required Use appropriate naming conventions Adequate commenting Correct grammar Citation of references, copyright use 1
Penalties
Total 20


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Use an integrated development environment (IDE) build, debug and test mobile systems to develop a working app


Graduate Attributes
  • Knowledge
  • Cognitive, technical and creative skills
  • Self-management

2 Practical Assessment

Assessment Title
Assignment 2

Task Description

You are assigned the task of creating a data logger to capture experimental data in a mobile application that stores data in a local database. The app has fields to record data for each of five days of use of drone aircraft. When a day is selected, a page is shown to record data values for drones that are recorded by the app. A drone entry consists of a date and log data. When the Save Log Entry button is pressed these values are saved locally in the devices' localStorage as well as added to a MLab cloud database collection. When the Get button is used drone entries are retrieved from the cloud database and displayed on the phone.

We will refer to our app as DroneLogs. More details of these pages will be given in the moodle course website. You should also consult the weekly lecture/tutorials on the Moodle website for help and more information on completing the assignment. The tutorials contain step-by-step procedures for working through the assignment as well as some tips and extra help. Please read the lecture/tutorials on the Moodle website.

This app is to be tested using the Safari, FireFox or Chrome browser and tested on an Android or iPhone mobile device.


Assessment Due Date

Week 10 Friday (24 May 2019) 11:00 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Week 12 Friday (7 June 2019)


Weighting
30%

Assessment Criteria

Assignment Component Criteria Marks
Cordova Phonegap Integration The DroneLogs app is successfully implemented in Cordova Phonegap 2
Client Side application
Send/Get buttons Javascript and HTML files correct Tap handler for Send sends data with feedback correctly Tap handler for Get gets data with feedback correctly Current logs page meets specification Cloud drone logs page meets specifications The data in the logs pages are formatted correctly 6
Server Side application
Config.js / config file The commonly used functions are all defined correctly 2
server.js Appropriate response messages are sent, and appropriate messages are written by the server as messages are routed (1 mark) The Drone_Logs collection at MLabs is successfully connected, opened and updated (2 marks) The log() methods appends each entry received to ./logs/logs.data on PC (1 mark) All entries for the given drone are returned in the response object when the search/:query is performed (2 marks) The :drone/log request writes the data to the drone_logs user collection of the mongdb database (2 marks) 8
Documentation
Discussion of testing regime Discussion of selection of mobile models Discussion of part emulators vs. the real devices play in testing Document functional and UI testing of the app 3
Commentary Successful/unsuccessful features Additional functionality Ethical considerations 3
Financial case Time costing Database costing Marketing Analysis Synthesis 5
General
Feedback given as required Use appropriate naming conventions Adequate commenting Correct grammar Citation of references, copyright use 1
Penalties
Total 30


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Design, create and implement a mobile web app
  • Design, create and implement a hybrid mobile app, a web service and then use these to store mobile data to a cloud database
  • Use an integrated development environment (IDE) build, debug and test mobile systems to develop a working app
  • Assess the current and future business impact of mobile web apps


Graduate Attributes
  • Knowledge
  • Cognitive, technical and creative skills
  • Self-management

3 Project (applied)

Assessment Title
Creative work

Task Description

For your creative work you are going to design, specify, implement and test a prototype of a simple web application. You are to come up with your own idea for the app you wish to prototype. Keep it simple as you have only a day a week during term to prototype and develop this idea. You do necessarily have to create a completed app, but you must develop and document enough to justify the time allocated to the project.

You should complete the work in a number of stages, developing new parts of your web application project in parallel with each assignment. The amount of work/time you spend on this about the same as the time spent doing assignment 1 and 2.

The moodle course website describes each part that will be assessed and guides you in this assessment process.


Assessment Due Date

Review/Exam Week Friday (14 June 2019) 11:00 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Exam Week Monday (17 June 2019)


Weighting
50%

Assessment Criteria

App design and specification – 10 marks

App development – 25 marks

App testing, business case, marketing plan and research - 15 marks


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Design, create and implement a hybrid mobile app, a web service and then use these to store mobile data to a cloud database
  • Analyse and evaluate design alternatives for the app
  • Assess the current and future business impact of mobile web apps
  • Critically evaluate key research areas in mobile web apps.


Graduate Attributes
  • Knowledge
  • Communication
  • Self-management

Academic Integrity Statement

As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.

Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.

When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.

Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.

As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.

What is a breach of academic integrity?

A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.

Why is academic integrity important?

A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.

Where can I get assistance?

For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.

What can you do to act with integrity?