CQUniversity Unit Profile
COIT20270 App Development for Mobile Platforms
App Development for Mobile Platforms
All details in this unit profile for COIT20270 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 is devoted to the design and implementation of Android and iOS mobile applications. Native mobile programming languages will form the basis upon which programming techniques and design patterns will be developed for creating standalone applications. Commonly used mobile tools and frameworks for mobile application development are used. All stages of software development from the initial idea, through to development and testing will be covered. Consideration will be given to the business case from the developers' point of view. Some examination of how to market mobile apps is also undertaken. 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

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 2 - 2020

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. Portfolio
Weighting: 20%
2. Practical Assessment
Weighting: 30%
3. Practical Assessment
Weighting: 30%
4. Written Assessment
Weighting: 20%

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 Evaluation

Feedback

Assignment requirements forced students to follow the hardwired coding standards learned in the unit

Recommendation

Review the assessment requirements to give students the flexibility to use some alternate models and programming techniques

Feedback from Unit Evaluation

Feedback

Subject content was too dense, leaving little time for students to complete and reflect on tutorial tasks before moving on to new concepts

Recommendation

Reduce complexity of the tutorial material by providing smaller and manageable development tasks and align these with the concepts

Unit Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
  1. Design and implement native mobile applications
  2. Describe and be able to develop critical parts of a native mobile system programming interface
  3. Use an integrated IDE to build, debug and test native mobile applications
  4. Determine the business impact of a given mobile solution and critically assess the implementation of an app and its likely marketability and profitability
  5. Critically analyse a research issue in mobile computing.

The Australian Computer Society (ACS) recognises the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). SFIA is adopted by organisations, governments and individuals in many 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 following workplace skills as defined by SFIA 7 (the SFIA code is included):

  • Systems Design (DESN)
  • System Integration (SINT)
  • Program ming/Software Development (PROG)
  • Data Analysis (DTAN)
  • Database/Repository Design (DBDS)
  • Testing (TEST)
  • Network Support (NTAS)
  • 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
1 - Portfolio - 20%
2 - Practical Assessment - 30%
3 - Practical Assessment - 30%
4 - Written Assessment - 20%

Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes

Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
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 - Portfolio - 20%
2 - Practical Assessment - 30%
3 - Practical Assessment - 30%
4 - Written Assessment - 20%
Textbooks and Resources

Textbooks

Prescribed

Beginning Android Programming with Android Studio

(2017)
Authors: J.F. DiMarzio
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Binding: Paperback

Additional Textbook Information

If you prefer to study with a paper copy, they are available at the CQUni Bookshop here: http://bookshop.cqu.edu.au (search on the Unit code). eBooks are available at the publisher's website.

IT Resources

You will need access to the following IT resources:
  • CQUniversity Student Email
  • Internet
  • Unit Website (Moodle)
  • Latest version Android Studio (with Marshmallow API 23) + 1 working AVD (virtual phone)
Referencing Style

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

For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.

Teaching Contacts
Colin Lemmon Unit Coordinator
c.lemmon@cqu.edu.au
Schedule
Week 1 Begin Date: 13 Jul 2020

Module/Topic

Introducing Android Application Development

Chapter

Android Programming: Big Nerd Ranch Guide 3rd ed, Chapter 1-3

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 2 Begin Date: 20 Jul 2020

Module/Topic

Android Activities

Chapter

Android Programming: Big Nerd Ranch Guide 3rd ed, Chapter 5 & 6

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 3 Begin Date: 27 Jul 2020

Module/Topic

Fragments and Fragment Manager

Chapter

Android Programming: Big Nerd Ranch Guide 3rd ed, Chapter 7

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 4 Begin Date: 03 Aug 2020

Module/Topic

Recycler View, Layouts and Widgets

Chapter

Android Programming: Big Nerd Ranch Guide 3rd ed, Chapter 8 & 9

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 5 Begin Date: 10 Aug 2020

Module/Topic

Fragment Args, View Pager

Chapter

Android Programming: Big Nerd Ranch Guide 3rd ed, Chapter 10 & 11

Events and Submissions/Topic

Vacation Week Begin Date: 17 Aug 2020

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 6 Begin Date: 24 Aug 2020

Module/Topic

Dialogs and menus

Chapter

Android Programming: Big Nerd Ranch Guide 3rd ed, Chapter 12 & 13

Events and Submissions/Topic

Monday: Assignment 1 due


Assignment 1 Due: Week 6 Monday (24 Aug 2020) 12:00 pm AEST
Week 7 Begin Date: 31 Aug 2020

Module/Topic

Database

Chapter

Android Programming: Big Nerd Ranch Guide 3rd ed, Chapter 15 and 16

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 8 Begin Date: 07 Sep 2020

Module/Topic

Implicit intents, email and camera

Chapter

Android Programming: Big Nerd Ranch Guide 3rd ed, Chapter 17

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 9 Begin Date: 14 Sep 2020

Module/Topic

Location services and Maps

Chapter

Android Programming: Big Nerd Ranch Guide 3rd ed, Chapter 33 and 34

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 10 Begin Date: 21 Sep 2020

Module/Topic

HTTP and Async tasks

Chapter

Android Programming: Big Nerd Ranch Guide 3rd ed, Chapter 25

Events and Submissions/Topic

Friday: Assignment 2 due


Assignment 2 Due: Week 10 Friday (25 Sept 2020) 12:00 pm AEST
Week 11 Begin Date: 28 Sep 2020

Module/Topic

Deploying to the App Store

Chapter

Android Programming: Big Nerd Ranch Guide 3rd ed, Chapter 26

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 12 Begin Date: 05 Oct 2020

Module/Topic

Cross platform Technologies

Chapter

Work on assessment

Events and Submissions/Topic

Friday: Portfolio due


Portfolio Due: Week 12 Friday (9 Oct 2020) 12:00 pm AEST
Review/Exam Week Begin Date: 12 Oct 2020

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Friday: Report due


Report Due: Review/Exam Week Friday (16 Oct 2020) 12:00 pm AEST
Exam Week Begin Date: 19 Oct 2020

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment Tasks

1 Portfolio

Assessment Title
Portfolio

Task Description

You are to submit a set of portfolio items for weeks 2 to 11 inclusive. The weekly portfolios will describe your understanding of the topic for the week, with relevant references and resources providing evidence of your understanding.

You are to conduct a search of the internet on the topic for the week. You should review a minimum of 4 items of the items you find and link them to your portfolio. You are not to upload files from the internet, as you do not own copyright, and if you do, this will be plagiarism. You are to use links to your items only. You may include items from YouTube, clips from lectures and/or tutorials, and your own work that you produce in the tutorials. Your portfolio should capture rich ideas, resources and innovative practice around mobile app development within the frame of the weekly topics.

The structure of the weekly portfolio entry is as follows:

· Summary of weekly learning topics, about ¼ page of A4.

· A list of at least 4 resources. Each resource should consist of a Harvard reference or link to online resources, about a ¼ page of A4.

· This should be followed by a brief discussion as to what the resource is, why you chose the item, and why you thought the item chosen was appropriate, about ½ a page of A4.


Assessment Due Date

Week 12 Friday (9 Oct 2020) 12:00 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Exam Week Friday (23 Oct 2020)


Weighting
20%

Assessment Criteria

Criteria Marks/week
Summary of weekly topic 0.5
Resource descriptions 1
Number and justification/quality of resource 0.5


Referencing Style

Submission

No submission method provided.


Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Describe and be able to develop critical parts of a native mobile system programming interface
  • Determine the business impact of a given mobile solution and critically assess the implementation of an app and its likely marketability and profitability


Graduate Attributes
  • Knowledge
  • Communication
  • Self-management

2 Practical Assessment

Assessment Title
Assignment 1

Task Description

You are assigned the task of creating a mobile application called PuppyRescue using Android Studio and Java. The application will list dogs at different rescue centers that are available for adoption. A menu item will allow users to add a new dog. Clicking on a list item will open the details page for that dog and provide facilities to edit details for that dog.

Assignment 2 will build on this application and add additional features.

More details of will be available on the Moodle site. You should also consult the weekly lecture/tutorials on the Moodle website for help and more information on completing the assignment. 


Assessment Due Date

Week 6 Monday (24 Aug 2020) 12:00 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Week 8 Monday (7 Sept 2020)


Weighting
30%

Assessment Criteria

Component Criteria Marks
Layouts List Page layout 3
Details Page layout 3
Fragments Fragments used and implemented correctly for list page and details page 3
List View ListView, View Holder and Adapter implemented correctly 3
Menu Creates a new dog from menu and goes to details page 3
Save Changes are saved to the item array 3
Page Operation List Page functions and displays correctly 3
Page Operation Details Page functions and displays correctly 3
Errors All errors are caught, and appropriate messages displayed 2
Resources Resources (such as string resources) used wherever possible 1
Code Quality Informative variable names, consistent indenting, adequate commenting, no more than one blank line between blocks of code 2
Submission Zip file generated using File/Export to zip (entire project not zipped). File named as specified 1
Total 30


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Design and implement native mobile applications
  • Use an integrated IDE to build, debug and test native mobile applications


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

3 Practical Assessment

Assessment Title
Assignment 2

Task Description

You are assigned the task of add additional features to the mobile application called PuppyRescue using Android Studio and Java. The application will save the details into an SQLite database, show the location of the dog on a map, and email an inquiry about adopting the dog.

You will also research business options for the application

More details of will be available on the Moodle site. You should also consult the weekly lecture/tutorials on the Moodle website for help and more information on completing the assignment.


Assessment Due Date

Week 10 Friday (25 Sept 2020) 12:00 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Week 12 Friday (9 Oct 2020)


Weighting
30%

Assessment Criteria


Component

Criteria

Marks

Email

Email opens for sending

2

 

Email does not open if details are not present

2

 

Title and body text correct

2

 

 

 

Database

Data saved to and read from the SQLite database

4

 

 

 

Location Services

Location detected correctly and set when new dog is added

3

 

 

 

Google Map

Map is displayed - Imports, keys and permissions set correctly

2

 

Map centered and zoom set

2

 

Dog location displayed on map correctly

2

 

 

 

Coding Style

Appropriate naming conventions, adequate commenting, well formatted

2

 

 

 

Research/analysis

Analysis of business options for application

8

 

 

 

Submission

Zip file generated using File/Export to zip (entire project not zipped). Files are named as specified

1

 

Total

30



Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Design and implement native mobile applications
  • Use an integrated IDE to build, debug and test native mobile applications
  • Determine the business impact of a given mobile solution and critically assess the implementation of an app and its likely marketability and profitability


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

4 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Report

Task Description

Creating a mobile app is simply the start of the process to becoming an entrepreneur. To scale an application, you need to approach an investor. For example, $5000 per month would be bottom-line spending on social media and advertising.

It does not matter if you have working code and how good it is. There are a set of points an investor will require you to address before they will talk money.

To better understand this process, this assessment requires you to consider an issue in your local community. It may be anything from recycling to promoting sports or local tourism to managing parking spaces. Having researched and identified a problem complete the tasks below:

• Describe the problem in a clear and concise manner

• Look for the mobile apps on Google Play store and the Amazon app store (or anywhere else) and find the best three applications that address this problem (or address some aspect of the problem if that is all you can find). Do not use any large-scale applications such as any social media apps, YouTube, Google Maps, Uber etc. 

• Critically review and analyse the strengths and weaknesses of each mobile application in respect to features, operation and layout

• Propose a new app that would present a better solution in terms of its features, and also its design and layout. Include layout diagrams of your app. You may use low fidelity rough sketches (including as photos of sketches in your submission document) or any other drawing 

• What are the points of difference (advantages/improvements) for your solution over existing solutions?

• Who is your target market?

• How will you reach/market to your target market? Justify your strategies.

• What ethical concerns would need to be addressed?

Submit a single word document. Insert any images of hand drawn sketches into the document (be careful of large image sizes).

Reference all sources you used for the problem identification, analysis and solution. Use Harvard referencing style for your referencing.


Assessment Due Date

Review/Exam Week Friday (16 Oct 2020) 12:00 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Weighting
20%

Assessment Criteria

Component Out of
Problem description – clear, precise, comprehensive 2
Research of existing applications 2
Strengths and weaknesses of existing solutions 2
Quality of proposed improved solution 2
Points of difference 2
Identification of target market 2
Justification for the marketing strategy 2
Ethical concerns 2
Referencing 2
Writing quality 2
Deductions: 2
TOTAL 20


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Describe and be able to develop critical parts of a native mobile system programming interface
  • Critically analyse a research issue in mobile computing.


Graduate Attributes
  • Knowledge
  • Communication
  • Cognitive, technical and creative skills
  • Research
  • 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?