Course syllabus

Jump to today

COMPSCI 111 Digital Course Outline

Access the 2025 Semester 1 Digital Course Outline here

Course Prescription

A practical introduction to computing. Topics include: web design, an overview of computer hardware and operating systems, effective use of common applications, using the internet as a communication medium, applying programming concepts, and social implications of technology.

Course Overview

This course has no prerequisites and does not require any special skills. By the end of the course, students should be able to navigate successfully in a Computer Science environment.

Although the paper is not a core Computer Science paper, it is a recommended paper for all students as it equips students with a broad range of skills that will be useful in their future studies and careers. Topics include website design, hardware, software, Internet, programming, word processing, spreadsheets, LaTeX typesetting, AI and Digital Game Design as well as many other Computer Science related topics, many of which are not covered in our other courses. The contents of the course (particularly the labs) help to boost the number of skills that students are able to list on their CVs. 

Course Requirements

No prerequisites or restrictions.

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1:    People and Place
Capability 3:    Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4:    Critical Thinking
Capability 5:    Solution Seeking
Capability 6:    Communication

Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Science


Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Use personal computers with confidence (Capability 3)
  2. Write simple computer programs (Capability 3, 4 and 5)
  3. Create an artifact in some common applications, e.g. spreadsheets, word processing, databases (Capability 3, 5 and 6)
  4. Understand the structure of the Internet and its social issues, as well as other types of networks (Capability 1, 3 and 6)
  5. Design and create a simple web page (Capability 5)
  6. Demonstrate a basic understanding of the origins and design of computing hardware and software (Capability 1 and 3)
  7. Demonstrate a basic understanding of selected set of current research topics in Computer Science (e.g. AI and game design) (Capability 3 and 4)

 

Assessments

See the Assessment Overview page for more information.

Key Topics

  • Introduction to Hardware
  • Electronic Communication and Publishing Online
  • WWW
  • Word Processing and RefWorks
  • Spreadsheets
  • LaTeX Typesetting
  • Bits, Bytes and Digital Information
  • History of Computing
  • Software Licences and Conventions
  • Python Programming
  • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
  • Digital Games
  • Web Design (using HTML5 and CSS)

 

Special Requirements

  • Lab attendance is expected.  For each lab, 10% of the mark is for attendance.
  • There will be an Inspera test halfway through the semester. This test will be held on campus on the evening of Wednesday 7th April, starting at 7pm.

 

Workload Expectations

Learning Resources

Course Reference Manual

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

 

Copyright

The content and delivery of content in this course are protected by copyright. Material belonging to others may have been used in this course and copied by and solely for the educational purposes of the University under license.

You may copy the course content for the purposes of private study or research, but you may not upload onto any third party site, make a further copy or sell, alter or further reproduce or distribute any part of the course content to another person.

For further information about support available at UoA see the Science Student Experience & Support Hub.

Course summary:

Date Details Due