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ITECH1101 Assignment 1: Design Documentation
Overview
This is an individual assignment that requires you to design a small program that you will later implement using block-based coding using MIT Scratch (https://scratch.mit.edu/). You will follow a problem solving process to identify a problem, devise creative solutions for that problem and ultimately select a problem you wish to solve with your program. You will then design one or more algorithms that attempt to solve the selected problem. No coding is included in this assignment.
Timelines and Expectations
Percentage Value of Task: 20%
Due: Friday 7th May, 2021 (Week 7), 17:00.
Minimum time expectation: 12 hours
Learning Outcomes Assessed
The following course learning outcomes are assessed by completing this assessment:
• K2. Relate goal-setting and plan formulation to problem solving
• K3. Compare and contrast commonly used problem solving strategies
• K4. Describe tools and techniques that can be used to model and describe problems
• K5. Describe the value of reflection, attitude and self-efficacy towards success in problem solving
• S1. Decompose a problem and create goals and plans to solve that problem
• S2. Devise and implement problem solving strategies which can be applied to a range of IT problems
• S3. Develop and verify algorithms based on conceptual models used in programming
• S4. Construct documentation describing how to solve a problem
• A1. Apply problem solving strategies, tools and techniques to solve problems in a variety of domains
Assessment Details
Assignment Scenario
Your task is to design an original program that in some way incorporates searching, the colour red, and your student id. You are not required to implement the program for this assessment. Some ideas for your program could include:
• A number search program where the player needs to search through a selection of numbers in an assortment of colours, in order to locate the red numbers of your student id in order.
• A stacking program where the player needs to search for particular red items and stack them in separate piles to represent your student id pictorially.
• A quest for the ITECH1101 trophy, in which characters shaped like the numbers of your student id work together to defeat the red villains who hide the whereabouts of the trophy.
The idea for the program is entirely your choice within this scope, provided it can be implemented in Scratch v3.
Important Note Before You Begin
This assignment does not require you to do any coding; you are focusing on the design of the program only. You will be working on implementation of your program for Assignment 2, however there is no expectation that you must completely implement your program in order to gain high marks. You are not being assessed on how good your program is, or how complicated its design, or anything else that assumes you already have a level of coding ability. Instead, the focus is on your problem solving skills. When you encounter a challenge, how do you respond? What strategies do you employ? How do you proceed when your first (or first several) attempts are unsuccessful? For your assignment, this means two key things:
1) Even though you are able to freely see and access existing Scratch programs, copying someone else’s work does not provide you with any benefit. Copying existing work does not allow you to practise your problem solving skills, and so you would not receive high marks for the submitted work. It is what you, personally, achieve that counts, not what you’re able to source from someone else.
2) The complexity of your program idea allows you to control the level of problem solving you need to perform. If you are a novice coder, pick a simple idea, or an idea that starts simply but can easily be expanded. Conversely, if you are an experienced coder, your program will need to include some complexity. Only you know your current capabilities, and so it is up to you to choose an idea that interests you and that pushes you just beyond your current capabilities so that you have the opportunity to demonstrate your problem-solving skills. If, when you get to the coding activities, you find that your choice was too simple, you can add further complexity. You will not be penalized for submitting an incomplete implementation of your program, but you will be penalized if you have chosen a task that does not provide you the opportunity to problem-solve appropriately.
Using Scratch v3
Scratch (https://scratch.mit.edu/) is available for both online and offline use. Download Scratch from here: https://scratch.mit.edu/download. Save your work to your computer as you go.
Some interactive tutorials are available within Scratch; and others are available here: https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/codeclub/scratch-module-1 to help you learn how to use the Scratch interface and create programs.
Assignment Scenario
This assignment requires you to create design documentation for a program of your choice, which in some way combines searching, the colour red and your student id.
Your program must:
• Be challenging for you, so that you are able to demonstrate your problem solving skills.
• Require you to use a variety of problem solving strategies / techniques to complete.
• Be creative.
• Include behaviour that you can attempt to code later using Scratch v3, and be within the capabilities of Scratch v3. You may not use any other programming environment for this assignment.
Your program must not be something that you can solve by following previously created instructions (even with minor modifications) or downloading existing programs. Looking at other examples and completing tutorials to help you learn is fine, but copying other work is not counted as using problem-solving skills. You need to think through what your program requires for yourself.
Your task is to develop design documentation for your program. This needs to incorporate:
1) A list of potential ideas for your program, identified using creative problem-solving skills. You are permitted to work with other people to generate ideas, but if any other people involved are students of this course, you must select different program ideas for your own work. You must also name every person who has contributed to this task and state their contribution.
2) The idea you have chosen for your program, and an explanation of why you have chosen this idea based on your current capabilities with programming and problem-solving.
3) A list of requirements for your program. This may include rules or the boundaries of what your program will do, so you have a clear idea of how it will behave. These requirements may continue to evolve as you work on this assignment, but you need to document something to get started. If you change the requirements while working on this assignment, you must also update the documented list of requirements.
4) One or more sketches that give an idea of what you think your program will look like. These do not need to be highly detailed or worthy of inclusion in an art gallery.
5) One or more algorithms to implement all the behaviour (not the appearance) of your program. You may need to break your requirements down into smaller sub-tasks to achieve this, and should include statements that make the purpose of each task or subtask clear.
6) A reflection on your algorithms that considers the challenges you encountered developing the algorithms, how you responded to these challenges, and how accurately you believe your algorithms will perform their intended functions.
Submission
Your design documentation must be submitted as a Microsoft Word file or a .pdf file only, in the assignment submission box provided in Moodle. Your documentation will be evaluated for originality using TurnItIn.
Marking Criteria
Refer to the marking rubric at the end of this document.
Feedback
Marks will be uploaded in fdlMarks and a completed marking feedback sheet uploaded in Moodle within 2 weeks of the assessment due date.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the presentation of the expressed thought or work of another person as though it is one's own without properly acknowledging that person. You must not allow other students to copy your work and must take care to safeguard against this happening. More information about the plagiarism policy and procedure for the university can be found at http://federation.edu.au/students/learning-and-study/online-help-with/plagiarism.
Marking Rubric
Criteria High (2 marks) Medium (1 mark) Low (0.5 marks) Not demonstrated (0 marks)
Creative Program Ideas A broad range of creative ideas for the program has been identified, demonstrating a variety of different options for the program. Any other person who contributed to the generation of ideas has been clearly identified and their contribution specified. A range of creative ideas for the program has been identified, demonstrating some different options for the program. Any other person who contributed to the generation of ideas has been clearly identified and their contribution specified. A limited range of creative ideas for the program has been identified, demonstrating few different options for the program. Any other person who contributed to the generation of ideas has been clearly identified and their contribution specified. No list of ideas included OR a very limited number of program ideas generated OR proper acknowledgement of any other people involved and their contribution not included.
Program Identification A single idea for a program has been selected. An explanation has been provided that shows a high level of insight into why this program is appropriate based on the student’s current capabilities with programming and problem-solving. A single idea for a program has been selected. An explanation has been provided that shows some insight into why this program is appropriate based on the student’s current capabilities with programming and problem-solving. A single idea for a program has been selected. An explanation has been provided that shows limited insight into why this program is appropriate based on the student’s current capabilities with programming and problem-solving. A single idea for a program has been selected but no explanation of why this choice was made has been provided OR no / an inappropriate program idea has been selected.
Sketches One or more sketches have been included that provide a clear overview of the intended program’s appearance. One or more sketches have been included that provide a reasonable overview of the intended program’s appearance. One or more sketches have been included that provide a limited overview of the intended program’s appearance. No sketches have been included OR sketches provide a confused overview of the intended program’s appearance OR sketches do not demonstrate a recognisable overview of the intended program’s appearance.
Criteria High (6 marks) Medium (4 mark) Low (2 marks) Not demonstrated (0 marks)
Requirements List A comprehensive list of requirements for the program has been provided. This list clearly identifies the rules and / or boundaries of what the program will do and provides a clear idea of the program’s behaviour, enabling the development of robust solutions. A list of requirements for the program has been provided. This list clearly identifies the rules and / or boundaries of what the program will do and provides a reasonable idea of the program’s behaviour. Some additional clarity may be required to develop robust solutions A list of requirements for the program has been provided. This list identifies the rules and / or boundaries of what the program will do and provides a limited idea of the program’s behaviour. Additional work is required to enable development of robust solutions. No list of requirements has been provided
OR A list of requirements has been provided but the rules and / or boundaries have not been provided OR The list of requirements and / or the rules / program boundaries have been provided but these are ambiguous or do not clearly describe the program’s behaviour.
Algorithms Algorithms are provided. These clearly relate to the program requirements, are unambiguous, clear, complete and logical. These algorithms should successfully implement the program requirements described. Algorithms are provided. These clearly relate to the program requirements and mostly achieve the required solution but contain a small number of issues with clarity, completeness or logic. Algorithms are provided. These can be related to the program requirements but are a) unclear or ambiguous b) incomplete c) logically incorrect. Algorithms not provided OR algorithms are provided but the relationship between these and the program requirements is unclear.
Criteria High (2 marks) Medium (1 mark) Low (0.5 marks) Not demonstrated (0 marks)
Reflection An insightful reflection is provided that meaningfully discusses the challenges encountered developing the algorithms, the student’s response to these challenges and an appraisal of the likely accuracy of the algorithms. This reflection demonstrates critical thought and that the challenge of the task was established at an appropriate level. A reflection is provided that meaningfully discusses the challenges encountered developing the algorithms, the student’s response to these challenges and an appraisal of the likely accuracy of the algorithms. This reflection demonstrates that the challenge of the task was established at an appropriate level. A reflection is provided that discusses the challenges encountered developing the algorithms, the student’s response to these challenges and an appraisal of the likely accuracy of the algorithms. This reflection demonstrates that the challenge of the task was established at an appropriate level. No reflection provided OR the reflection lacks detail of challenges, response to challenge and appraisal of the likely accuracy of the algorithms OR the reflection does not identify any challenges, indicating that the difficulty of the task was established at too low a level.