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Module Descriptors

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Session: 2022/23

Last modified: 21/07/2022 09:45:45

Title of Module: Creative Technologies Professionalism

Code: COMP09096 SCQF Level: 9
(Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework)		 Credit Points: 10 ECTS: 5
(European Credit Transfer Scheme)
School:School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences
Module Co-ordinator:Gavin  Baxter

Summary of Module

In this module students will study what the concept of professionalism means in the creative industries. The module also focuses on the aspect of how to eastablish an online presence to promote your work, the area of freelancing, how to network within your professional discipline and the importance of intellectual property (IP) rights. 

There will be a strong emphasis on personal development planning (PDP) regarding how students showcase themselves and their work to prospective employers. In addition to students being advised to promote themselves and their portfolio work on LinkedIn, they will also reflect and write about topics addressed in the module. In doing so, students will be able to utilise and apply the knowledge they have acquired and apply it when progressing into the world of work. 

The module adopts a flexible and hybrid approach towards its delivery. Class sessions are run synchronously online using Microsoft Teams. The synchronous sessions are recorded with transcriptions provided to adhere to digital accessibility. Synchronous and asynchronous class sessions are available for students to view on multiple platforms  (e.g., smartphone, tablet or lap top) providing a mobile, learn any where, any time philosophy to module delivery. Through the use of Aula, students are given weekly topics to reflect upon and engage with. These topics are designed to support a student centred driven community on the module. On-campus support is also provided via drop in sessions for students wanting face-to-face (F2F) support and feedback about their coursework and online presence.

 

  • The overall scope of the module is to provide the students with gaining an understanding what it means to be a professional within the domain of their discipline area. Students will be afforded with an opportunity to reflect on professional and ethical issues associated with the creative industries in general with a view to identifying what is best practice in this area as well as how to adhere to it.

  • The purpose of the module is also to provide students with an overall in-depth scope of what it is like to work in the creative industries, how to gain a foothold in this area, network with professionals established in the discipline as well as how to showcase work to prospective employers.

  • The content of the module will also aid in solidifying students' knowledge about their subject areas in researching certain topics associated with their discipline areas with a view to them applying this knowledge in future practice in their practical work.

  • This module further enhances students' critical and analytical skills via the coursework in addition to making them culturally aware and ethically-minded towards working working in the creative industries.

  • This module embeds the key “I am UWS” graduate attributes and in particular: Universal(Critical Thinker, Analytical, Culturally aware, Ethically-minded), Work Ready(effective communicator, motivated), and Successful (Driven, Transformational).


Module Delivery Method
Face-To-FaceBlendedFully OnlineHybridCHybridOWork-based Learning
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Face-To-Face
Term used to describe the traditional classroom environment where the students and the lecturer meet synchronously in the same room for the whole provision.

Blended
A mode of delivery of a module or a programme that involves online and face-to-face delivery of learning, teaching and assessment activities, student support and feedback. A programme may be considered “blended” if it includes a combination of face-to-face, online and blended modules. If an online programme has any compulsory face-to-face and campus elements it must be described as blended with clearly articulated delivery information to manage student expectations

Fully Online
Instruction that is solely delivered by web-based or internet-based technologies. This term is used to describe the previously used terms distance learning and e learning.

HybridC
Online with mandatory face-to-face learning on Campus

HybridO
Online with optional face-to-face learning on Campus

Work-based Learning
Learning activities where the main location for the learning experience is in the workplace.


Campus(es) for Module Delivery
The module will normally be offered on the following campuses / or by Distance/Online Learning: (Provided viable student numbers permit)
Paisley:Ayr:Dumfries:Lanarkshire:London:Distance/Online Learning:Other:
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Term(s) for Module Delivery
(Provided viable student numbers permit).
Term 1check markTerm 2

 

Term 3

 

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Learning Outcomes: (maximum of 5 statements)

On successful completion of this module the student will be able to:

L1. Research, analyse and evaluate professional and ethical issues affecting the creative industries.

L2. Research and reflect upon via the creation of a blog salient topics related to working in the creative industries.

L3. Gain a firm awareness of the creative industries sector in addition to understanding the skill sets required to work in this area.

L4. Obtain a realisation of the importance of networking within the creative industries and establishing an online presence with a view to employability.

Employability Skills and Personal Development Planning (PDP) Skills
SCQF Headings During completion of this module, there will be an opportunity to achieve core skills in:
Knowledge and Understanding (K and U) SCQF Level 9.

Understand the concept of professionalism associated with the creative industries in terms of what it means to be a professional in this field.
Understand the ethical and social elements relevant to the creative industries.
Gain knowledge of working as a freelancer, social networking and promoting your work in the creative industries.

Practice: Applied Knowledge and Understanding SCQF Level 9.

Identify, examine, reflect upon legal, social and ethical professional and business related issues affecting the creative industries.
Apply knowledge, skills and understanding in planning and executing a written piece of research and investigation.

Generic Cognitive skills SCQF Level 9.

Research, analyse and evaluate issues on topics based on professional, ethical or legal issues pertaining to the creative industries.
Undertake critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis of ideas, concepts and information in a subject discipline to produce a detailed piece of written work on a subject associated with the students' discipline area.

Communication, ICT and Numeracy Skills SCQF Level 9.

Formulate and articulate ideas on topics related to the students' relevant creative industries discipline in a written format.
Use a wide range of research skills in support of a subject discipline to present and convey information on topics in the students' subject area.
Use a range of ICT applications to support and enhance work.

Autonomy, Accountability and Working with others SCQF Level 9.

Independent study, effective time management and workload management.
Exercise autonomy and initiative in some activities at a professional level.
Deal with ethical and professional issues in accordance with current professional or ethical codes or practice.

Pre-requisites: Before undertaking this module the student should have undertaken the following:
Module Code:
Module Title:
Other:It is expected that this module is taken as part of a Creative Technologies degree programme.
Co-requisitesModule Code:
Module Title:

* Indicates that module descriptor is not published.

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Learning and Teaching
This module will be delivered via a series of synchronous online class sessions where the students will be informed about ethical issues and good practice associated with working in the creative industries. The sessions will be recorded with transcriptions provided to accommodate asynchronous learning. Class sessions can be viewed from the recordings via a multitude of platforms (e.g., smartphones, lap top or tablet). Module interaction and discussion is encouraged through the use of the Aula platform allowing students to discuss a range of topics related to the creative industries. The module accommodates a hybrid flexible approach towards its delivery also providing students with face-to-face (F2F) support via on-campus drop in sessions. Students are encouraged to make use of these optional sessions to receive feedback regarding their coursework and also assistance on how to establish their online presence for showcasing their work.
Learning Activities
During completion of this module, the learning activities undertaken to achieve the module learning outcomes are stated below: 		Student Learning Hours
(Normally totalling 200 hours):
(Note: Learning hours include both contact hours and hours spent on other learning activities)
Lecture/Core Content Delivery6
Tutorial/Synchronous Support Activity12
Independent Study82
100 Hours Total

**Indicative Resources: (eg. Core text, journals, internet access)

The following materials form essential underpinning for the module content and ultimately for the learning outcomes:

The core text book for the module is: Davies, R. and Sigthorsson, G. (2013), Introducing the Creative Industries: From Theory to Practice. SAGE Publications Ltd.


The following books are useful supplementary reading materials for the module:
Brown, J. (2016), How To Become A Game Designer 2017 - The Ultimate guide to breaking into the Game Industry: Games Tester, Game Artist, Game Programmer, Game Writer... and Game Developer Jobs. How2become.

Hartley, J., Potts, J., Cunningham, S., Flew, T., Keane, M. and Banks, J. (2012), Key Concepts in the Creative Industries. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Kizza, J.M. (2013), 5th ed. Ethical and social issues in the information age. London: Springer.

Kitchen, T. and Tashmeem, M. (2013), Profitable Social Media Marketing: How to Grow Your Business Using Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and More. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Ruggill, J., McAllister, K. and Nichols, R. (2016). Inside the Video Game Industry: Game Developers Talk About the Business of Play. Routledge.

Schaefer, M.W. (2014), Social Media Explained: Untangling the World's Most Misunderstood Business Trend. Mark W. Schaefer.

Scotland, D. (2015), The Digital Artist's Portfolio and Demo Reel Guide: Inside Knowledge For Landing Your Dream Job In The Digital Art, Animation, CG, Motion-Graphics & VFX Industries. Dave Scotland.

Successful Freelancing for Web Designers: the best of Smashing magazine. (2011), Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

Tavani, H.T. (2011), 2nd ed. Ethics and technology: controversies, questions, and strategies for ethical computing. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.

(**N.B. Although reading lists should include current publications, students are advised (particularly for material marked with an asterisk*) to wait until the start of session for confirmation of the most up-to-date material)

Engagement Requirements

In line with the Academic Engagement Procedure, Students are defined as academically engaged if they are regularly engaged with timetabled teaching sessions, course-related learning resources including those in the Library and on the relevant learning platform, and complete assessments and submit these on time. Please refer to the Academic Engagement Procedure at the following link: Academic engagement procedure

Where a module has Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Body requirements these will be listed here:
Students are expected to access lecture materials and other class materials (e.g., videos) through the University’s VLE and complete the coursework and meet submission deadlines. Failure to do so will be regarded as an indicator of disengagement with the module.

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Supplemental Information

Programme BoardComputing
Assessment Results (Pass/Fail) No
Subject PanelCreative Computing
ModeratorDr. Thomas Hainey
External ExaminerN Whitton
Accreditation DetailsThis module is accredited by BCS and Skillset as part of a number of specified programmes.
Version Number

1.08

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Assessment: (also refer to Assessment Outcomes Grids below)
The module is assessed through coursework which is worth 100% of the overall module mark.
(N.B. (i) Assessment Outcomes Grids for the module (one for each component) can be found below which clearly demonstrate how the learning outcomes of the module will be assessed.
(ii) An indicative schedule listing approximate times within the academic calendar when assessment is likely to feature will be provided within the Student Handbook.)

Assessment Outcome Grids (Footnote A.)

Component 1
Assessment Type (Footnote B.) Learning Outcome (1) Learning Outcome (2) Learning Outcome (3) Learning Outcome (4) Weighting (%) of Assessment ElementTimetabled Contact Hours
Review/ Article/ Critique/ Papercheck markcheck markcheck markcheck mark1000
Combined Total For All Components100% 0 hours

Footnotes
A. Referred to within Assessment Section above
B. Identified in the Learning Outcome Section above

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Note(s):
  1. More than one assessment method can be used to assess individual learning outcomes.
  2. Schools are responsible for determining student contact hours. Please refer to University Policy on contact hours (extract contained within section 10 of the Module Descriptor guidance note).
    This will normally be variable across Schools, dependent on Programmes &/or Professional requirements.

Equality and Diversity
The University policies on equality and diversity will apply to this module: the content and assessment are based on the ability to communicate in English but are otherwise culture-neutral.

This module is almost entirely computer based and students must be proficient computer users within a windows, icons and mouse pointer environment with the use of suitable aids where required.

When a student discloses a disability an enabling support advisor will agree the appropriate adjustments to be made, consulting with the module coordinator if necessary.

Further guidance available from Student Services, School Disability Co-ordinators or the University’s Equality and Diversity Co-ordinator.
UWS Equality and Diversity Policy
(N.B. Every effort will be made by the University to accommodate any equality and diversity issues brought to the attention of the School)

2014 University of the West of Scotland

University of the West of Scotland is a Registered Scottish Charity.

Charity number SC002520.

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