MSc in Computing (Multimedia & eLearning)

Course Outline

This one-year full-time Masters degree programme bridges the gap between technology, multimedia and pedagogy. The overall aim of the course is to produce graduates with the necessary knowledge, skills and expertise within both Multimedia Development and Elearning. The course will also confer on the graduates a set of personal and professional attributes that will allow them greater flexibility in the development of their own career options.

Specifically, the course aims to produce graduates who can:

1. Reason and problem-solve to a high level in the context of multimedia development tools and eLearning platforms and their role within business, industry and research
2. Participate in the development of high-quality multimedia and eLearning educational products
3. Undertake research-based projects for industry, providing effective advice and leadership where required
4. Manage technology-based projects that require the handling of innovation and change in dynamic environments

The course is delivered part-time and full-time.

Full-time students (12 months):

Part-time students (24 months):

Students must obtain 90 credits from a combination of six 10-credit modules (3 10-credits modules in the first semester, 3 10-credits modules in the second semester) and a dissertation (30 credits). A combination of two 5-credit modules is considered equivalent to a 10-credit module.

Modules (only some of these modules will be offered each year subject to their availability and approval by the programme board)

HCI & Cognitive Computing (10 credits):
In order to develop usable systems, developers and designers need to understand and apply the relevant HCI & Usability guidelines and principles. This module introduces and explores HCI and Usability concepts, methods and principles that will inform the design of usable and interactive systems. This module also provides the student with an appreciation of issues in cognitive science, and it addresses the key areas of cognitive psychology and how they apply to modern day computing technologies via HCI.

ELearning Theory & Models (10 credits):
The aim of this module is to introduce the student to the concept of learning styles that apply to adults as part of their professional development. It emphasises a strategic approach to eLearning and Educational Technology decisions in the organisation. It includes an investigation of the management and assessment of eLearning. It aims to raise awareness of trends and technology support for eLearning architecture in the modern organisation. It emphasises the need for a technology infrastructure that supports the learning needs and gives a return on investment. Interoperability and standards have a key role to play in this infrastructure.

Instructional Design (10 credits):
This module aims to provide students with a detailed understanding of empirically-based principles in computer-based training and learning systems which instructional designers can employ to create applications that improve the likelihood of optimising learning. Students will learn to provide a summative evaluation of the interdisciplinary nature of the instructional design process, assess and appraise current trends and technologies used in the design and development of instructional-based systems. They will also learn how to Integrate and apply constructivist educational paradigms into instructional design strategies and principles.

Dynamic User Interface Development (10 credits):
This module enables learners to develop and to evaluate highly interactive User Interfaces. Students will be able to develop Rich Internet Applications (RIA) with an emphasis on scalability and usability. The module will also draw a parallel between existing technologies.Topics taught in this module include: Introduction to Dynamic User Interfaces, Usability principles and Dynamic User Interface Development (AJAX, DOM, event-handling and Flex).

Game Design and Development (Serious Games) (10 credits):
This module enables the learner to critically evaluate digital games and provides the basic knowledge and understanding of games design with an emphasis on games for learning. Learners will become proficient in evaluating, designing, developing and testing 2D/3D educational video games. 2D/3D Game Engines such as Unity3D or GameMaker will be used for game development. This module will address a subset of the tools and technologies required to support the design and development of entertaining and educational video games. The focus is on the use of a good knowledge and application of game design principles, and the development of a video game using a 2D/3D game engine. This course is designed to be very practical and includes labs session to use knowledge gained during lectures.

Virtual Reality and Visualisation (10 credits):
This module aims to equip learners with the necessary knowledge to understand the challenges posed by the graphical representation of scientific data. Learners will learn to evaluate, design and implement dynamic visualisation techniques using virtual reality tools such as VRML,X3D or Java3D. Topics taught in this module include: the benefits of Virtual Reality for data visualisation, Virtual Reality concepts, 3D object creation and animation, graphic and interactive visualisations of data sets.

Dissertation (30 credits):
This module actually spans the entire three semesters of the full-time delivery of the course. All students are presented with a list of topics early in Semester 1. These topics are proposed by the course board. Once the student chooses a topic, s/he will be assigned a supervisor. At the end of Semester 1 the student must present a Dissertation Proposal document. The student will be supported and guided through the process by their supervisor. The student must also successfully complete the Research Methods course that will be essential in supporting their dissertation work. At the end of Semester 2 the student is required to present a Dissertation Literature Review. The final stage in the dissertation process is the submission of the Dissertation document followed by a presentation including a demonstration, of the overall dissertation work.
The project (and thesis) carried-out through the year by students, provides them with a solid basis in research methodologies. This enables them, depending on their results, to pursue either an industrial (e.g. Research and Development) or academic path (e.g. Ph.D.) after the Masters. Each project involves the design and development of a Multimedia application based on eLearning, Instructional Design or HCI theories. Previous theses topics include: M-Learning, Learning Management Systems, Serious Games, User profilig in video games or HCI for accessibility.

Mobile Application Development (5 credits):
The central focus of the module is to enable the understanding and critical evaluation of Mobile Applications. This module will allow to develop Mobile Applications with an emphasis on Java and Symbian devices. It will also draw a parallel between existing technologies.

Visual Principles (10 credits):
The aim of this module is to give the student an appreciation of graphic design principles in an e-learning environment. It allows the student to critically evaluate visual communication in a screen based learning context. It provides opportunities to acquire an in-depth knowledge of graphic interpretation and to problem solve visually. It enables opportunities to obtain a thorough understanding of sequential imaging.

Media Processing (5 credits):
The aim of the module is to give the student a deeper understanding of multimedia content by studying compression, format encoding and synchronisation. The concepts surrounding compression theory will be introduced and then expanded through study of some of the common multimedia formats, such as MPEG2, MPEG4, AC3, AAC, JPEG and MP3.The students will use image, video and audio editing tools to gain experience with these formats. The module will introduce the student to the Java Media Framework (JMF API) and its associated player, which are a set of software development tools for the Java platform that allow the dynamic capture, playback, streaming and transcoding of multiple media formats. Particular emphasis will be placed on issues surrounding the delivery of multimedia content in a networked environment, including performance, quality, streaming and dynamic encoding.

Entry Requirements

An honours degree in computing or equivalent. The number of places available on the course will be limited. Therefore an interview process may be required in the student selection procedure. International students are required to meet the WIT postgraduate TOEFL (600)/IELTS (6.5) English Language requirement standard.

Admissions Queries
Graduate Admissions,
Registrar's Office,
Waterford Institute of Technology
Waterford
Tel: +353 (0)51 302670

Applying for this course

All applications are proccessed through the online facility at http://www.pac.ie  or by contacting the International Office (e.g., for international students).

Enquiries about the course

Course leader: Dr. Patrick Felicia - pfelicia@wit.ie.

Fees

Tuition fees will be subsidised by the Higher Education Authority for students from the European Union. There is, however, a limit to the number of subsidised places available, and early application is advised.

Course brochure - M.Sc. in Computing (Multimedia & eLearning)
(PDF, 136KB)