Technologies for digital media
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| 3 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| Examination | No residential school |
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Summary
Downloading mp3 music files; exchanging digital photos; reading, watching and listening to news and entertainment on the web or your mobile phone … digital technologies are changing the way we conduct our private, social and business lives, and transforming our experience of media out of all recognition. This course investigates how this has come about, looking at the technologies behind digital media as well as some of the social, ethical and legal issues they raise. By the end of your studies, you’ll understand the possibilities and limitations of the technologies, the direction in which they’re taking us, and how to keep on top of future developments.
Course content
This course makes extensive use of third-party material, requiring you to understand and integrate information from a range of sources.
The course structure is as follows:
Block 1: Enabling technologies. Digital media applications appear on a wide range of devices. The success of these applications depends on the efficient operation of some basic technologies. You will be presented with materials on hardware, such as disk drives, flash memory, batteries, display screens and capture devices, and supporting technologies, such as MPEG compression techniques.
Block 2: Intellectual property and security issues. What you can do legally with digital media is governed by copyright laws and licences. It is possible to impose these restrictions by technological measures, but this has implications on business models and the social acceptability of these restrictions in an age of digital communications. You will be presented with materials on the technologies associated with digital rights management, but the social and business aspects of intellectual property will also be addressed.
Block 3: Mobile broadband. There are many competing factors pushing the ability of you being able to communicate at high bit-rates wherever you are. In this block, you will be presented with materials on developments designed to support broadband applications in a mobile world. In addition to the technology, you will be encouraged to think how technology develops.
You will learn
After completing this course you should, among other things:
- understand the basic principles of a range of technologies for digital media
- understand the technologies of data storage, display and capture devices
- be aware of how the characteristics of human perception influence the coding of digital media
- have a knowledge of intellectual property issues for digital media
- be aware of the basic security issues associated with digital media
- understand the technological factors relevant to broadband mobile
- understand how the adoption of digital media technologies is influenced by their social, cultural and political contexts
- be able to extract and integrate useful information from documents, including journal articles, product information, websites, etc.
- be able to learn independently from such materials in order to keep up to date in technologies for digital media
- have improved your written communication skills in a range of topics.
Entry
This is a Level 3 course. Level 3 courses build on study skills and subject knowledge acquired from studies at Levels 1 and 2. They are intended only for students who have recent experience of higher education in a related subject, preferably with the OU. You need familiarity with the language and modelling techniques used by technologists that you can get from courses at Level 2, such as Communication and information technologies (T215) (or the discontinued courses T209 and T293) and Computers and processors (T224).
You should be experienced in using a computer for working with documents, spreadsheets and accessing the World Wide Web. You also need basic mathematical skills so that you can work with algebraic equations and carry out numerical calculations.
T325 assumes that you are already familiar with communication and computer technology at a level equivalent to successful study of T215 (T209 or T293), and T224.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Preparatory work
Unless you have studied the discontinued course T305 you should revise the material on communication technology in any Level 2 courses you have already taken (Modules 1 and 2 in T209 and Block 2 in T293). The ICT CD-ROM (T529), distributed with a number of ICT courses, is also a useful source of revision material.
Qualifications
T325 is a compulsory course in our
- BSc (Honours) Information and Communication Technologies (B38)
- BA (Honours) Business Studies (B04) (with Information and Communication Technology)
T325 is an optional course in our
- BSc (Honours) Information Technology and Computing (B13)
- Diploma in Information Technology (D39)
- BSc (Honours) Technology (B20)
- Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (B24)
It can also count towards most of our other degrees at bachelors level, where it can help to weight your degree towards a BSc. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
The course uses complicated diagrams extensively, so it could be demanding if you have impaired sight. Text descriptions of graphical material developed by The Open University are provided, but these will not necessarily be available for third-party materials. Written transcripts are available for audio material. The printed Open University course materials are available in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader and mathematical expressions may be particularly difficult to read in this way. Large print versions of the Open University course material can be provided on request. Other alternative formats of the course materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability. You will need to spend considerable amounts of time using a personal computer and the internet.
If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our booklet Meeting Your Needs which you can download or request from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
You can also find information about accessible course materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Course materials
What's included
Course books, other printed materials, DVD, online forums, website.
Note that some (assessable) material may only be provided in electronic form online or via a virtual learning environment.
Computing requirements
This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave. Some of your course software will be provided on disk.
You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new Windows computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual. Please note that you cannot use an Apple Mac or Linux computer unless it is running windows Boot Camp or similar.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the course material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. We may also be able to offer group tutorials or day schools that you are encouraged, but not obliged, to attend. Where your tutorials are held will depend on the distribution of students taking the course.
Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper.
Assessment is an essential part of the teaching, so you are expected to complete it all.
Professional recognition
This course may help you to gain recognition from a professional body. Ask our Student Registration & Enquiry Service for Recognition leaflets 3.3 Professional Engineering Institutions or 3.7 Computing.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in February 2011. We expect it to be available at the same time once a year.
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.
About this page
An undergraduate course in Computing and ICT and Engineering and Technology.
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