BSc Informatics

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maximus@123

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Hi everyone,

I am currently working as a desktop support technician for the past 4 years and have obtained most of the CompTIA certifications as well as MCITP.
But I feel to make the most of an IT career I need to step up a gear and get myself a degree.

I plan to start my BSc Informatics 2nd semester.
What I would like to find out is;

How many modules would you recommend taking for the coming semester?
Which modules would you recommend starting off with?

I was thinking off either taking 3 or 4 modules consisting of the following:
COS1511 Introduction to Programming 1
COS1521 Computer Systems: Fundamental Concepts
INF1520 Human-Computer Interaction 1

and if I choose to do a 4th module:
INF1505 Introduction to Business Information Systems


Any advice / recommendations will be much appreciated.
 
4 easy ones is fine but if you have more than one thats new work and not multiple choice the exams will be quite tough.
You will also have to plan the subjects so that the exam dates are spaced out decently.

What you can do is download previous exam papers from http://studynoteswiki.com and rate the difficulty and then find appropriate subjects where the exams are spaced out decently.

I would recommend 3 though to start off with and get used to how UNISA works or doesn't work.
 
It's a good degree. I'm in my final few modules of my degree.

How many modules you take is dependent on how much time you have to study. A friend of mine works full time and has managed fairly well with 5 modules a semester, while juggling work and kids.

A good recommendation that I've seen going on is 3-4 modules, but 3 modules a semester does mean that it will take 6 years to finish the degree.

I +1 the http://studynoteswiki.com , it's very very useful.

I reckon if you can get 4 evenings a week and some time over weekends you can easily do those 4 modules in a semester, those aren't very hard. The hardest of those perhaps is COS1521, the rest are pretty easy.
 
maximus@123 said:
Hi everyone,

I am currently working as a desktop support technician for the past 4 years and have obtained most of the CompTIA certifications as well as MCITP.
But I feel to make the most of an IT career I need to step up a gear and get myself a degree.

I plan to start my BSc Informatics 2nd semester.
What I would like to find out is;

How many modules would you recommend taking for the coming semester?
Which modules would you recommend starting off with?

I was thinking off either taking 3 or 4 modules consisting of the following:
COS1511 Introduction to Programming 1
COS1521 Computer Systems: Fundamental Concepts
INF1520 Human-Computer Interaction 1

and if I choose to do a 4th module:
INF1505 Introduction to Business Information Systems


Any advice / recommendations will be much appreciated.
Click to expand...

I am about to finish the first 3 you mentioned (with COS1521 been written on Thursday next week) and its been a piece of cake. I didnt study but I am a senior developer with most of the stuff in these 3 modules been remembered from High School. Take the first 3, about R3900 + about another R1000-R1200 for the 2 books you will need.
 
I'm also doing this degree, third year now. Exam in the morning!

The first two years are not too bad so take 4 modules per semester if you can afford it.
That way you can cut the completion time down.
Just remember to budget for books as mentioned.
Mix the programming and theory to balance your workload.
I have notes and stuff from second year if you want, just let me know and I'll email them to you.
 
Hi all,

Thank you very much for all the info and advice.
I am currently sorting out my application for a certificate of conditional exemption - which is really a pain in the butt, will hopefully be sorted out soon.

But if I require any additional info, I will let you know (if you don't mind :)).

One more thing, will I have to buy the study books, or can I download all the study material / info online?

Thank you all once again.
 
maximus@123 said:
Hi all,

One more thing, will I have to buy the study books, or can I download all the study material / info online?.
Click to expand...

The study material is usually online in the form of tutorial letters but some subjects (actually most) have dditional prescribed books that you have to buy.

Search here for prescribed books:

https://my.unisa.ac.za/portal/site/!gateway/page/11cb8539-e8fd-412f-8326-797cead1509e

Use this to check when exams are:

https://my.unisa.ac.za/tool/1f95735b-9137-4e57-803f-43820fb508b7/default.do

Just check, you may have to do EUP1501 before you can register for COS1511. UNISA recommends you allocate a minimum of 8 hours per week per module.
 
maximus@123 said:
Hi all,

Thank you very much for all the info and advice.
I am currently sorting out my application for a certificate of conditional exemption - which is really a pain in the butt, will hopefully be sorted out soon.

But if I require any additional info, I will let you know (if you don't mind :)).

One more thing, will I have to buy the study books, or can I download all the study material / info online?

Thank you all once again.
Click to expand...

You do need textbooks. You won't manage without them. I've found one or two online but the majority of the textbooks are local press so they're not available online. All the textbooks for my degree is working out around R15k or so.
 
froot said:
You do need textbooks. You won't manage without them. I've found one or two online but the majority of the textbooks are local press so they're not available online. All the textbooks for my degree is working out around R15k or so.
Click to expand...

You might have a problem with the accounting/management books but for the COS subjects you should be able to find most of them online.
 
Sorry to derail the thread slightly but I didn't want to start a whole new topic on a similar subject.

My son is wanting to go into programming when he leaves school next year. With some of the other useful tips being supplied from the MYBB family it looks like he will be going to varsity to study for a degree first and then maybe do some specific courses on specific languages after that.

My question is which Varsity in JHB do you think is the better one to do this. UNISA or Univ of Jhb?

thanks

Once again sorry about the slight detour of the thread :D
 
ISP cash cow said:
Sorry to derail the thread slightly but I didn't want to start a whole new topic on a similar subject.

My son is wanting to go into programming when he leaves school next year. With some of the other useful tips being supplied from the MYBB family it looks like he will be going to varsity to study for a degree first and then maybe do some specific courses on specific languages after that.

My question is which Varsity in JHB do you think is the better one to do this. UNISA or Univ of Jhb?

thanks

Once again sorry about the slight detour of the thread :D
Click to expand...

UJ or UP are way better from what I've seen.
 
ISP cash cow said:
Sorry to derail the thread slightly but I didn't want to start a whole new topic on a similar subject.

My son is wanting to go into programming when he leaves school next year. With some of the other useful tips being supplied from the MYBB family it looks like he will be going to varsity to study for a degree first and then maybe do some specific courses on specific languages after that.

My question is which Varsity in JHB do you think is the better one to do this. UNISA or Univ of Jhb?

thanks

Once again sorry about the slight detour of the thread :D
Click to expand...

It depends on what you are looking for.
It would probably be easier at UJ since UNISA is mostly self study.
 
xumwun said:
You might have a problem with the accounting/management books but for the COS subjects you should be able to find most of them online.
Click to expand...

Yes, but not for the MNG/MNE modules, and others, and that accounts for over 50% of the module.
 
Thanks for the info regarding the study material / books.

What I would like to know is:

I went to the follow link to search for prescribed books and got the following results:

There are no books prescribed for COS1511
No prescribed book information is currently available for INF1520

Does this mean, I can find the study info for the above modules online form the UNISA site or not?

And;

Are the below books the only study material I will need for the below modules or are there also study material online:

Course Code COS1521 : COMP SYST:FUNDAMENT CONCEPS
1 Title Foundations of Computer Science
Author Forouzan, B. & Mosharraf, F.
Year Published 2008
Edition 2 ed
Publisher Cengage Learning
Book Notes
Course Notes

Course Code INF1505 : INTRO TO BUS INFORM SYSTEMS
1 Title MIS2
Author Bidgoli H
Year Published 2012
Edition 2nd
Publisher Cengage
Book Notes
Course Notes

Thank you in advance.
 
COS1511 is C++.... there aren't any prescribed books for it, but the Walter Savitch textbook gets used for COS1512, and it's a good buy.
INF1520 is human interaction, you just need the study guide to study from.

For COS1521 and INF1505, all you need are those two textbooks. No online resources required.
 
Thx for the reply.

When you refer to the study guide for INF1520, where exactly do I get it from?

And what study materials do I need then for COS1511 as you say there aren't prescribed books?

Thanks
 
Maximus, the study material is usually either a combination of a UNISA study guide and/or prescribed book/s and tutorial letters. If there are no prescribed books then you get a comprehensive study guide (and tutorial letters containing info about the course) from UNISA. Once you are registered you can download the study guides and/or tutorial letters from the myunisa website.
https://my.unisa.ac.za/portal
All the info you need will be in the tutorial letters, what you need to study, the assignments, the exams, prescribed books etc, so don't panic. They will also send you hard copies of the study guides and tut letters either via courier or post.

Search around at the various online bookseller sites for prescribed books as prices can vary quite drastically. I found the cheapest to be www.takealot.com and www.kalahari.com
 
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senyetse said:
Search around at the various online bookseller sites for prescribed books as prices can vary quite drastically. I found the cheapest to be www.takealot.com and www.kalahari.com
Click to expand...

Not always. Kalahari has, for the last five or so modules of mine, been by far the most expensive.

It's best to also check out www.loot.co.za, Protea Books and vanSchaiks (they also have online stores now).
 
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