LO1 Describe the main components of computer systems.

Assessment Brief

CFUF101 Fundamentals of Computing

Module Code and Name	CFUF101 Fundamentals of Computing
Module Leader
Cohort	Sept-2025
Level	Foundation L3
Assessment component(s)	Summative S1
Restrictions on time/word count	12-15 minutes 10-15 PowerPoint slides
Individual/group	Group Presentation (12-15 minutes) Individual logbook and reflection.
Assessment weighting(s)	100%
Hand in date(s)

Module Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the assessment, students should be able to:

LO1 – Describe the main components of computer systems.
LO2 – Outline the basic architecture of digital systems and their components.
LO3 – Describe the process of how data is transmitted and received over networks.

This assessment evaluates your knowledge and understanding of computer systems, architecture, hardware and software components, and how data is transmitted over networks.

Scenario

You have just graduated and have just joined the IT team’s graduate group at Fly-Tech. Your manager wishes to create some training material for staff about the Fly-Tech infrastructure and has asked you and your team to prepare a presentation to teach new staff:

The basic architecture of a computer system and how the components (e.g. CPU, IO, memory, etc) work together.
The different types of software and how they interact with the hardware
How Fly-Tech’s computers will communicate with each other and the wider internet.

Your manager has highlighted that the presentation needs to be 10-15 slides and contain the following –

The main computer hardware and software components, how they interact and why they are necessary for the business.
A diagram of the Fly-Tech network. At a minimum this should be a simple block diagram, but more detail would be beneficial.
An explanation of how data is transmitted over the internal network and out to the internet.
(For groups with 3 people) A discussion of three security mechanisms or technologies that Fly-Tech could use.

You must also as a group design a training exercise that tests the Fly-Tech employees’ knowledge and understanding of the system. This can be an activity that you get the employees to do, a quiz, or similar. It should not be complex. This should be included as an additional 1 or 2 slides at the end of the presentation (these additional slides do not count as part of the 10-15 slides in the main presentation).

As people do not want to attend long presentations, your manager has required that the presentation be between 14 and 15 minutes long. A further additional 5 to 15 minutes should be reserved for the training exercise and any questions.

As this will be a training resource, you must record your group presenting the video (everybody must take part). The presentation must be directly related to Fly-Techs own infrastructure so it so employees can see the relevance.

Current Infrastructure:

Fly-Tech’s current computer system consists of –

10 Linux PCs (Ubuntu v22.04 Jammy Jellyfish) for the server IT team. These PCs have 32GB of memory, 1TB SSD, and an Intel i7 processor.
45 Windows 10 laptops with a variety of hardware ranging from 2GB memory, 64GB SSD, and Intel Celerons processors to 16GB memory, 2TB SSD, and Intel core Ultra 7 processors. Laptops all connect via the wireless network. These laptops are used by the sales, HR, finance, and desktop IT support teams.
10 Windows 10 desktop PCs for use by the development team. These desktops also have a wide range of hardware specification. These are on their own wired network that connects to the main Fly-Tech wired network.
8 Windows 11 desktop PCs used by the marketing team. These desktops all have at least 16GB memory, 4TB SSD, and Intel core 5 Ultras, and some a higher specification. These desktops are on their own fast network that connects directly to a media storage server and to the main Fly-Tech wired network.
5 Linux servers that are connected to the main Fly-Tech network and to the internet. The servers are –
An email server that handles the company`s email.
An external web server that has the company`s internet facing websites
An internal web server that has the company`s intranet website
A media storage server
A login and file server that stores the users’ credentials (usernames and passwords) and their files. All other computers use it to validate login details.
The internal network is a mixture of Wi-Fi (for the laptops), and 1Gb and 10Gb LAN. Connectivity to the internet is provided by a 1Gb fibre optic broadband connection.

Individual activity:

Your manager is concerned about the wide range of hardware and software currently used in Fly-Tech and so would also like you as an individual to critique the current infrastructure (both hardware and software) and suggest recommendations on how it can be improved to better suit Fly-Tech’s requirements in a specific business area. As cost is always an issue, they also want to ensure that they do not overspecify any part of the system so they wish you to give specific examples of appropriate hardware and software. As there are several of you in your team, your manager has assigned you each an area to look at which you can find at – https://www.fly-tech.co.uk/individual_assignment.html.

You must restrict your report to just the area your manager has given you.

Assessment activities:

As a group:

Prepare a presentation (10–15 slides) that satisfies your managers requirements. All groups must meet requirements 1-3, groups of 3 must also meet requirement 4.
Design the group training exercise.
Record your group presentation and save it as a video. The presentation must have all the group members in it, and all should take part in presenting the training. You are not allowed to have multiple recordings which only have part of the group.

Note: All members must be present with cameras on.

As individuals:

A document containing –

A report critiquing the current infrastructure and give at least 3 recommendations on how it could be improved and why you have chosen those improvements. You should include specific recommendations for hardware and software as examples of items that would meet your recommendations. The report should be a maximum of 750 words.
Complete an individual work log, using the template on Moodle. The work log should contain –

Details of what you contributed to the groupwork.
Reflection on your contribution to planning and development.
An explanation of how you addressed all three learning outcomes.
Reflection on the group work – a discussion on team strengths/weaknesses and their impact.
A discussion on what knowledge and skills you gained.

Submission guidance:

The submission must be submitted on Moodle by 23:59 on 09/03/2026.
Each student must submit the following –
- A report containing a copy of their individual work log and a copy of their individual critical evaluation and suggestions
- A copy of the group presentation slides
- A copy of the training exercise (this should be part of the presentation slides)
- A copy of the recording of the group presentation. NOTE – you will get an error when you submit the file saying that TurnItIn cannot scan it as it is too big. DO NOT WORRY – this is to be expected, and you should not worry
Allowable file formats are –
- Individual work log and report – doc, docx, odt, or MarkDown
- Presentation slides – ppt, pptx, odp, or MarkDown
- Training exercise – doc, docx, odt, ppt, pptx, or MarkDown
- Video recording – mkv, mp4, avi, or wmv
DO NOT compress the files into a zip file (or similar), you must submit each file separately
All students must submit both the group components and their individual components. Failure to submit all the files will result in a loss of marks.

Additional information/guidance:

This assessment should be completed in a group of 2-3 students which will be chosen by the lecturing staff.
Each group will be allocated a presentation time slot of 12 – 15 minutes.
You will not be presenting your presentation in front of the class. You must record the presentation with MS Teams and submit that.
Each student within the group MUST present their work in the group presentation recording.
The recording will be presented in class, and the presenting group will receive peer-to-peer feedback/questions.
Each student must also complete the Individual Work Log (use the template provided on Moodle) and the report with their critique and recommendations.
You can create a simple block diagram for the network in the presentation software, but if you wish to put more detail, then you should use a specialist tool like MS Visio which is available through your Microsoft 365 account.
Further additional guidance will be given on the assessment FAQ on Moodle.

Assessment

Your assignment will be assessed in two components:

🔹 Group Assessment (50%)

Covers all module learning outcomes.
Effectively presents and analyses client requirements and solutions.
Demonstrates team collaboration in the recorded presentation.
All members must be present with cameras on.
Presentation must be within 15 minutes.
PowerPoint slides should be well-structured, professional, and support the presentation.
The presentation must clearly address the client and their needs.
Delivery should be clear, well-paced, and show understanding, with smooth transitions between speakers.

🔹 Individual Assessment (50%)

You must appear and present in the group presentation.
Communicate clearly with good pacing and body language.
Avoid reading directly from slides; use a prepared transcript and explain the slide content.
Submit your critical evaluation of the current system.
Submit your recommendations on how part of the system can be improved. This must be the part given to you by your manager.
Submit a completed Individual Work Log (template on Moodle link).
Reflect on your contribution to planning and development.
Explain how you addressed all three learning outcomes.
Show topic understanding with accurate, relevant content.
Reflect on group work: discuss team strengths/weaknesses and their impact.
Explain what knowledge and skills you gained.

Reading List

Core Text:

Brookshear, G., & Brylow, D. (2019). Computer Science: An Overview (Global Edition). Pearson Education.

Assessment criteria/marking rubric Level 3

	Dimensions	70 – 100% (1^st)	60 – 69% (2:1)	50 – 59% (2:2)	40 – 49% (3^rd)	0 – 39% (Fail)
Group/Individual Assessed	Task Fulfilment	Excellent	Very good	Satisfactory	Basic	Inadequate or not addressed
Group	Presentation Content The content of the presentation addresses all of the managers requirements and aligns with Fly-Techs training needs and current infrastructure	A comprehensive and accurate description of at least 13 major hardware and software components. Discussion of how and why these components affect business functions and the degree of impact. Detailed network diagram using standard networking symbols. Diagram is correct and gives details of all networking components. Could be used to easily replicate or maintain the network. (For groups of 3 people) Detailed description of 3 security mechanisms. Discussion of how those mechanisms protect business function. Discussion of how those mechanisms may affect the business functions. Discussion of alternative mechanisms.	A thorough and accurate description of at least 10 major hardware and software components. Discussion of how and why these components affect business functions. Network diagram using standard networking symbols. Diagram is correct and shows all networking components. Detailed description of data transmission, explaining relevance to Fly-Tech. Covers both internet and intranet. (For groups of 3 people) Detailed description of 3 security mechanisms. Discussion of how those mechanisms protect business function and what the implications would be if they were not in place.	An adequate description of at least 7 hardware and software components. Some discussion of how the components interact. Some discussion of how the components are relevant to the business. Block diagram of the network that is correct. Diagram shows key networking components Description of data transmission that is specific to Fly-Tech. Description covers both intranet and internet. (For groups of 3 people) Description of 3 security mechanisms. Mechanisms are clearly relevant and linked to the business	A basic description of at least 4 major hardware and software components. No discussion of why they are necessary for the business. Simple block diagram of the network that is mainly correct. High level, generic description of how data is transmitted over either the internal or external network. (For groups of 3 people) Generic description of 2 security mechanisms. Little or no linking to the business.	Computer Hardware and software components inadequately described. Incomplete, inaccurate, or missing network diagram. Incorrect or missing discussion of data transmission. (For groups of 3 people) Incomplete, inaccurate or missing security discussion.
Group	Training exercise Group training exercise testing knowledge and understanding.	Exercises test multiple points of learning in multiple ways. Relates to specific components in the Fly-Tech systems with clear explanation of why it is relevant. Opportunities for feedback made explicit.	Exercises test multiple points of learning. Relates to specific components in the Fly-Tech systems with clear explanation of why it is relevant.	Exercise that tests multiple points of learning. Relates to components in the Fly-Tech systems.	Simple exercise that relates to relevant concepts but not specifically Fly-Tech systems.	No training exercise or one that does not relate to the business.