149,318 research outputs found
Development guidelines for individual digital study assistants in higher education
Increasing student numbers, heterogeneity and individual biographies lead to a growing need for personalized support. To meet these challenges, an Individual Digital Study Assistant (IDSA) provides features to help students improve their self-regulation and organizational skills to achieve individual study goals. Based on qualitative expert interviews, a quantitative student survey, and current literature we derived requirements for an IDSA. Based on them, we designed, developed, and implemented a first IDSA prototype for higher education institutions (HEI). We continuously evaluated the prototype within different workshops and analyzed the usage data to improve it further in three enhanced prototypes. Based on this iterative process, we derived guidelines for an IDSA design and development. Accordingly, the framework, project management, content, team selection, team development, team communication, marketing, and student habits are important to consider. The guidelines advance the knowledge base of IDSA in HEI and guide and support practitioners in the design, development, and implementation of IDSA in HEI
Contributions to IT project portfolio management and individual digital study assistants in higher education
Diese kumulative Dissertation beschreibt und diskutiert 12 wissenschaftliche Artikel, die einen Beitrag zur Forschung in den Themenbereichen Informationstechnik (IT) Projektportfoliomanagement und individuelle, digitale Studienassistenten an UniversitĂ€ten umfasst. DafĂŒr wurden Modelle und Rahmenwerke entwickelt, die wesentliche IT Projektportfoliomanagement Phasen und AktivitĂ€ten beschreiben, eine objektive IT Projektevaluation ermöglichen und Reifegrade von IT Projektportfoliomanagement Prozessen bestimmen. AuĂerdem wurde ein Optimierungsmodell zur Auswahl und Planung des IT Projektportfoliomanagement Prozesses aufgestellt und in einem EntscheidungsunterstĂŒtzungssystem-Prototypen integriert. Bestehende IT Projektportfoliomanagement Tools, sowie Anforderungen und unternehmerische Vorteile fĂŒr IT Projektmanager wurden jeweils in Taxonomien klassifiziert, Muster erkannt und Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede aufgezeigt. ZusĂ€tzlich wurden kritische Erfolgsfaktoren, Herausforderungen und Anforderungen fĂŒr individuelle, digitale Studienassistenten identifiziert, analysiert und diskutiert. In mehreren Iterationen wurde basierend darauf ein Prototyp entwickelt, evaluiert, modifiziert und allgemeine Leitlinien fĂŒr das Design, die Entwicklung und den Betrieb eines individuellen, digitalen Studienassistenten abgeleitet. Die Forschungsarbeiten ermöglichen IT Projektportfoliomanagement Prozesse effizienter und werteorientiert zu gestalten und subjektive EinflĂŒsse zu minimieren sowie Hochschulen bei dem Design, der Entwicklung und dem Betrieb von individuellen, digitalen Studienassistenten zu unterstĂŒtzen. Basierend auf Limitationen wird eine Forschungsagenda aufgestellt, die 13 weitere Forschungsmöglichkeiten im Themenbereich IT Projektportfoliomanagement und individuelle, digitale Studienassistenten aufzeigt und als Grundlage fĂŒr weitere Forschung in diesen Themenfeldern dient.This cumulative dissertation outlines and discusses 12 scientific publications that contribute to the knowledge of Information Technology (IT) project portfolio management and individual digital study assistants in higher education. The papers developed models and frameworks that describe crucial IT project portfolio management phases and activities, enable an objective IT project evaluation, and define IT project portfolio management maturity levels. In addition, they deduced an optimization model for IT project portfolio management evaluation, selection, and scheduling decisions and implemented it in a decision support system prototype. Developed taxonomies and archetypes classify existing IT project portfolio management tools as well as requirements and corporate benefits of IT project manager positions to identify patterns, similarities, and differences. Further, critical success factors, challenges, and requirements for an individual digital study assistant were identified, analyzed, and discussed. Based on these and during several iterations, an individual digital study assistant prototype was developed, evaluated, adapted, and guidelines derived. The articles contribute knowledge on how to design more efficient and value-driven IT project portfolio management processes to minimize subjective influences. Also, they provide knowledge to support higher education institutions in the design, development, and operation of individual digital study assistants. Based on existing limitations, a further research agenda is deduced, including 13 further research directions for IT project portfolio management and individual digital study assistants in higher education institutions. They serve as a basis for further researchers in these fields of topics
Group and individual time management tools: what you get is not what you need
Some studies of diaries and scheduling systems have considered how individuals use diaries with a view to proposing requirements for computerised time management tools. Others have focused on the criteria for success of group scheduling systems. Few have paid attention to how people use a battery of tools as an ensemble. This interview study reports how users exploit paper, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and a group scheduling system for their time management. As with earlier studies, we find many shortcomings of different technologies, but studying the ensemble rather than individual tools points towards a different conclusion: rather than aiming towards producing electronic time management tools that replace existing paper-based tools, we should be aiming to understand the relative strengths and weaknesses of each technology and look towards more seamless integration between tools. In particular, the requirements for scheduling and those for more responsive, fluid time management conflict in ways that demand different kinds of support
Critical success factors and challenges for individual digital study assistants in higher education: A mixed methods analysis
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the availability of online higher education programs and tools has grown rapidly. One example is an individual digital study assistant (IDSA) for students, which provides functionalities to train self-regulation skills, to engage with own educational goals and to offer automated, first-level support to higher education institution (HEI) units and employees. An IDSA further can guide students through HEI and their administration. But, what are the critical success factors (CSF) and challenges for an IDSA? We deduce these using a mixed methods approach with one quantitative student survey, two rounds of interviews with various HEI experts, and a literature review. We classified our results according to the information system (IS) success model of DeLone & McLean (2016). Our results and findings show, e.g., that skilled and reliable HEI personnel, well-organized and useful content, cross-platform usability, ease of use, and studentsâ social factors are essential. Attractive IDSA functionalities are a major challenge because students use many apps, daily. Based on our CSF and challenges, we deduce theoretical and practical recommendations and develop a further research agenda
Forensic investigation of small-scale digital devices: a futuristic view
Small-scale digital devices like smartphones, smart toys, drones, gaming consoles, tablets, and other personal data assistants have now become ingrained constituents in our daily lives. These devices store massive amounts of data related to individual traits of users, their routine operations, medical histories, and financial information. At the same time, with continuously evolving technology, the diversity in operating systems, client storage localities, remote/cloud storages and backups, and encryption practices renders the forensic analysis task multi-faceted. This makes forensic investigators having to deal with an array of novel challenges. This study reviews the forensic frameworks and procedures used in investigating small-scale digital devices. While highlighting the challenges faced by digital forensics, we explore how cutting-edge technologies like Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data Science may play a role in remedying concerns. The review aims to accumulate state-of-the-art and identify a futuristic approach for investigating SSDDs
For Whom the Mind Wanders, and When: An Experience- Sampling Study of Working Memory and Executive Control in Daily Life
An experience-sampling study of 124 under-graduates, pretested on complex memory-span tasks, examined the relation between working memory capacity (WMC) and the experience of mind wandering in daily life. Over 7 days, personal digital assistants signaled subjects eight times daily to report immediately whether their thoughts had wandered from their current activity, and to describe their psychological and physical context. WMC moderated the relation between mind wandering and activitiesâ cognitive demand. During challenging activities requiring concentration and effort, higher-WMC subjects maintained on-task thoughts better, and mind-wandered less, than did lower-WMC subjects. The results were there-fore consistent with theories of WMC emphasizing the role of executive attention and control processes in determining individual differences and their cognitive consequences
Reading with new tools: An evaluation of Personal Digital Assistants as tools for reading course materials
Lightweight, palmtop devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) can now be used for reading electronic text, opening up their potential as learning tools. This paper reports a study that evaluated the use of PDAs for reading course materials by students on an Open University master's course. The research is grounded in activity theory, which provides a useful framework for examining how the introduction of a new tool changes an existing activity. Student perceptions of the possibilities and constraints of the PDA, as determined by questionnaires and interviews, reveal the impact the new tool had upon reading. The PDA constrained reading with limitations such as the small screen size, new requirements for navigating through the text and awkward methods for taking notes. These conditions made it difficult for students to skimâread the text, to move back and forth within the document and to interact with the text as easily as they could with paper. Nevertheless, students welcomed the opportunity to have the course materials on a portable, lightweight device that could be used at any time and in any place. This made it easier to fit the reading activity around the various other activities in which students were involved In addition, the PDA was used in conjunction with existing tools, such as the printed version of the course materials and the desktop computer. Therefore, it was not seen to replace paper but rather to extend and complement it. The findings are discussed using concepts from activity theory to interpret how the new tool modified the reading activity
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