A collaborative and experiential learning model powered by real-world projects

Information Technology (IT) curricula\u27s strong application component and its focus on user centeredness and team work require that students experience directly real-world projects for real users of IT solutions. Although the merit of this IT educational tenet is universally recognized, delivering collaborative and experiential learning has its challenges. Reaching out to identify projects formulated by actual organizations adds significantly to course preparation. There is a certain level of risk involved with delivering a useful solution while, at the same time, enough room should be allowed for students to experiment with, be wrong about, review, and learn. Challenges pertaining to the real-world aspect of problem-based learning are compounded by managing student teams and assessing their work such that both individual and collective contributions are taken into account. Finally, the quality of the project releases is not the only measure of student learning. Students should be given meaningful opportunities to practice, improve, and demonstrate their communication and interpersonal skills. In this paper we present our experience with two courses in which teams of students worked on real-world projects involving three external partners. We describe how each of the challenges listed above has impacted the course requirements, class instruction, team dynamics, assessment, and learning in these courses. Course assessment and survey data from students are linked to learning outcomes and point to areas where the collaborative and experiential learning model needs improvement

Use of the Proteus for Visual Modeling of the Work of the Information System Basic Elements

Формулювання проблеми. Сучасна університетська підготовка ІТ фахівців з необхідністю передбачає вміння коректно використати інформаційні технології, яке часто неможливе без розуміння теоретичних основ функціонування апаратного засобу чи інформаційної системи загалом. У підготовці фахівців галузей знань «12 Інформаційні технології» та «01 Освіта (014 Середня освіта. Інформатика)» вважаємо за необхідне зосередити увагу не тільки на боці «споживання» технічного чи спеціалізованого програмного забезпечення, а і на боці розуміння логічних, фізичних та математичних основ його функціонування через візуалізацію у віртуальних лабораторіях. Метою статті є висвітлення доробку авторів стосовно комп’ютерної візуалізації роботи логічних елементів інформаційної системи на базі ISIS Proteus. Матеріали і методи. Для виконання дослідження використано: термінологічний аналіз для уточнення тезаурусу дослідження; аналіз спеціалізованих програмних засобів та рекомендацій науковців з метою обрання найбільш ефективного для демонстрації роботи логічних елементів інформаційної системи; системний аналіз наукових джерел для визначення найбільш важливих напрямків, на яких варто зосередити увагу при формуванні в ІТ-фахівців уявлень про логічні та фізичні основи функціонування інформаційних систем; моделювання для візуалізації фізичних процесів. Результати. Моделювання логіки фізичних процесів на базі Proteus позитивно впливає на рівень навчальних досягнень майбутніх ІТ-фахівців, що підтверджено аналізом одержаних результатів на рівні значущості 0,05 за критерієм Ст’юдента. Висновки. Використання віртуальних лабораторій як засобів комп’ютерної візуалізації прихованих (закритих) процесів, що відбуваються в інформаційній системі, зміщує акценти навчання з теоретичної та експериментальної площин в інтелектуальну галузь детального осмислення одержаних результатів. Для візуалізації закритих процесів, що відбуваються в інформаційній системі, доцільно використовувати середовище Proteus. Виконання лабораторних робіт у Proteus дозволяє продемонструвати майбутнім ІТ-фахівцям логіку роботи базових елементів інформаційної системи на основі побудови логічних функцій обробки двійкових сигналівFormulation of the problem. The modern university training of IT specialists with the necessity involves the ability to correctly use information technology, which is often impossible without understanding the theoretical foundations of the functioning of a hardware device or information system in general. In the training of specialists in the fields of knowledge "12 Information Technologies" and "01 Education (014 Secondary Education. Informatics)" we consider it necessary to focus not only on the side of "consumption" of technical or specialized software, but on the side of understanding logical, physical and mathematical basics of its functioning through visualization in virtual laboratories. The purpose of the article is to highlight the authors' revision concerning computer visualization of logic elements of the information system based on ISIS Proteus. Materials and methods. The terminology analysis was used to clarify the research thesaurus. The analysis of specialized software and recommendations of scientists in order to select the most effective for demonstration of logic elements of the information system was used. The systematic analysis of scientific sources to identify the most important areas in which it is worthwhile focusing on the formation of ideas in the IT specialists about the logical and physical bases of the functioning of information systems; simulation for visualizing physical processes was used. Results. The simulation of the logic of physical processes based on Proteus positively affects the level of educational achievements of future IT specialists, which is confirmed by the analysis of the obtained results at the significance level of 0.05 according to the Student test. Conclusions. The use of virtual laboratories as means of computer visualization of hidden (closed) processes occurring in the information system shifts the emphasis of learning from theoretical and experimental planes into the intellectual branch of a detailed understanding of the results obtained. To visualize the closed processes occurring in the information system, it is advisable to use the Proteus environment. Performing lab works in Proteus allows you to demonstrate to the future IT specialists the logic of the work of the basic elements of the information system based on the construction of logical functions of processing binary signals

Kompiuterių ir operacinių sistemų saugos modulio programos sudarymas

Informacinės technologijos turi tinkamai atlikti kontrolę, užtikrinančią informacijos saugą nuo įvairių pavojų – nepageidaujamo ar nesankcionuoto informacijos skleidimo, pakeitimo ar netekimo ir panašiai. Tarptautinių ir Lietuvos institucijų, tiriančių kompiuterių saugos incidentus, duomenimis, informacijos saugos pažeidimų skaičius nemažėja. Įvairūs tyrimai, atlikti Lietuvos valstybinių ir nepriklausomų organizacijų, rodo, kad Lietuvoje nėra specialių informacijos saugos specialistų rengimostudijų programų, nors jų poreikis yra akivaizdus. Europos ir JAV universitetuose kompiuterių saugos dalykai dėstomi įvairiais būdais – yra atskiros studijų programos arba saugos moduliai įtraukti į bendrąsias kompiuterių mokslo ar inžinerijos programas. Straipsnyje, išnagrinėjus Vakarų universitetų informacijos saugos studijų programas ir patirtį, siūloma Kompiuterių ir operacinių sistemų saugos modulio programa, apimanti svarbiausius informacijos saugos dalykus.Development of Computer and Operating Systems Security Module CurriculumAlgimantas Venčkauskas, Jevgenijus Toldinas, Vita Krivickienė SummaryThe purpose of Information technologies is to protect an organization’s valuable resources, such as information, from unauthorized publishing, changing or missing. Total number of information security breaches unabated, according to Worldwide and Lithuanian institutions inquiring computer security incidents. In recent years a number of Government and independence Lithuanian organizations have recognized the need for security education in Lithuania (especially in information security), and lack of information security courses. In Europe and USA computer security course modules are taught as separate study programs or they are integrated into existing computer science or engineering programs. In this paper we analyze information security programs curriculums and experiences of west universities in this area. We investigate the Computer and operating systems security module course curriculum where main information security priorities are included

An Implementation of the IT Fundamentals Knowledge Area in an Introductory IT Course

The recently promulgated IT model curriculum contains IT fundamentals (ITF) as one of its knowledge areas. It is intended to give students a broad understanding of (1) the IT profession and the skills that students must develop to become successful IT professionals and (2) the academic discipline of IT and its relationship to other disciplines. The model curriculum recommends 33 lecture hours to complete the IT fundamentals knowledge. The model curriculum also recommends that the material relevant to the IT fundamentals knowledge area be offered early in the curriculum, for example in an Introduction to IT course; however, many institutions will have to include additional material in an introductory IT course. For example, the Introduction to IT course at Georgia Southern University is used to introduce students to the available second disciplines (an important part of the Georgia Southern IT curriculum aimed at providing students with in-depth knowledge of an IT application domain), some productivity tools, and SQL in addition to an introduction to the discipline of IT. For many programs there may be too much material in an introductory IT course. This paper describes how Georgia Southern University resolved this problem by describing the structure of the introductory course at Georgia Southern, its assessment methods, and the relationship between the course and the ITF knowledge area and how those aspects of the ITF knowledge area that are not covered in the introductory course are covered elsewhere in the program

Realizing the Power of Extelligence: A New Business Model for Academic Publishing

The limitations of traditional academic knowledge exchange systems such as conferences and peer-reviewed journals result in discipline-based scholarship that is feudal in nature and can only dissipate as cross-disciplinary research expands. The next evolutionary step is democratic online knowledge exchange, run by the academic many rather than the publishing-oligarchic few. Using sociotechnical tools it is possible to implement an academic publishing business model that maximizes the power of “extelligence”, or knowledge realized through the collective gifting of information. Such a model would change the roles of journal editors and peer reviewers from knowledge gatekeepers to knowledge guides, and change the competitive yet conforming behaviors of academic researchers seeking publication to behaviors that reward collaborative activity that engages research communities in the act of knowledge exchange. We argue that socio-technical systems, social systems sitting on a technical base such as the Internet, can provide effective ways to motivate people to increase knowledge that research communities can share. By employing a hybrid of wiki, e-journal, electronic repository, micro-commenting and reputation systems for readers and writers, along with other socio-technical functions common to social computing such as social book-marking and reader recommendation, we can move from our traditional print publishing model in which prestige is established through publication in slowly produced, expensive and virtually unread journals to a vibrant, online knowledge exchange community built upon the foundations of legitimacy, transparency and freedom

From Consumers to Producers: African American Middle School Students as Game Designers

Given the low number of African Americans in Computer Science, we recognize the need to take effective measures to build and sustain a pipeline between K-12 education and institutions of higher learning with the hope that more African American students will pursue careers in computing related fields such as gaming. To support this effort, we engage African American middle school students in a 4-day game design workshop with the intent of transitioning these students from being consumers to being producers of technology. We create and evaluate scaffolds to assist middle school students with designing their first video games using Scratch. Preliminary findings suggest that most of the students are able to define the formal elements of their games, including number players, game objectives, and rules, but struggle with the concepts of procedures and boundaries of the game. These same students also demonstrate a basic understanding of dramatic elements (e.g. challenge, play, and character), but struggle with the concept of storyline. Finally, African American students have very explicit ideas about the kinds of games they want to create, choosing to create games that promote a more inclusive gameplay experience. KEYWORDS: African American middle school students, game desig

Design and Development of a Prototype for a Web-Based Interface for Online Material for Tanzanian Youth

 prototype of a web-based interface for an online database was developed to be used by youth organizations in Dar-es-Salaam. A participatory approach involving secondary students in the identification of user interface requirements, in designing and testing the prototype was used. A questionnaire was designed and manned in seven secondary schools in Dar-es-Salaam to estimate the Internet usage. Interviews were conducted to countercheck the questionnaire responses. The interview and the questionnaire helped to come up with a set of user requirements for the web-based interface of an online information search. From thespecifications of the user requirements the author was able to create a youth-friendly web based prototype that can be used by youth groups in Dar-es-Salaam

Creating value in an introductory business IS and IT unit

Given the downturn in student enrolments in Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) units, and the poor performance of a first-year IS and IT common-core unit in a business school, a new unit was developed. Action and design science research methods were employed. The new unit has a unique focus on two key skills and on modern IT and information literacy. The first skill involves describing information systems, and the second, determining how to create business value with IT in specific business contexts. Modern IT tools like a Web-based productivity suite and professional networking services are introduced, together with advanced search techniques and services and an information quality evaluation framework. The evaluation of the utility and efficacy of the unit is based on the institutional standard student feedback survey and unsolicited feedback. The unit has achieved a significant improvement in evaluation results and feedback from students, as well as converting students who were previously averse to IS and IT to study further in these areas.<br /

Communicating Computational Concepts and Practices Within High School Students’ Portfolios of Making Electronic Textiles

Portfolios have recently gained traction within computer science education as a way to assess students’ computational thinking and practices. Whereas traditional assessments such as exams tend to capture learning within artificial settings at a single point in time, portfolios provide more authentic opportunities to document a trajectory of students’ learning and practices in everyday contexts. Furthermore, because communication itself has been defined as an important computational thinking practice, portfolios give students a place to practice this skill in the classroom. In this study, we report on the implementation of a digital portfolio with a class of 21 high school students used to capture the process of creating of an electronic textile mural project. While students’ understanding of computational concepts were only partially captured within the portfolios, their engagements with computational practices—such as debugging and iteration—were better highlighted. Much of this was due to the students’ existing communicative strategies themselves, both in terms of how precise they were in describing issues, as well as how they leveraged images and code to explain their process. Recommendations for designing more effective portfolio assessments are discussed, which include greater emphasis on creating shared classroom discourse, and leveraging students’ existing experiences with multimedia