Interplay of Desktop and Mobile Apps with Web Services in an Introductory Programming Course

This paper describes a case study of a second-semester introductory programming course for information systems (IS) students that combined desktop and mobile application development and consumption of existing web services. Our aim was to provide students with a holistic view of how different types of applications can be developed and combined to solve real-world problems, as the students learned the basics of programming. Students progressively built a desktop Java application with a graphical user interface for a local public transit system. It combined the use of basic algorithms, existing web services for geo-coding and mapping to illustrate a recommended route on the system. Students then ported this application to the Android platform re-using most of the code they had already developed. Along with fulfilling the traditional objectives of an introductory course, this course also demonstrated the possible interplay of stand-alone components and web services in desktop and mobile applications and kept the students motivated and engaged throughout the semester

Teaching Networks to Digital Humanists

Contribution: A technical course in a multidisciplinary university program has to provide high-level skills, with limited lecturing hours and student background. This article investigates the principles for its design and reports about a study case. Background: The overall course organization needs to address specific learning targets and teaching techniques, different from those used in traditional courses on the topic. Research Question: A stepwise strategy assists a principled design that allows dynamic, long-term improvements. Methodology: The evaluation of its applicability requires a years-long record of historical data. The article studies the evolution of a course over six years using simple monitoring techniques: surveys and rubric-based examinations. Findings: Monitoring emerges as an essential feature for course evolution: a focused examination provides the best results, while institutional, wide-spectrum surveys appear to be of little help

Enhancing Teaching & Learning of Software Engineering in an International Environment

A fundamental artifact of any academic research isthe data used as the basis of that research effort. A group ofresearchers, from institutions in multiple territories, hasembarked on an ambitious research project that is initially aimedat enhancing the teaching of software engineering for four-yearundergraduate programs. The research project details a set ofworkshops, for which the objective is the capture of data that willbe the basis of the research effort. The first of these workshopswas held in August of 2011, and is reported on in this paper. Theworkshop comprised software engineering educators andrepresentatives from the information technology industry. Thedata collection task sought to identify a set of topics that areconsidered suitable for teaching software engineering, along withidentification of the years and depth at which these topics shouldbe taught. The use of technology in the curriculum design processis seen as an important step forward and this issue is alsodiscussed

Designing and Evaluating Accessible E-Learning for Students with Visual Impairments in K-12 Computing Education

This dissertation explores the pathways for making K-12 computing education more accessible for blind or visually impaired (BVI) learners. As computer science (CS) expands into K-12 education, more concerted efforts are required to ensure all students have equitable access to opportunities to pursue a career in computing. To determine their viability with BVI learners, I conducted three studies to assess current accessibility in CS curricula, materials, and learning environments. Study one was interviews with visually impaired developers; study two was interviews with K-12 teachers of visually impaired students; study three was a remote observation within a computer science course. My exploration revealed that most of CS education lacks the necessary accommodations for BVI students to learn at an equitable pace with sighted students. However, electronic learning (e-learning) was a theme that showed to provide the most accessible learning experience for BVI students, although even there, usability and accessibility challenges were present in online learning platforms. My dissertation engaged in a human-centered approach across three studies towards designing, developing, and evaluating an online learning management system (LMS) with the critical design elements to improve navigation and interaction with BVI users. Study one was a survey exploring the perception of readiness for taking online courses between sighted and visually impaired students. The findings from the survey fueled study two, which employed participatory design with storytelling with K-12 teachers and BVI students to learn more about their experiences using LMSs and how they imagine such systems to be more accessible. The findings led to developing the accessible learning content management system (ALCMS), a web-based platform for managing courses, course content, and course roster, evaluated in study three with high school students, both sighted and visually impaired, to determine its usability and accessibility. This research contributes with recommendations for including features and design elements to improve accessibility in existing LMSs and building new ones

Toward an integrated conceptualization of the service and service system concepts: a systems approach

Service and service systems concepts are fundamental constructs for the development of the emergent SSME, ITSM, and Service Oriented Software (SOS) knowledge streams. A diversified literature has provided a richness of findings, but at the same time, the lack of standardized conceptualizations is a source of confusion to IT practitioners and academics. Given this problematic situation, we pose that a systems approach is useful to address it. In this article, we review and synthesize key studies in these knowledge streams to design: (i) a framework to characterize both concepts under a system view and, (ii) harmonized definitions (e.g. identification of shared and essential properties) for such fundamental concepts. Our main contribution is scholastic, but we are confident that the posed conceptual artifacts can be further used to elaborate standardized definition for the IT service and IT service system constructs, as well as analysis tools for describe real service systems

Industry Projects in Requirements Engineering Education: Application in a University Course in the US and Comparison with Germany

Project-based learning has proven useful in software engineering education to increase student engagement and learning performance. In this paper, we contribute our experiences from applying industry projects in an undergraduate requirements engineering course in the United States. We furthermore discuss our experiences from courses conducted in Germany and the US course in light of difference in the educational systems. Results show that our course design is well received in both countries in terms of learning outcomes, student motivation, teamwork, attention to detail, and performance in the exam

IS 2010: Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Information Systems

IS 2010 is the latest in a series of model curricula for undergraduate degrees in Information Systems. It builds on the foundation formed by this earlier work, but it is a major revision of the curriculum and incorporates several significant new characteristics. IS 2010 is the third collaborative effort by ACM and AIS. Both organizations have worldwide membership, and, therefore, IS 2010 includes elements that make it more universally adaptable than its predecessors. IS 2010 is not directly linked to a degree structure in any specific environment but it provides guidance regarding the core content of the curriculum that should be present everywhere and suggestions regarding possible electives and career tracks based on those