Designing E-learning applications with students: The case of the we!design methodology

In years past, many methodological approaches, methods and techniques have been implemented based on the belief that users can and should be involved in the design process of technology products that affect them. Inspired by the findings of research involving users and particularly students at diverse levels and phases of the design process of technology products, we have developed the We!Design methodology, a student-centered participatory design methodology that assigns students a primary role in the design process. We present the various phases of the We!Design methodology, examine the results of its application in four different design projects (a web-based e-assessment application for tertiary education, a course website, an e-Portfolio application, and a Tablet-PC-based e-assessment application for secondary education) and elaborate upon our overall experiences with the methodology during the past 3 years. Participant evaluations indicated that the We!Design methodology was an adequate means for successful elicitation of students' needs and their application in educational software design. © 2010, IGI Global

What do computer science students think about software piracy?

Today, software piracy is an issue of global importance. Computer science students are the future information and communication technologies professionals and it is important to study the way they approach this issue. In this article, we attempt to study attitudes, behaviours and the corresponding reasoning of computer science students in Greece regarding software piracy. The statements taken in 56 semi-structured interviews with students indicate that computer science students in Greece make intensive use of pirated software, mention as main reason for their practice the cost of genuine software, and blame the academic environment, coincidental stereotypes and their student status for this behaviour. They acknowledge the immoral character of their actions, as well as the fact that others are affected by software piracy, but they pay little attention to this action and they practically don't care. While keeping distance from software development companies, when specifically asked, they easily adopt the role of a software developer and attempt to substantiate their current and eventually future attitude out of hand. They consider software copyright laws to be inapplicable and unrealistic and fail to argue against intellectual property rights for mere digital products, such as software