An Approach to Measuring Extent of Use of Web Functionalities: A Content Analysis of HTML Tags

Commercial activity on the World Wide Web (WWW) portion of the internet continues to grow at an accelerated rate. However, anecdotal evidence suggests there is a high level of variance in the extent of use of Web functionalities. This article examines the validity of this claim by content analyzing Web page HTML tags. These tags are used to capture the following Web functionalities: a) information dissemination, b) interactive communication, c) multi-media support, and d) access to internet tools like FTP, E-Mail, Telnet, etc. Our results (based on a sample of 77 Web sites from four service industries) support the anecdotal observation that there exists a high level of variance in the extent of use of Web functionalities

The Effectiveness of Computer-Based Game Show Formats in Survey Courses: A Quasi-Experiment

The confluence of computers and integrated projection systems in the classroom has opened new avenues for course content delivery in an active learning format. This paper first discusses the concepts of active learning and play in a pedagogical context. Next, the implementation and subjective results of a generic computer-based game show for delivering course content in introductory survey courses is presented. This paper then describes the employed methodology and statistically tests certain aspects of the course related to the effectiveness of this implementation. The results of this quasi-experiment using five sections of an upper-division MIS (Management Information Systems) survey course spanning three academic terms strongly support the research hypotheses that the game show format increases student learning and improves student perceptions of the overall quality of the course. The implications of this research for educators are discussed. The game show application was developed by the authors and is available for download as freeware

Using Polya to Teach System Development Methodologies: Fostering a Role Perspective in IS Students

The role of IS is changing from a task perspective to a role perspective focused on aligning IS with business needs and goals. In this paper we present a problem solving perspective for teaching systems development methodologies as a means of fostering this shift in perspective in IS students. Polya\u27s formal problem solving process is synthesized with the traditional systems development life cycle. This synthesis makes explicit the tacit knowledge embedded in system development methodologies and enables the transfer of domain knowledge to the broader organizational context and the alignment of IS with business needs and goals

The Influence of Group Labs on Student Adoption of Software Methodologies: An Empirical Test

The ACM\u27s CIS curriculum model calls for structured laboratories using groups to instruct students in software engineering methodologies. A social-psychological model of individual acceptance of a technological innovation is employed to empirically test the effectiveness of structured labs in fostering individual adoption of a software engineering methodology. Our findings suggest that a structured labexperience does influence a student\u27s belief system regarding the usefulness of a methodology, leading to a decision to adopt the methodology in completing individual programming assignment