On-campus vs. On-line : Student Perceptions & Performance

Last Fall, my university began an initiative to offer courses online in what many call a distance learning environment. Being an early adopter of the Internet and WWW in my traditional on-campus courses, I jumped at the chance to offer a course in an on-line environment. This paper will briefly explore the differences between on-campus and on-line education, discuss my approach for implementing the course (including a comparison/contrast of student perceptions and performance in both on-campus and on-line sections of the same course), and conclude with some implications for educators endeavoring to teach in a distance learning environment

Business-IT Alignment Payoff: Financial Factors and Performance Implications

Strategic alignment is the appropriate use of information technology (IT) in the integration and development of business strategies and corporate goals. This study will examine the impact of firm performance given the firm’s current alignment perspective. Seven financial factors were found to have a direct impact on the alignment perspective and industry classification. These provide management with a vehicle for forecasting possible outcomes regarding performance

Critical Success Factors for Distance Learning

Distance learning, despite being a relatively new phenomenon, has been incorporated into many college and university programs, both as single courses and in complete programs. Those institutions that have not already begun to offer distance learning are quickly developing courses and programs to meet the needs and demands of their students. While each institution has its own mission and goal for distance learning, there are certain things that need to be considered while developing or implementing a curriculum that involves education at a distance. This paper will explore distance learning from a macro perspective and suggest some critical success factors that will aid faculty and institutions in distance learning development. The author will also share anecdotes from his experiences

Clickers in the Classroom: Reaching the Millennial Learner

Do you have trouble relating to your students? Do your “tried and true” teaching methods not have the same impact on today’s students? Do you want to become a more effective teacher? Are you just curious about what’s “new” in terms of teaching tools and technologies? If so, attend this interactive workshop on teaching the digital millennial learner and relating to the “Net Generation” where we will discuss the characteristics of the millennial learner, how to respond to their needs, and adapting your classes to their learning styles. This interactive presentation will also explore tips, tools and technologies for responding and relating to the current generation of students. Audience members will participate in the presentation using the technology discussed

Software Applications in Higher Education: Necessary Evil?

This paper investigates whether a one-hour undergraduate information systems “skills course” is still needed in the curriculum. Since such a course requires significant institutional resources and entering students already possess some computer skills, a survey was administered and analyses conducted to determine if the course should continue to be required. The survey focused on previous knowledge, knowledge gained by taking the course as well as demographic data such as major and whether the student owns a computer. Pedagogical implications are discussed in light of the paper’s findings

Workshop: Bloom\u27s Taxonomy Analysis Software

This workshop provides participants the opportunity to discuss their course objectives in accordance with the parameters suggested by Bloom. Bloom’s Taxonomy is established, well-known, comprehensive, hierarchical in design and contains action verbs which succinctly describe learning outcomes. When educators develop instructional objectives, they are typically asked to categorize or label each one according the Bloom’s level of cognitive complexity. It provides educators with a common frame of reference that clarifies various types of learning outcomes. It illustrates the wide array of learning outcomes that can be included in any given instructional area. Of primary importance is the development of learning objectives and the measures to determine accomplishment of those objectives. Participants are invited to bring course objectives in both print and digital formats. If desired, course objectives may be discussed and evaluated for compliance with Bloom’s BCD (behavior, condition, degree) format. Additionally, software designed to analyze the course objectives’ level within Bloom’s cognitive domain will be demonstrated and participants will be encouraged to have their course objectives analyzed using this technology. This software technology was developed by Baker and Papp and is a continuation of studies previously presented at SAIS and other conferences

Governance and Management: Understanding with a Systems Imagination

The general imagination envisions governance as the processes that set policies that define what the organization will do, and management as the processes that set the policies of how the organization will do its activities. It is not uncommon for the general imagination to comingle this organizational what and how, i.e. governance and management are synonymous. Adopting a systems imagination, this paper posits a distinct meaning for governance and management. Focusing a systems lens on the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), a state agency with over 7,500 employees and a budget of over $5 billion, it was observed that the characteristics of a system - differentiation, teleology (goal-seeking or purposeful), hierarchy, holism, interrelationship, regulation, and transformation - apply to the organization. Having observed that an organization satisfices the characteristics of a system, it is posited that the whole of VDOT is composed of three components: governance, management, and operations. Further, it is posited that the distinct meaning of governance and management (i.e., what to do and how to do it) is derived from the systems characteristics of the respective component, especially differentiation, holism, interrelationship, and teleology. A systems imagination casts governance as the organization\u27s component that produces the policies and authorization that stipulate what to do with the organization\u27s key assets. Using these governance products, management is cast as the component that stipulate how an organization uses its key assets, and operations uses these management products to use the organization\u27s key assets. Importantly, the organization\u27s auditing (internal and external) and monitoring functions provide feedback to the management and governance components