Introductory Information Systems Course Research Articles

Transitioning a traditional introductory information systems course to a data analytics focused course

AbstractFirms desire graduates capable of executing current and future business practices, many of which revolve around data. To meet those needs, we shifted the orientation of our required information systems course from technology to data. Instead of a survey of information systems, students learn the data acquisition–preparation–mining–presentation process in an information‐systems setting. The scope of the revised undergraduate introductory course includes decision trees, Bayesian classifiers, and clustering; it uses Microsoft's Excel, Access, SQL Server, Power BI, and SQL Server Analysis Services to reveal the basics of data analytics to students. Students have welcomed the change and understand that the course material directly applies to what they will experience as working professionals. Similarly, employers have appreciated the change and tell us that our graduates are better prepared to perform data analysis with minimal training.

Exploring students’ motivations in choosing to study information systems: is there a gender difference? A survey study in Norway

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the motivations of undergraduate students in choosing to study the information systems (IS) program and explore gender differences in students’ motivations.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines the results of an online survey of undergraduate IS students at a public university in Norway. An online survey was used to collect the data from undergraduate students who enrolled in an introductory IS course. T-test was used to test the differences between male and female students.FindingsThe results identified that career-related factors such as job availability and job security were the two most prominent factors for both male and female students to choose IS. The results also show that male and female students have essentially similar motivations to choose IS. There were only two significant differences found between female and male students in the perceptions of the importance of factors that influence the decision to choose IS: “personal interest in subject matter” and “ease of study topics.” Male students rated the importance of personal interest and ease of study topics significantly higher than female students.Originality/valueDespite the fact that Norway is a highly digitalized and gender-equal country, women are still underrepresented in IT-related jobs and higher education studies. Findings from this study will help to understand the motivations of students in choosing IS and gender differences in their motivations in a highly gender-equal and digitalized European country.

Time and Performance in Online Learning: Applying the Theoretical Perspective of Metacognition

ABSTRACTEducational psychologists have found that metacognitive calibration predicts learning outcomes in self‐regulated learning. In this research the authors apply theories of metacognition from educational psychology and postulate that metacognitive calibration influences learning time and performance in online learning. Data gathered from 230 college students who completed online self‐regulated assignments in an introductory information systems course confirms that higher calibration accuracy leads to better performance on assignments, which contributes to higher exam grades. In addition, higher calibration accuracy also reduces the amount of time students spent on the online assignments. However, time spent on the assignments is not a mediator of the effect of calibration on learning performance. This research presents pioneering work in examining a holistic model that assesses the impact of metacognition in online learning on both assignment and exam level learning outcomes using field data collected through a natural learning setting. The findings highlight the need to include metacognitive calibration as one of the learner characteristics in research models addressing student performance in online learning.

Introductory Information Systems Course Redesign: Better Preparing Business Students

Aim/Purpose: The dynamic nature of the information systems (IS) field presents educators with the perpetual challenge of keeping course offerings current and relevant. This paper describes the process at a College of Business (COB) to redesign the introductory IS course to better prepare students for advanced business classes and equip them with interdisciplinary knowledge and skills demanded in today’s workplace. Background: The course was previously in the Computer Science (CSC) Department, itself within the COB. However, an administrative restructuring resulted in the CSC department’s removal from the COB and left the core course in limbo. Methodology: This paper presents a case study using focus groups with students, faculty, and advisory council members to assess the value of the traditional introductory course. A survey was distributed to students after implementation of the newly developed course to assess the reception of the course. Contribution: This paper provides an outline of the decision-making process leading to the course redesign of the introductory IS course, including the context and the process of a new course development. Practical suggestions for implementing and teaching an introductory IS course in a business school are given. Findings: Focus group assessment revealed that stakeholders rated the existing introductory IS course of minimal value as students progressed through the COB program, and even less upon entering the workforce. The findings indicated a complete overhaul of the course was required. Recommendations for Practitioners: The subject of technology sometimes requires more than a simple update to the curriculum. When signs point to the need for a complete overhaul, this paper gives practical guidance supplemented with relevant literature for other academicians to follow. Recommendation for Researchers: Students are faced with increasing pressure to be proficient with the latest technology, in both the classroom where educators are trying to prepare them for the modern workplace, as well as the organization which faces an even greater pressure to leverage the latest technology. The newly designed introductory IS course provides students, and eventually organizations, a better measure of this proficiency. Future Research: Future research on the efficacy of this new course design should include longitudinal data to determine the impact on graduates, and eventually the assessment of those graduates’ performance in the workplace.

Using Social Media to Support Presentation Skill Development in Traditional Classroom Environments

Social media has become widely adopted in both society and business. However, the academy has been slow to leverage social media as a learning tool. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, this study explores student perceptions about the use of social media in face-to-face classroom environments. Second, this study examines how social media, as a learning tool, supports presentation skill development. Using a proprietary social media application, we conducted a sequential mixed method study using students enrolled in undergraduate introductory information systems courses that included a student presentation project. One hundred seventy-seven students responded to a survey based on a facilitator and inhibitor model of social media use and an open-ended questionnaire to understand how social media impacts presentation skill development. The implications of the results from this study are discussed along with directions for future research.

Events that lead university students to change their major to Information Systems: A retroductive South African case

Shortage of computing skills is a global concern as it affects national development and business success. Yet, despite high job availability and high salaries in computing professions, insufficient numbers of students are choosing to study the various computing disciplines. This South African study looks at the Information Systems (IS) major which is misunderstood by high school students. This retroductive case study identifies the events which lead students to change their major to IS. The study confirms the importance of interest in a major as well as the perceived high value of a major, which feature as dominant factors in the literature. Yet these are not the initial events that lead to students changing their major to IS. Events that initiate the process include losing passion for a previous major, experiencing difficulty in a previous major as well as enjoying the introductory IS course. The paper has practical advice for IS Departments and argues for a generic first year for students as well as a focus on enjoyment and skills aligned to IS professional practice in introductory IS courses. These findings can be generalised to other majors and, hence, the theoretical contribution adds to the literature on career choice in general.

Feedback for thought: examining the influence of feedback constituents on learning experience

Reflective teaching practice is often heralded as a pillar of effective tuition. However, the perceptions of multiple forms of feedback among learners and their contributions to reflective learning is yet to attract significant attention, particularly in the Information Systems (IS) context. This research investigates the antecedent constituents of feedback and how they contribute to an overall perception of feedback in an introductory IS course. A research model grounded in the pedagogical literature was operationalised and quantitative data collected and analysed using Partial Least Squares. The results indicate that summative and generic assessment feedback were found to be significant towards formulating an overall perception of feedback, and that such perception is significant in influencing a learner's experience. This further highlights the fact that students are overwhelmingly assessment focused and may not engage in reflective practice pertaining to their overall learning experience – necessitating the establishment of learner's reflective lenses to guide them towards such reflection.

Student Learning and Performance in Information Systems Courses: The Role of Academic Motivation

Despite the need for information technology knowledge in the business world today, enrollments in information systems (IS) courses have been consistently declining. Student performance in lower level IS courses and student assumptions about the level of difficulty of the courses seem to be reasons for lower enrollments. To understand how student motivation may explain learning outcomes in introductory IS courses, this study investigates the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic academic motivations as framed by self-determination theory on two measures of learning outcomes: (1) student self-reported measures of learning and (2) actual grades obtained in courses and course components. Using 269 student responses collected in a second-year undergraduate core course and a first-year MBA core course, both of which are offered in a traditional face-to-face classroom environment, study hypotheses are analyzed. Results indicate that the motivational model explains both the affective and cognitive perceptions of learning held by students. In examining overall grades and grades in course components, the motivational model, however, was unable to sufficiently explain student performance. Data also indicate that there are significant differences between undergraduate and graduate students in terms of their motivation and learning outcomes.

ASSESSING THE USEFULNESS OF A CORE INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION SYSTEMS COURSE IN UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

This paper presents an analysis of the impact of an introductory information systems course concepts on student performance. A survey instrument comprising of 60 items, mapped to program objectives, was developed and conducted in the beginning (pretest) and at the end (posttest) of the semester. The difference in performance of the students from pretest and posttest was calculated for every performance indicator (in aggregate) for the course and each item individually. Significant improvement in performance (more than 50% from the pretest score) was recorded for a majority of the items. Implications are discussed and future research directions presented.

Bringing Relevance, Applicability and Engagement into 1st Year B.Com Curricula

Most B.Com degrees, recognising the fundamental role of information and communication technology (ICT) in business and society, require students to take an introductory course in Information Systems (IS). Most IS courses offered to first year B.Com students are simply introductory courses originally designed for intended IS majors. These provide a broad, but arguably superficial introduction to the various elements of ICT, failing to situate technology within the modern business world or everyday life of the average B.Com student. Students inevitably treat the course simply as a requirement for graduation, and take little of value with them either into their university or working life. Taking accessibility of content, relevance and real world application as a departure point, an introductory IS course was radically redesigned, moving away from chapter-based textbook coverage. Instead, an integrated theme-based approach guiding students from engaged reflection on personal information systems towards an understanding of the impact of ICT in business and society has been developed. With typical enrolment ranging between 550 and 750 students, a learning management system with forum participation and online quizzes, small group tutorials, guided self-study tasks and informal social networking was central to the redesign. This paper examines the motivation and rationale behind the course redesign. Preliminary data analysis of course evaluations, lecturer interviews and focus groups from the first action research cycle is presented. Early results and anecdotal evidence suggest higher levels of student participation, deeper engagement with concepts and content, and increased interest in IS as a major.

Perceived Relevance of an Introductory Information Systems Course to Prospective Business Students

The study is designed to examine students’ perceptions of the introductory Information Systems (IS) course. It was an exploratory study in which 67 students participated. A quantitative approach was followed making use of questionnaires for the collection of data. Using the theory of reasoned action as a framework, the study explores the factors that influence non-IS major students’ perceived relevance of the IS introductory course. The analysis of collected data included descriptive and inferential statistics. Using multiple regression analysis, the results suggest that overall, the independent variables, relevance of the content, previous IT knowledge, relevance for professional practice, IT preference in courses and peers’ influence may account for 72% of the explanatory power for the dependent variable, perceived relevance of the IS course. In addition, the results have shown some strong predictors (IT preference and peers’ influence) that influence students’ perceived relevance of the IS course. Practical work was found to be a strong mediating variable toward positive perceptions of IS. The results of this study suggest that students do indeed perceive the introductory IS course to be relevant and match their professional needs, but more practical work would enhance their learning. Implications for theory and practice are discussed as a result of the behavioural intention to perceive the IS course to be relevant and eventually to recruit more IS students.

Impact of Hands‐On Research Experience on Students’ Learning in an Introductory Management Information System Course

ABSTRACTAlthough students in Introductory Information Systems courses are taught new technology concepts, the complexity and constantly changing nature of these technologies makes it challenging to deliver the concepts effectively. Aiming to improve students’ learning experiences, this research utilized the five phases of design science methodology to develop an experiment to solve a real‐world problem, and then implemented it in an undergraduate classroom. As part of their classwork, students participated as subjects testing new information technologies to solve a real‐world problem. They were asked to complete a questionnaire and answer questions in a focus group to assess the effectiveness of the technologies tested and determine whether the experience had added to the learning they gained from the course. The results revealed that the students were able to use the new technologies effectively and provide useful feedback to the company sponsoring the study, contributing to the release of a new commercial product line. Students also reported that participating in this research project improved their satisfaction with the introductory MIS course. These results encourage educators to conduct hands‐on experience involving real‐world research projects since they provide valuable additional learning opportunities in introductory MIS courses.

The Drake Equation

Hunting Aliens with is a classroom exercise used in an introductory information systems course. The exercise introduces the use of Excel spreadsheet modeling to assist decision-making when ...

A Critical Analysis of Active Learning and an Alternative Pedagogical Framework for Introductory Information Systems Courses

An international association advancing the multidisciplinary study of informing systems. Founded in 1998, the Informing Science Institute (ISI) is a global community of academics shaping the future of informing science.

The impact of persuasive SMS on students' self‐regulated learning

AbstractThis paper presents the outcome of an experimental design to investigate the impact of persuasive short messaging service (SMS) on students' self‐regulated learning strategies while attending an introductory information systems course over a 12‐week trimester. The participants were undergraduate students enrolled in INFO 101 at a tertiary institution in New Zealand. The instrument used in this study was the original motivated strategies for learning questionnaires (MSLQ) developed by Pintrich. MSLQ measures three general types of strategies: cognitive, meta‐cognitive and resource management. The findings of the research identified that several aspects of students' learning strategies had been improved for the experiment group while the Time and Study Environment Management dimension of MSLQ had been significantly lowered for the control group who received no SMS intervention. The study demonstrates a positive impact of persuasive SMS on students' learning and suggests that the intervention is able to improve students' self‐regulated learning effort compared to the control group. Moreover the study shows that students who received SMS intervention performed better than students who did not receive SMS intervention. Most importantly, the study shows that SMS intervention enables Māori and Pacific students, who historically have a lower performance than the main cohort, to perform better than the main cohort and to a significant level higher than those Māori and Pacific students who did not receive any SMS intervention. This study suggests that practitioners should consider the adoption of the persuasive SMS intervention by using the principles of persuasive technology for sending SMS messages especially for the high risk students.Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Persuasive technology is the adoption of computing technology in an attempt to change attitudes and behaviour. This technology is widely used in the preventive health care industry and social organizations for their and social marketing campaigns. What this paper adds The study shows that students who received persuasive short messaging service (SMS) intervention performed better than students who did not receive any SMS intervention. The study demonstrates a positive impact of persuasive SMS on students' learning and suggests that the intervention is able to improve students' self‐regulated learning effort. Implications for practice and/or policy Practitioners should consider the adoption of the persuasive SMS intervention. Practitioners should adopt the seven principles of persuasive technology for sending SMS messages. Practitioners should also target the persuasive SMS intervention to high risk students.

Gender Differences in E-Learning

Although previous research has suggested that women may be at a learning disadvantage in e-learning environments, this study examines communication differences between women and men, arguing that women’s communication patterns may provide them with a learning advantage. Using data from 303 males and 252 females, this paper discusses gender differences in course communication processes and course outcomes in a web-based introductory information systems course. Results indicate that women communicated more, perceived the environment to have greater social presence, were more satisfied with the course, found the course to be of greater value, and had marginally better performance than men. Despite the challenges facing women in e-learning environments, the results of this study suggest that e-learning environments that allow for peer to peer communication and connectedness can help females overcome some of these disadvantages. Implications for research and practice are also discussed.

Technology, trainees, metacognitive activity and e‐learning effectiveness

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to integrate previous research findings on the factors which affect e‐learning effectiveness. To do this, a model is developed which proposes that the effects of individual learner characteristics and technology characteristics on e‐learning outcomes are partially mediated by the metacognitive learning processes in which the learner engages.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 914 individuals in an online introductory information systems course examines the relations between general computer self‐efficacy (GCSE), locus of control, age, peer interaction, technology reliability, social presence, media synchronicity, and metacognitive activity and the e‐learning outcomes of course, performance, course utility, and course satisfaction.FindingsThe results indicate that GCSE, age, social presence, reliability, media synchronicity, and metacognitive activity are related to course satisfaction and utility judgments. In addition, age, metacognitive activity, and reliability are related to course performance and interaction is related to satisfaction. Finally, metacognitive activity partially mediates the relationship between social presence, media synchronicity and satisfaction, and utility judgments.Originality/valueThis paper represents one of the first to investigate a model of e‐learning effectiveness which integrates research on metacognitive activity as well as the role of technology and trainee characteristics.

Intended and unintended consequences of student use of an online questioning environment

AbstractWhile supplementation of face‐to‐face (F2F) teaching with online engagement is increasingly common, the educators' challenge of teaching F2F personalities and facilitating online personalities has not been widely explored. In this paper, we report on a project in which 1st‐year students attended F2F sessions and engaged with an anonymous online questioning environment. The differences between students' F2F and online behaviour led to intended and unintended consequences. The purpose of this paper is to explore these intended and unintended consequences of technology use. The project was undertaken over a 3‐year period, starting in 2004. In 2004, a pilot project was conducted based on a class of 35 students studying a 1st‐year programming course in information systems. The investigation was again conducted in 2005 for the same course, this time with 63 students. In 2006, the project was extended to a class of 610 1st‐year commerce students studying an introductory information systems course. In all cases, students met F2F and when online, engaged with an anonymous Web/SMS collaborative tool. The intended consequence was that a blending of F2F with online interaction extended student engagement beyond the limitation of a classroom and provided a forum for further collaboration and consultation. The intended outcome was achieved. An unintended consequence was that the tool provided the lecturer with diagnostic information that was used to impact on pedagogical designs. This was often a result of students taking on an online personality that would very often be extremely frank and honest about the manner in which the course was conducted, and how learning was taking place. The findings show that students used the tool in ways that exceeded the envisaged intention, and student use of the tool positively impacted on the curriculum, pedagogy and general running of the course. The paper concludes that integration of online engagement with F2F teaching adds value to the teaching and learning experience.

Improving IS Student Enrollments: Understanding the Effects of IT Sophistication in Introductory IS Courses

The Information Systems (IS) discipline is facing a sharp downturn in student enrollments. De-spite the steady decline in students pursuing the IS major, the demand for information technology (IT) professionals continues to increase. These trends indicate that there might be a shortage of qualified IT employees in the near future. In order to overcome this dilemma, academicians have recently begun to look for mechanisms targeted at improving IS enrollments. This study investi-gates how such a mechanism – IT sophistication – influences students’ aspirations to pursue an IS degree. More specifically, the study suggests that IT sophistication, self-efficacy, outcome expec-tations, and interests are expected to independently and cumulatively affect students’ choice of IS as their major. The data utilized to investigate this issue was collected from students enrolled in introductory IS courses at two large public universities. A total of 151 usable responses were ob-tained. The results indicate that the degree to which students perceive the IT to be sophisticated affects their aspiration to major in IS. Specifically, utilizing state-of-the art technologies that re-flect current industry practices not only enhances students’ confidence in their ability to success-fully perform as an IS major, but also elevates students’ expectations that valued rewards will be received by majoring in IS. In turn, strong self-efficacy and outcome expectations foster student interest in the IS discipline. Moreover, it was found that IT sophistication does not directly affect student interest. Rather, the effects of IT sophistication on interests are channeled indirectly through self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Similarly, our results did not provide support for the direct effects of self-efficacy and outcome expectations on choice goals. In contrast, choice goals develop through strong interests, and finally, interest serves as the primary mechanism through which goals to choose the IS major emerge. Our findings suggest that deploying sophisticated IT in introductory IS classes can be used as a powerful lever to attract additional students the IS discipline. We encourage those who teach in-troductory IS courses to focus on state-of-the-art technologies that reflect cur-rent industry practices. Utilizing these technologies also has the potential to increase student success in the class-room, provide a richer and more engag-ing learning environment for students, and help students become more attrac-tive to recruiters. Despite the knowledge gained herein, the study has certain limitations. The

APPROPRIATE PENALTIES FOR ACADEMIC DISHONESTY AS PERCEIVED BY STUDENTS IN AN INFORMATION SYSTEMS CLASS: AN ANALYSIS BY CLASS LEVEL

This focus of this study was to identify appropriate penalties for situations involving academic dishonesty (cheating) as perceived by college student. A secondary purpose was to document any differences in perceptions based on class level. A total of 266 students in introductory information systems courses completed an 18-item instrument at the end of the college semester. Results of the study revealed that the penalties perceived as appropriate for cheating differ among freshman, sophomores, and upper classmen (juniors and seniors). Areas of further research are suggested.