Undergraduate Information Technology Research Articles

Restructuring of Undergraduate Information Technology Curriculum in Fulfillment of SKKNI Industry 4.0 with an Independent Learning Campus Approach

Information technology has played an important role in the business and industrial environment. The suitability of the competence of graduates of information technology graduates and competency standards in the industry is a problem that is quite complicated to explore. The purpose of this study was to analyze the suitability of the undergraduate-level information technology curriculum with the competency map required by the industry which is always developing rapidly in the industrial era 4.0. This study also tries to recommend an information technology curriculum restructuring model with an independent campus learning approach. The method used in this study is a qualitative method with a traditional literature review approach that specifically analyzes documents in depth to gain new knowledge. The results of this study indicate that there is a large gap between the education process at the undergraduate level in the competencies students acquire and the occupations provided by industry which results in many undergraduate graduates not being absorbed by industry. The results of this study also show that the independent approach to independent campus learning is also not enough to bridge this gap because several stages do not go well. This study concludes that a comprehensive restructuring of the undergraduate curriculum is needed to obtain a curriculum that is good and adaptive to change.

Information Technology Students' Perceptions Toward Using Virtual Reality Technology for Educational Purposes

This study aims to examine information technology students' perceptions toward the use of virtual reality technology, their behavioral intention to use such technology for educational purposes, and the relationship between their perceptions toward the use of virtual reality technology and their behavioral intention to use virtual reality technology for educational purposes. The study used a descriptive and cross-sectional survey research design. The data collection tool was developed based on the second Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology UTAUT2 framework. Data were collected from participants using an online questionnaire. The number of participants was 147 undergraduate information technology students. The results showed that the participants had variations in their perceptions of virtual reality technology. The results showed that participants had positive perceptions of hedonic motivation and effort expectancy concerning the use of virtual reality. However, the students had close to neutral perceptions of performance expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, price value, and habits concerning the use of virtual reality. Furthermore, the results showed that the students had a positive behavioral intention to use virtual reality for educational purposes. Part of students' positive behavioral intention to use virtual reality for educational purposes can be ascribed to their perceptions of effort expectancy, performance expectancy, social influence, hedonic motivation, price value, facilitating conditions, and habits concerning the use of virtual reality. Students' perceptions of performance expectancy concerning virtual reality had the greatest effect on their behavioral intention to use virtual reality for educational purposes. Based on the findings, a set of recommendations was provided.

Understanding the career interests of Information Technology (IT) students: a focus on choice of major and career aspirations

Despite continuous growth in the number of positions in Australia’s Information Technology (IT) industry since 2015, only half of Australia’s IT graduates go on to work in IT positions. A much-debated challenge for graduates is that the transition to work is complex and often demands several attempts. Less discussed is why school students choose to study IT at university and whether these motivational factors inform their career choice. The motivation to study at university has many potential influences including social factors, prior experience, self-perceptions, intrinsic or personal utility values, or simply the prospect of a good salary. Students’ choice of university major has similar influences; however, many learners select their major and enter university without having thought about possible career pathways. As such, without appropriate support during their time at university, students may not translate interest and motivation into career identity or commitment, and they may not develop realistic career goals or job-seeking strategies. To understand the antecedents to career interest, this study investigated the choice of major and career aspirations of undergraduate IT students at an Australian university. The two-year study engaged students in two phases of data collection. First, students completed an online self-assessment of study and career confidence, answering two open questions on why they chose to study IT and how long they intended to work in the discipline. Students then responded to a short online survey about their short- and longer-term career aspirations and prior experience. The results show that the motivation to study IT is based largely on intrinsic interest and enjoyment of IT rather than on external factors such as salary or job security. Most students reported broad career aspirations related to IT; however, students were unable to articulate what these careers might entail and they were unsure about the amount of time they would spend in the IT profession. The study concluded that understanding IT students’ motivation for study could inform career development learning activities through which students transform their interest into career choice and pre-professional identity.

Predicting Student Performance to Improve Academic Advising Using the Random Forest Algorithm

The Covid-19 pandemic constrained higher education institutions to switch to online teaching, which led to major changes in students’ learning behavior, affecting their overall performance. Thus, students’ academic performance needs to be meticulously monitored to help institutions identify students at risk of academic failure, preventing them from dropping out of the program or graduating late. This paper proposes a CGPA Predicting Model (CPM) that detects poor academic performance by predicting their graduation cumulative grade point average (CGPA). The proposed model uses a two-layer process that provides students with an estimated final CGPA, given their progress in second- and third-year courses. This work allows academic advisors to make suitable remedial arrangements to improve students’ academic performance. Through extensive simulations on a data set related to students registered in undergraduate information technology program gathered over the years, we demonstrate that the CPM attains accurate performance predictions compared to benchmark methods.

Augmenting small enterprise operations with technology: the case of kraft therapy foundation in a user-centred design

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes are as follows: to explore the challenges associated with Information System Project Management; to explore how to navigate certain Information System Project Management challenges and make recommendations on how to address them; and to evaluate the application of user-centred design. Case overview/synopsis This case looks at the small to medium enterprises (SMEs) Digitisation project that was initiated by Dr Ndiege, Assistant Professor of Information Systems, and a team of faculty at the School of Science and Technology, United States International University – Africa in Kenya. Dr Ndiege is considering the project in September 2020 and its future viability. The project called for computer science students to voluntarily assist in developing an online presence for local SMEs. The idea is to help cushion them against the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Ndiege looks at the details of the project through the eyes of team leader Sylvie Sarabwe and her encounters on the project. She leads a team of four students in a user-centered design to develop a website for social enterprise Kraft Therapy Foundation (KTF), located in Kibera slums within Nairobi County, Kenya. Sylvie must navigate the client relationship with KTF. But she soon starts to experience the difficulties involved with navigating this process. For Sylvie, it quickly dawns on her that a user-centred design project requires both hard and the soft skills to successfully deliver the final project. By the conclusion of the case, Dr Ndiege recognises the multitude of issues that this project ultimately faces. Complexity academic level The primary target audience for this teaching case is undergraduate information technology students, especially students in software application design and project management with little or no work experience. The case is clearly structured and the length of the case lends itself to the audience. It does not contain excessive or irrelevant information. Hence, learners have more time to focus on the application questions presented. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 7: Management Science.

The Effectiveness of an Intergenerational Technology Program for Older Adults: A Pilot Study

Medical residents need training to assess social determinants of health (SDOH) related to chronic conditions. We created a checklist to identify SDOH affecting residency clinic patients’ ability to manage chronic conditions. The tool: 1) involves resident training; 2) provides decision support checklist; 3) influences patient activation; and 4) increases provider and patient communication through shared decision making. Action Planning Guide checklist (APG) includes questions pertaining to SDOH preventing patients from managing their chronic conditions and actions patients will take. Areas identified are discussed between patient and resident, increasing patient activation. The clinic’s nurse care facilitator guides referrals to community-based resources. Fifty-two patients were enrolled, with 75% of patients responding they would like to be better managers of their chronic conditions. This information is used to develop patient’s goals of care. Over 90% of patients said their conditions affect their lives and discussed ways better to care for themselves. Over 80% discussed medication management, health goals to improve their quality of life, and made a plan that maps out ways to reach their goals. All of these are essential for achieving positive health outcomes for older patients with chronic conditions. These attributes promote effective patient/provider partnerships. Seventy referrals were made; food through 2-1-1 (47%); monthly commodity food program (30%); utility payments (11%), and transportation (9%). Twenty-seven referrals were made to agencies serving older adults; 25 to the local AAA information and assistance services, and 2 to Senior Project Fresh Voucher Program.

Undergraduate Nursing Students Endorse Education Standards in Blended e-Learning Theory Teaching during COVID-19 Pandemic

Aim: The aim of this study was to survey student learning perspectives as measured by ‘student satisfaction’ following the rapid introduction of remote blended e-learning into the existing undergraduate nursing curriculum at Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia. Background: National legislation resulting from the spread of Covid-19 required all theoretical and practical nurse training to move immediately to online provision using an unfamiliar e-learning environment and associated tools. Objective: The objective of this study was to use a validated satisfaction questionnaire developed elsewhere, but within a similar educational context involving both theoretical and practical components, for the purpose of checking that educational objectives were being satisfactorily achieved across five relevant domains of educational enquiry, and to use survey findings to improve the online delivery of the nursing program in future academic years. Methods: A validated 35 item questionnaire was circulated online to all male and female nursing students in their 2nd, 3rd and 4th years of study. The questionnaire content was subdivided into the five domains of ‘Interaction’, ‘Instruction’, ‘Instructor’, ‘Course Management’ and ‘Technology’. Descriptive and comparative statistics were used to compare levels of satisfaction between genders and among undergraduate years of study, and against findings from undergraduate information technology undergraduates. Results: 199 female and 84 male students completed the questionnaire (response rate 59.2%). Mean satisfaction scores for male and female nursing undergraduates were significantly greater than 3 (neutral score) in all domains of enquiry, indicating good satisfaction with blended e-learning (p<0.001). However, multivariate regressions of domain satisfaction scores taking gender and year of study as explanatory variables had poor resolving power. Domain scores were also significantly greater than those of a comparator study in three of the five domains (p<0.030) and similar in the domains of course management (p=0.717) and technology (p=0.677). Levels of satisfaction in males and females were similar in 80% of the survey questions, but in females, satisfaction was significantly lower in some questions concerning technology (p<0.003), willingness to interrupt the instructor (p=0.021), comparison of blended learning and face-to-face teaching (p=0.002) and timely feedback on tests and assignments (p=0.031). Fourth-year students showed the highest levels of satisfaction across all five domains. Conclusion: Undergraduate nursing students reported above-average satisfaction levels across all five domains of education provision. Despite an unfamiliar blended e-learning curriculum environment, they demonstrated compatible technological skills, satisfactory interaction with teachers and other students and engagement in the learning process. A number of recommendations identified in the literature as underlying a successful program of blended e-learning are recorded for the benefit of readers.

Going digital to enhance the learning of undergraduate students

The aim of this study was to investigate which of three types of video resources, and which additional resources, were preferred by Information Technology (IT) students for learning and exam preparation. We offered three types of video learning resources to support the delivery of a first year undergraduate IT course. We collated quantitative data on engagement with each video resource through the Learning Management System, drew further insights from an online survey of the students and combined this with data obtained from an institutional student evaluation survey. Whilst there has been much research conducted about the use of video lectures and other online resources, there has been little research conducted specifically with IT students to determine their preferences when selecting learning resources. We report the preferences of IT undergraduate students when provided with a selection of video learning materials, how the resources were used and their perceived learning value. This study not only offers a set of considerations and recommendations for the design of learning materials for IT students, but also for digital learning in higher-education more generally. Short premium videos were watched many more times than full lectures, and 85% of students agreed that short premium videos were more beneficial and effective than longer, lower quality lecture recordings for their learning. The students’ self-assessed video attention span varied greatly, with a mean of 10 minutes. Students perceived that short premium videos helped them to retain knowledge. However, the perceived most useful resource overall was the lecture slides.

Attitude toward entrepreneurship, perceived behavioral control, and entrepreneurial intention: dimensionality, structural relationships, and gender differences

Drawing on the theory of planned behavior, the main purpose of this cross-sectional study was to identify gender-related differences in the levels of and the interrelations among attitude toward entrepreneurship, perceived behavioral control, and entrepreneurial intention using multi-group structural equations modeling in which the dimensions of these constructs were disentangled and treated as latent variables that were indirectly inferred from multiple indicators. The sample of the study consisted of 441 Greek tertiary education undergraduate information technology students. The results showed that attitude consists of two components—one instrumental and one affective; perceived behavioral control is comprised of two factors—perceived self-efficacy and perceived controllability; and entrepreneurial intention is best represented by three factors—choice intention, commitment to entrepreneurship, and nascent entrepreneurship. The findings indicated further that affective attitude and perceived self-efficacy are by far the strongest predictors of intention, thus highlighting the role of emotions in the entrepreneurial process. Our work revealed also that the relationship between commitment to entrepreneurship and nascent entrepreneurship is stronger in men than in women. Conceiving nascent entrepreneurship as a proxy for entrepreneurial behavior, this finding implies that gender is a moderator of the entrepreneurial intention-action translation. Despite its limitations, this study makes some important contributions and implications to the literature of entrepreneurship. These and future research suggestions are also discussed.

REALITY OF ASSESSING GROUP WORK SKILLS IN CDIO-BASED TRAINING PROGRAMS

Courses in the undergraduate Information Technology CDIO-based training program are usually designed to integrate at least one kind of soft skills. In fact, teamwork is one of the skills that has been most applied by lecturers. However, lecturers often find it very difficult to assess learners fairly, objectively and comprehensively when applying this method while they are well aware of the fact that assessment is a particularly important stage and has a strong impact on both learners’ learning results and the quality of a training program. The paper presents the facts and recommends solutions to assessing learners through their teamwork skills in curriculum based on CDIO approach.

Integrating information literacy in IT courses: Information technology students’ perceptions of embedded librarians

The purpose of this pilot study is to assess undergraduate Information Technology (IT) students’ perception of benefits from having an embedded librarian in an online learning management system. The pilot research data were collected through a random sample of volunteer focus group members after course completion. Similarly, to the literature methodology, the researcher shadowed a post-course focus group interview session to seek congruent literature themes: perception of comfort in experience, the perception of assignment confidence, and enhanced perception in research abilities. The data were first spiraled down using Quirkos qualitative analysis software and discussed to form a grounded theory. The pilot study concurs with prior literature’s three main constructs: comfort, confidence, and recognition. Additionally, this study recognizes four additional themes: helpful, recognition of embedded librarians, interpersonal growth, and self-efficacy. Finally, this study acknowledges its limitations and recommendations for future research.

Design sprint in classroom: exploring new active learning tools for project-based learning approach

The application of content only through lectures in an expository format may not be sufficient for the teaching of software engineering in this new era. Creating software products that take the user experience (UX) into account as an essential requirement in the software development process is a necessary activity for all information technology (IT) professionals looking to build quality products. Currently, there are few initiatives that address the insertion of innovative techniques in the curriculum of undergraduate IT courses during the training of students. Design sprint (DS) in conjunction with project-based learning (PBL) provides an effective method to achieve the quality of software products when using UX techniques and creativity. One of the key features of PBL is the ability to generate artifacts with your application to solve real and non-trivial problems. This paper presents a systematic literature review (SLR) to investigate the hypothesis that joining the DS concepts with PBL identifies the user experience as one of the main attributes of quality and authenticity to be achieved in the software development projects. The objective of the SLR is to analyze how the PBL units that produce authentic software are executed. Furthermore, two case studies are reported that explore how DS behaves in a reduced number of classes when it is desired to generate a functional prototype that will be developed in a PBL unit. As a result of the SLR, it has been identified that Scrum is the software development process most used in PBL units that generate authentic software. The identified works report that the students are usually divided into groups of 2–5 people during the activities and the monitors play an important role in the quality of the software produced. The result of the case study indicates that the limited time for PBL conduction was a complicating factor in this adaptation and that students feel that their own learning and participation are positive in DS-based classes, as well as that DS provides insights that may be useful in a PBL context.

Valued Academic Library Services Are Not Necessarily the Ones That Are Used Most Frequently, Students’ Service and Social Media Communication Priorities Should Also Be Considered

A Review of:
 Stvilia, B., & Gibradze, L. (2017). Examining undergraduate students' priorities for academic library services and social media communication. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 43(3), 257-262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2017.02.013
 Abstract
 Objective – To examine how undergraduate students rate the importance of different categories of library services and library social media postings.
 Design – Online survey.
 Setting – Large research university in the United States.
 Subjects – 159 undergraduate students enrolled in 3 information technology classes.
 Methods – Participants were asked to rate the importance of different library service categories on a 7-point Likert scale. The library service categories were (1) access to information and computer resources, (2) study support services, (3) support for club meetings, and (4) Q&A services. Participants were also asked to rate the importance of nine different categories of library social media postings, also on a 7-point Likert scale. The categories of social media postings were (1) event, (2) resources, (3) community building, (4) operations updates, (5) study support, (6) Q&A, (7) survey, (8) staff, and (9) club. Students were also asked to identify which library services they currently use.
 Main Results – Validly submitted surveys totaled 104 (response rate 65%). Respondents rated access to information and computer resources (M=5.9) and study support services (M=5.9) as being of the highest importance, with no statistically significant difference being found between these ratings. Respondents rated Q&A services (mean not reported) and support for club meetings (M=4.8) as being of significantly lower importance than the baseline (access information and computer resources). In terms of service usage, using the library to study (87%) and to access information and computer resources (59%), were the top two most reportedly used services.
 Respondents rated social media postings relating to operations updates (M=5.6), study support (M=5.5) and events (M=5.4) as being of highest importance, with no significant difference between the ratings of these three categories. Respondents rated all other categories of social media postings (survey, M=4.7; staff, M=4.4; means for remaining categories not reported) as being of significantly less importance than the baseline (operations updates). For just over half the social media posting categories (5/9, 56%) importance rankings found in this study agree with engagement rankings the authors found in a previous study (Stvilia & Gibradze, 2014).
 Conclusion – The results of this study suggested frequency of use alone cannot be used to determine the value students place on a library’s services, as students may perceive equal value in services they use at different frequencies. The authors, therefore, argued there is a strong need to inexpensively predict users’ perceptions of service value without relying on usage metrics alone. Because a level of agreement was found between social media engagement (determined in the authors’ 2014 study) and importance rankings (found in this study), the authors proposed further research be done to determine whether and how an analysis of library social media engagement can be used as an inexpensive way to predict the perceived importance and value of a library’s services. While the authors recognized it may not be appropriate to generalize the results of this study to a wider student population, they suggested the findings may be applicable to similar groups of students (i.e., undergraduate information technology students).

Understanding the career development and employability of information technology students

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the career development and employability needs of undergraduate information technology (IT) students at an Australian University, and their relation to students’ career interest. While many factors and stakeholders contribute to student career development, this study focused specifically on the student experience. Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) is used as an approach to understand the students’ needs of career development and employability. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was completed by 126 IT students to record information about students’ career development and employability background and needs. Findings The results demonstrate that SCCT helps understand the factors that impact on IT students’ career development, with their outcome expectations and self-efficacy informed by prior studies in IT and their need for access to “IT professionals” to contribute towards their career interest. In addition, IT students rely on academic achievement and experiential learning, rather than career resources, to guide their career development and employability. Research limitations/implications The data collected in this study are limited to one discipline (IT) at one university, which necessarily limits the generalisability of the specific results. Practical implications Career development is a complex, life-stage-dependant and discipline-specific process that varies for every decision maker. This research makes an important contribution in presenting the IT student experience and demonstrates how an appropriate career development model can help understand students’ needs. This outcome will help educators better support IT students to build the career interest. Originality/value This study explored the often-overlooked student experience of career development, providing valuable insight into IT students’ needs.

Using Career Development Learning in Science and Information Technology Courses to Build 21st-Century Learners

The aim of education in the 21st century is to cultivate a whole person, not just a professional. Therefore, obtaining an academic qualification (standard credentials) is not enough and other qualities (soft credentials) are also important, including the ability to properly package and present one’s credentials and capabilities. This article focuses on a pilot study on career development learning (CDL) in an undergraduate science course and an undergraduate information technology (IT) course from two universities in Australia. We used career intervention suitable to individual disciplines to improve student career-associated self-efficacy. A 25-question Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale was used to evaluate the CDL. Altogether, 58 of 86 (67.4%) students voluntarily participated in the joint survey study. The number of valid responses is 91.3% (53/58). After the CDL interventions, students (N = 53) were significantly more confident in all five career-associated aspects of self-efficacy: self-appraisal, goal selection, occupational information, planning, and problem solving (Wilcoxon, p ≤ 0.022). The results of this pilot study support the extension of this approach to more undergraduate courses.

Applying Agile Principles in Teaching Undergraduate Information Technology Project Management

This article describes how the traditional teaching and learning activities over the years have been challenged to be agile - easily adaptable to changing classroom conditions. Despite this new phenomenon, there is a perceived paucity of agile-in-teaching research. Available studies neither focus on the use of agile principles beyond delivering software developmental courses. Research in this area has not provided longitudinal insights into the evolution of agile implementation in teaching and learning. Further, they lack a comprehensive evaluation of teaching and learning activities using agile principles. This article responds using an account of how agile principles guided the delivery of an IT Project Management course to three different student cohorts over three academic years. An evaluation of these activities demonstrates skillful adaptation of the principles to achieve learning outcomes. Implications of agile-in-the-classroom research are discussed.

Information Technology Students’ Language Needs for their ESP Course

The purpose of this study was to find the needs of Iranian undergraduate Information Technology (IT) engineering students for their ESP course. To this end, a needs analysis questionnaire was administered to 30 undergraduate IT students to elicit information about their needs in English language at Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch. The results of data analysis revealed that among four skills reading was the highly needed skill followed by writing. It was also found that a majority of participants were dissatisfied with the current ESP courses for undergraduate students. This, in fact, indicated that ESP curricula have not yet been successfully developed in satisfying the students’ professional needs in target situations. Findings point to the fact that ESP and its teaching in Iran has to undergo serious rethinking not only in the content of the course but also the whole process of teaching the language. The findings can help course designers to both put much more credit for ESP courses, and consider appropriate and suitable materials which can give useful information to the students. It can also help ESP teachers to meet the language needs of their students.

Approaches in Developing Undergraduate IT Engineering Curriculum for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Malaysia and Vietnam

Curricula have important effects on students’ professional skills. To prepare for the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), countries are recommended to implement new curricula to develop new competencies for the automation workforce. As Information technology (IT) lays the foundations for the core 4IR-relevant emerging technologies (big data, internet of things, artificial intelligence, etc.), countries have developed new IT engineering curricula to prepare engineers for the 4IR. By conducting a structured focused comparison for bachelor IT curricula containing core 4IR modules of 57 Vietnamese and 35 Malaysian universities, this research aims to find appropriate approaches in developing curricula to prepare 4IR competencies for IT engineering students for Malaysia, Vietnam and implications for other nations. The research found that, only new stand-alone curricula with a focus on 4IR competencies can prepare engineers for the 4IR. It then provides seven lessons for designing new 4IR engineering curriculum and for continuing studies on 4IR-ready curriculum.

A capstone design project for teaching cybersecurity to nontechnical users

This paper presents a multi-year undergraduate computing capstone project that holistically contributes to the development of cybersecurity knowledge and skills in non-computing high school and college students. We describe the student-built Vulnerable Web Server application, which is a system that packages instructional materials and pre-built virtual machines to provide lessons on cybersecurity to non-technical students. The Vulnerable Web Server learning materials have been piloted at several high schools and are now integrated into multiple security lessons in an intermediate, general education information technology course at the United States Military Academy. Our paper interweaves a description of the Vulnerable Web Server materials with the senior capstone design process that allowed it to be built by undergraduate information technology and computer science students, resulting in a valuable capstone learning experience. Throughout the paper, a call is made for greater emphasis on educating the nontechnical user.

Informing the career development of IT students by understanding their career aspirations and skill development action plans

Attending university can assist students to make informed and realistic choices regarding their career. However, career development is a complex process and there are discipline-specific aspects to consider. In Information Technology, no clear career developmental pathway is evident in the literature despite recent efforts by employers, educators, and professional societies to help students improve their career expectations and employability upon graduation. This study aims to understand better the career aspirations and expectations of tertiary Information Technology students, so that their beliefs and needs can be taken into consideration when supporting them in career development. This study uses both qualitative and quantitative analyses to explore the career aspirations of 306 students. The results demonstrated variability in students’ short-term aspirations and a lack of understanding regarding effective actions to achieve their career goals, highlighting issues with setting realistic expectations. Outcomes show that undergraduate Information Technology students may require assistance with negotiating career choice.