Gary B. Randolph

Attracting communities and students to IT with a community service web contest

This paper describes a high school web design contest held by a computer and information technology program. The goals were to serve the community with community engagement websites and also to provide experiential learning in an IT field and hopefully to encourage students to pursue careers in IT. Five high schools competed, with forty-eight students in thirteen different teams.

Using learning contracts for improved teaching and student involvement

The typical students at the Purdue University-Anderson site are adult learners, and, as such, they have special needs which must be recognized and addressed if their learning and retention is to be maximized. To accomplish this the andragogy educational adult learner method was followed. The learner must be the focus of the preparation for and acquisition of knowledge, skills and understanding to become an adaptable human being. During the first weeks of any course the instructor and students must develop a positive relationship: one that is conductive to improved learning. During these initial weeks the instructor lays the necessary foundation of knowledge and general course expectations from which all else evolves. This phase is followed by either one-on-one instructor-student or instructor-team dialogues to reach a mutual and satisfactory knowledge of specific course expectations. The students, individually or in teams, must be actively involved in defining their interim and ultimate learning objectives, and in establishing their responsibilities and accountabilities. These specifics are detailed in a learning contract which is submitted and ultimately agreed to by the instructor. The role of the instructor becomes primarily that of a facilitator, consultant and resource helping each student and/or team successfully accomplish their defined objectives. In the Spring semester, 1998, three courses at Purdue University-Anderson will be using the learning contract methodology. The results attained in each course using this method are presented as well as the methodology and expected results.

The forest and the trees: using oracle and SQL server together to teach ANSI-standard SQL

Students in a sophomore-level database fundamentals course were taught SQL and database concepts using both Oracle and SQL Server. Previous offerings of the class had used one or the other database. Classroom experiences suggest that students were able to handle learning SQL in the dual environment, and, in fact, benefited from this approach by better understanding ANSI-standard versus database-specific SQL and implementation differences in the two database systems.

Developing a foundational course in information systems

This paper describes one universitys approach to building a foundational course in information systems that (1) prepares students with technology skills for subsequent courses, (2) satisfies students with sufficient rigor and real-world application, and (3) corresponds closely to the IT model curriculum.

Effect of hypermedia and graphics on recall and retention in on‐line publishing

The study examined the effect of hypermedia and graphics in on‐line publishing upon immediate recall and longer‐term retention. Ninety‐eight participants read one of four versions of a news story presented through a Web browser. The four versions presented the story with and without graphics and with and without hypermedia links. Participants completed a 15‐question quiz immediately and again after one week. Analysis found no significant effects for the use of graphics or hypermedia or their interaction upon immediate recall of information. A significant effect for the use of graphics was found for retention after one week.