Kathy Lynch

Information technology team projects in higher education: an international viewpoint

It is common to find final or near final year undergraduate Information Technology students undertaking a substantial development project; a project where the students have the opportunity to be fully involved in the analysis, design, and development of an information technology service or product. This involvement has been catalyzed and prepared for during their previous studies where the students have been told and shown how to develop similar systems. It is the belief that only through this ‘real’ project do they get the chance to experience something similar to what is expected of them when they embark on their chosen profession; that is, as an information technology professional. The high value of ‘near real life’ educational experience is recognized by many universities across the globe. The aim of this paper is to present examples from three countries - Australia, United Kingdom and South Africa, of the delivery of these team, capstone or industrial experience projects; their curricula and management processes. Academics from institutions in each of the countries share experiences, challenges and pitfalls encountered during the delivery of these information technology projects within their institutions. An overview of each institution’s strategies is provided and highlights specific issues such as the selection of projects, allocation of teams to projects, legal requirements, assessment methods, challenges and benefits. The pedagogies presented here are not exhaustive; however, the three institutions do have in common the implementation of a combination of constructivism with a community of practice approach in delivering the project unit. The three universities recognize the need for industrial experience and learning of applied skills, and therefore make these projects a compulsory part of the curriculum. The projects tend to be real life business problems which are solved over a period of two semesters, and in the case of Cape Town it could be two consecutive years of two semesters each. These projects tend to involve practical development (for example databases and web sites). The process of project-to-team allocation is generally similar in all cases. Despite their differences, team work related problems are quite similar in all three cases presented, and seem to appear as a result of team work complexity, and the number of stakeholders involved. The intention of this paper is not to propose solutions to these problems (as these would be context dependent), but to draw the attention to the main problem categories for similar schemes, these are; • project selection, • management of students, • management of academic staff, • student team motivation, • equality and diversity, • passengers, and • assessment. Furthermore, it is not the intention of the authors to portray one approach as better than another, however, the approaches are representative of how team projects are being delivered across the globe, and in particular, in the contributing institutions. It is hoped that the assimilation and dissemination of information regarding the various approaches presented will nurture further discussion, and open communication across the globe with the view to enhancing the teaching and learning experience of such projects.

Challenges in teaching capstone courses

Many of us run capstone project courses and do so in different ways. The members of this panel come from different countries, belong to different types of institutions, teach in different computing disciplines and the capstone projects they run also vary considerably. Yet, there is a strong sense of consensus about what a capstone project is and how valuable it is as a learning experience for students.The panel discussion will serve as an inspiration to develop new, and change old capstone project courses. The main aim is to discuss why, or why not, different approaches work in a capstone project. What are the learning objectives behind the approach? What are the problems? What are the benefits? How is assessment managed? What resources, tools and techniques are used to administer and manage the projects?Concrete examples of how capstone projects are run at the six institutions represented by the panellists will be given, and issues such as framework, methodologies, project examples and technologies used in the process of producing projects will be addressed.

A framework for instantiating pedagogic mLearning objects applications

An increasing desire to port learning objects on mobile phones exists. However, there is limited understanding on how to pedagogically obtain access to and use learning objects on mobile phones. The limited understanding is caused by a dearth in frameworks for underpinning the development of mobile learning objects applications. Following Design Research methodology, we developed a Mobile Learning Objects Deployment and Utilisation Framework (MoLODUF) to address this problem. MoLODUF is composed of twelve dimensions, including: MLearning Objects, MLearning Device, MLearning Interface, MLearning Connectivity, MLearning Process, MLearning Costs, MLearning Resources, MLearning Context, MLearning Pedagogy, MLearning Ethics, MLearning Policy and MLearning Evaluation. The MoLODUF makes significant extensions to existing electronic and mLearning frameworks. It provides a competency set of guidelines for developing and/or evaluating applications for deploying and utilising learning objects on mobile phones.

Looks Can Cost; Especially On A Small Screen

Today, the average consumer is comfortable browsing a web site using a desktop, laptop or kiosk computer. However, this is changing a rapid rate as more and more consumers access the same web content using a small screen device such as a mobile phone or personal digital assistant (PDA). Regardless of the consumers’ expertise with the mobile device, the experience is becoming frustrating as they try to navigate their way through web content that has been designed for a large screen; a design that results in cumbersome layout, slow-loading images and ‘off-screen’ navigation points when viewed on a small screen device. The result is dissatisfaction on part of the consumer, and possible loss of revenue for an e-business enterprise. The main objective of this paper is to highlight several techniques and technologies that are currently available that can assist in displaying ‘user-friendly’ web pages regardless of the screen size of the device.

Study Mode Does Not Matter: MLearning Can Support Internal and Distance Learners

It is no longer news that the permeation statistics for mobile phones in developing countries of Africa has surpassed industry analysts’ predictions. Also research is increasingly showing that mobile devices can be used to provide learning support services. The use of mobile devices for accomplishing learning activities has been termed mobile learning (mLearning). Since owners of mobile devices move with them wherever they go, mLearning offers anytime anywhere learning. Mobile devices, among others may include: mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs (personal digital assistants), BlackBerries, GPS (global positioning system) receivers, clickers, tablet PCs, as well as iPods and MP3 players (Kukulska-Hulme & Traxler, 2005).