Mark G. Simkin

What best predicts computer proficiency

Identifying variables that predict computer aptitude can help educators and employers target potential students and employees. The authors examine a number of possible explanatory variables including demographic profiles, high school achievements, prior computer training and experience, cognitive styles, and problem-solving abilities.

Evaluating Student Papers: The Case for Peer Review

Abstract One approach for grading papers in large business classes is to require students to evaluate each others work. Both students and instructors can gain much in such peer review processes, but can students be trusted to grade each others papers? This article describes an experiment in which term projects, a preprinted evaluation form, and generalizability theory were used to judge the reliability of student grading. The results suggest that students can be both consistent and fair in their assessments. These findings, along with mostly favorable student reactions and the fact that employee valuation is an important management skill, create a strong case for peer review when evaluating student papers.

The Consistency of Peer Review in Student Writing Projects.

Abstract The advantages of using students to grade one anothers papers are compelling. But can students perform such evaluation tasks honestly and efficiently? This article examines the peer evaluation process undertaken by 60 undergraduate students to determine whether students are consistent graders for both total scores and selected disaggregate evaluation criteria. The overall conclusion is that students are able to grade papers efficiently and consistently.

The analysis and study of the impact of technology on groups: a conceptual framework

This paper examines how various aspects of technology, group and task interplay, affect group processing and performance. Efforts to provide groups with technological support are driven by three basic ideas: improving group task performance, overcoming time and space constraints on group collaborative efforts, and increasing the range and speed of access to information. These are discussed together with three conceptual frameworks within which groupware (defined as computer-based systems that support the efforts of groups engaged in common tasks) can be developed. A conceptual framework is developed within which information systems for assisting groups electronically can be designed and measured. The paper concludes with an agenda for further research.

Relating Gap Analysis Results to Information Systems Program Attitudes: The Identification of Gap Priorities and Implications.

The authors utilized a gap analysis approach to assess general IS knowledge and skill voids or overages in a specific program context. The authors asked alumni to reveal the emphasis that should have been given to 10 IS knowledge and skill areas and compared the results with the emphasis that was actually given. They proceed by relating the revealed gaps to IS program attitude, thus providing a means for gap prioritization and attitudinal improvement. The authors develop perspectives into the implications of gap results, as well as other issues and limitations.

Student Perceptions of the Peer Review Process in Student Writing Projects.

The process of academic peer review—i.e., students evaluating each others work—can help instructors address a host of higher institutional objectives, not the least of which is the total quality management of collegiate teaching. But more is known about this process from the viewpoint of instructors than from the perspective of students. The purpose of this study was to formally examine student views of a specific peer-review system in which undergraduates assigned final grades to each others term papers. A survey instrument revealed a high degree of comfort with the process, as well as some insights into why a few students were uncomfortable with it.

The Impact of Technology on Cooperative Work Groups

The impact of technology on group process and performance operates in dynamic interdependence with key features of the group composition, task, and situation. Today it is possible to merge an understanding of technology with an understanding of group dynamics. This can be the basis for a new way of conducting business, where information and time are focal points of business strategy.

Why use multiple choice questions with excess information

The examinations administered by accounting instructors, professional certification examiners, textbook writers, and preparatory accounting software all routinely include multiple-choice (MC) questions with excess (yet related) information. Despite their widespread use, little is known about how MC questions with excess information (hereafter, MCE questions) affect student test performance. Based on an empirical analysis of the tests of 374 students in two introductory accounting classes at a single university, we found that average performance was lower on MCE questions than non-MCE questions, but was sensitive to the overall difficulty of the tested concept. We also found no significant difference in the power of the two question types to discriminate – both types appeared equally competent in differentiating between low- and high-performing students. Although accounting professors may wish to use MC questions with excess information for a number of other reasons, we found that MCE questions, as used in the present setting, do not appear to better discriminate student understanding relative to non-MCE questions.

Ethical concerns about the online sale of instructor-only textbook resources

Yes, your test bank and solutions manual are for sale and it is very easy for students to acquire them. Using a stakeholder framework, we analyze the ethical issues involved in acquiring, using, and distributing these instructional resources by individuals besides the professors for whom they are intended. We also discuss countermeasures that stakeholders might use to deal with this latest development.

The importance of good communication skills on IS career paths

This article examines the question “Are the same good writing and speaking skills required in general management positions also important in computer jobs?” The first part of the article examines the historical marriage between “communicating” and “computing,” while the second part examines what roles, if any, good communication skills play in advancing IS career paths. Finally, the third part describes an empirical survey to test the hypothesis that communication skills are important to computer professionals. The results of the survey strongly support the hypothesis.