Wikis, Blogs and Other Technology in IS Classes

1
Wikis, Blogs and Other Technology in IS Classes

• Vicki L. Sauter
• Professor of Information Systems

2
Range of Courses

• I teach information systems courses
• Introductory MBA course on IT
• Systems Analysis (MS and BS level)
• Decision Support Systems (MS and BS level)
• Doctoral Seminar on Systems Analysis and Design
• Internship Requirements

3
Overview of Technology Use

• Class pages
• Syllabus
• Schedule
• Contact Information
• Semester Projects
• Homework
• Readings Pages
• Forms
• The Current Page

4
Assignment Pages

• Normal Statement of the Assignment
• FAQ pages from previous students
• Client Information
• Weekly Progress Report Forms
• Weekly Rating Forms
• End of the Semester Evaluation Form

5
Readings Pages

• Summarized and indexed
• Some materials I have provided
• Some materials provided elsewhere on the web
• Linked from the Syllabus and the Schedule

6
Schedule

• Weekly topics to be covered in class
• Assignments
• Special features (guests, videos, etc.)
• Campus events of relevance to students

7
The Current Page

• Topics to be covered in class
• New readings/news about topics covered in class
• Corrections and announcements

8
Additional Technology

• Email list on outlook so I can email them
  wherever they are
• Discussion board in Blackboard for group
  discussions
• Post final grades for the students to see late in
  the semester grades

9
The Internet vs. Blackboard

• My material was available prior to the
  introduction of Blackboard
• I have too much material to move
• Students rely on the materials in later courses
• My students rely on the materials as references
  in their careers
• Students from around the world are using my
  materials both in their classes and just because
  they find the materials there

10
Why My Students are Different

• My students are usually technology-proficient
• They already have some experience with many tools
  we use in class
• They are less tolerant with kludgy tools
• They are better able to trouble-shoot problems
• They will tell you what you should be doing

11
Why My Students Are Different .

• Problems in the classroom are part of the
  learning experience for IS students
• They need to learn what CAN happen
• They need to learn how to respond
• They need to learn coping strategies

12
Sauters First Law of Technology

• Never attempt to do something that someone else
  has not already done successfully
• At least do not attempt it alone

13
Sauters Second Law

• If it is technology, it will break

14
What is a Blog?

• Wikipedia A blog is a website in which items
  are posted on a regular basis and displayed in
  reverse chronological order. Like other media,
  blogs often focus on a particular subject, such
  as food, politics, or local news. Some blogs
  function as online diaries. A typical blog
  combines text, images, and links to other blogs,
  web pages, and other media related to its topic.

15
What is a Blog?

• Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is a journal
  (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and
  intended for general public consumption.
  www.bytowninternet.com/glossary
• A short form for weblog, a frequent and
  chronological publication of comments and
  thoughts on the web. They usually include
  philosophical reflections, opinions on the
  Internet and social or political
  issues.www.epolitix.com

16
What is a Blog?

• The name "blog" is a truncated form of "web log"
  according to Rebecca Blood's essay "Weblogs a
  history and perspective." Blog is used to refer
  to sites that can best be described as mini sites
  or mini directories, populated with the site
  owner's personal opinions. Blogs are now popular
  for business use as well.www.thewebdivision.com/g
  lossary.html
• Blog is short for Web log and is a Web page that
  has short, frequent updates made to it. Similar
  to a Web journal or "what's new"
  page.www.cougarcreationsinc.com/web_definitions.h
  tm

17
Decision Support Systems Course

• Course Goals
• Make them more aware of how decision makers act
• Translate that decision making knowledge into
  awareness of how to use models to support
  decision makers
• Teach them to build software that includes models
  and support for understanding those models

18
Motivation for Technology Use

• Need students to focus on decision making and
  modeling since it is a critical component in
  decision support systems
• They have a rudimentary modeling background and
  no experience in applying those models in real
  world situations
• Students never really understand what a model is
  outside of a textbook question

19
Blog Assignment

• Emphasize discussion of the models, their
  impacts, and their assumptions
• Find examples of models
• Critique those models
• Requiring other students to engage in a directed
  discussion through the blogs
• Worked through an article in class explaining
  what should be addressed and how to review the
  article

20
Specifics of Assignment

• Each student must identify an article each week
  that discusses decision making
• An entry provides a link to an article that
  discusses decision making and/or modeling and
  provides a critique of the use of the model and
  the approach to the decision making.
• Each student must comment on other articles and
  the students critiques of the assignments

21
Example of their Work
22
Problems from the Students View

• Navigation of Blackboard to look at all blogs is
  tedious
• Blackboard screen does not resize nicely
• Not everyone keeps up, so it is hard to go back
  and comment on others discussion
• The assignment is too vague (undergraduates)
• It takes too much time (undergraduates)

23
Problems from the Students View

• People dont engage in discussion there is the
  original comment and then they never come back
  (graduate students)
• People late in the alphabet do not get quality
  comments
• Blogs do not thread nicely

24
Problems My View

• There is a wide range of attention to this
  assignment
• Especially at the undergraduate level, there are
  often not quality comments
• Since I do not require people to go back and
  respond, there really is not discussion
• No obvious improvement in conceptualization of
  decision making or modeling

25
Changes

• Designate one or two students to find and review
  an article each week
• Require discussion on the article (at
  undergraduate level, this may mean requiring x
  postings)
• Instructor post comments
• Instructor start process with a review in the
  blog format

26
Introductory MBA Class

• Course Goals
• Make students more aware of technology and how it
  can be used in business
• Provide a basic capability in using and
  implementing some technologies
• Make students aware of the challenges and
  legalities associated with implementing
  technologies in businesses

27
Motivation for Technology Use

• Need students to focus on how technology has been
  used in various industries
• Expose students to the range of applications and
  the range of issues associated with those
  applications
• Provide them with an experience that uses
  technology rather than just writing a term paper

28
Blog Assignment

• Select an industry
• Research how technology has been used in that
  industry
• Critique those applications
• Make recommendations for how to improve the
  application of technology
• Respond to the comments I made in the previous
  week

29
Specifics of Assignment

• Each student selects an industry of interest to
  them.
• Twenty five industries selected
• Fashion Industry
• Sports Industry
• Retail Sales Industry
• Music Industry
• Student Loan Industry
• Travel Industry

30
Specifics of the Assignment (cont)

• Each week the student must research how the topic
  covered in class is addressed in the selected
  industry
• How blogs are used in the music industry
• Wiki technology in the high tech industry
• Data warehousing and the retail industry
• Security in professional sports industry

31
Move from Blackboard

• Responded to concerns from last class
• Use http//www.blogger.com/
• Easy to access
• Easy to navigate
• Scales and sizes nicely
• Easy for comments
• More flexibility in the aesthetics
• Something they may maintain in the future
  (perhaps on other topics)

32
Example of their Work
33
Example of their Work
34
Example of their Work
35
Problems from the Students View

• No complaints have been expressed!
• It is a culture change to develop a term paper
  quality document in weekly installments
• It is not clear when to stop focusing on last
  weeks topic and to move onto this week

36
Problems from my point of view

• It is much more work to comment on the blogs each
  week than to grade term papers!
• It is hard to get them to go to the library and
  put in that kind of focus on research when they
  post each week and post to the web
• The students are not commenting (at least online)
  to their colleagues blogs

37
What is a Wiki?

• It also sometimes refers to the collaborative
  software itself (wiki engine) that facilitates
  the operation of such a website
• In essence, wiki is a simplification of the
  process of creating web pages combined with a
  system that records each individual change that
  occurs over time, so that at any time, a page can
  be reverted to any of its previous states.
• A wiki system may also provide various tools that
  easily allow the user community to monitor the
  constantly changing state of the wiki and discuss
  the issues that emerge in trying to achieve a
  general consensus about wiki content. Wiki
  content can also be misleading as users may add
  incorrect information to the Wiki page.

38
Systems Analysis Class

• Class Goals
• Provide students with the skills to develop a set
  of managerial and technical specifications to
  address business need
• Analyze business processes
• Critically examine problems and opportunities
  from a variety of perspectives
• Examine technology as a tool to address those
  problems
• Construct specifications for someone to build
  technology to address those problems and
  opportunities

39
Systems Analysis Class

• Develop team skills to address technology
  problems
• Developing a group perspective on the problem
• Keeping a technical journal
• Brainstorming of solutions
• Evaluating solutions
• Sharing a vision of a solution
• Selling that solution

40
Motivation for Technology

• Student groups are not always cohesive
• Some students opt out
• Some students over control
• Students miss many of the steps in the systems
  analysis process
• Documentation of work often is not at an
  appropriate level

41
What is a Wiki?

• Wikipedia A wiki is a type of website that
  allows users to add and edit content easily and
  is especially suited for collaborative writing.
• The name is based on the Hawaiian term wiki,
  meaning "quick", "fast", or "to hasten".
  Sometimes the reduplication (wikiwiki) is used
  instead of wiki.

42
Wiki Assignment

• Students are required to keep a technical journal
  of their work on a semester project
• Only students in the group have access to the
  document
• Students have the ability to add documents and
  edit documents (including group members work)
• Instructor has seeded the group wikis with
  outlines and suggestions

43
Examples of the Seeding
44
More Detailed Seeding
45
Problems
46
Problems

• The system has been very unstable
• Students often can see items in other students
  wikis
• Students work gets saved in the wrong wiki
• Students wont use the tool
• We spend too much time in class trying to
  troubleshoot

47
Changes

• We now have a solution to the problem
• The students continued to be hesitant to use the
  tool because of concerns about other groups
  seeing their material and/or losing their
  material
• I took a very hard position they MUST post
  their notes or flunk the class
• Considered seeding information outside the wiki
  (time intensive to create) and they can import if
  they want

48
The Next Semester

• Seeded information outside of the wiki
• Did not require the use of the wiki
• Set up the opportunity for the wiki use in the
  classes and talked about the advantages

49
The Next Semester

• Only one group elected to use the Blackboard wiki
  tool
• One group elected to use an external wiki tool
  (googles wiki tool)
• Greater flexibility
• Actual Word formatting
• Includes Excel sharing too
• Scales easily

50
Questions?

• Email address vicki.sauter_at_umsl.edu
• Home page www.umsl.edu/sauter
• DSS (graduate class) home page
  www.umsl.edu/sauter/DSS/6833start.html
• Analysis (undergraduate class) home page
  www.umsl.edu/sauter/analysis/ba3810start.html
• MBA Class home page
• www.umsl.edu/sauter/5800