Wikis, Blogs and Other Technology in IS Classes

Vicki L. Sauter

Professor of Information Systems

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

Overview of Technology Use

Class pages – Syllabus– Schedule– Contact Information– Semester Projects– Homework– Readings Pages– Forms– The “Current” Page

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

Readings Pages

Summarized and indexed Some materials I have provided Some materials provided elsewhere on the

web Linked from the Syllabus and the Schedule

Schedule

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

The “Current” Page

Topics to be covered in class New readings/news about topics covered in

class Corrections and announcements

Additional Technology

Email list on outlook so I can email them wherever they are

Discussion board in mygateway for group discussions

Post final grades for the students to see late in the semester grades

The Internet vs. My Gateway

My material was available prior to the introduction of MyGateway

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

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

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

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.

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

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/glossary.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.htm

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

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

Example of their Work

Problems – from the Students’ View

Navigation of MyGateway to look at all blogs is tedious

MyGateway 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)

Problems – from the Students’ View

People don’t engage in discussion – there is the original comment and then they never come back (graduate students)

People late in the alphabet do not get comments (graduate students … they only need to comment on 3 other articles per week)

Blogs do not thread nicely

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

Examples of the Seeding

More Detailed Seeding

Problems

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 won’t use the tool We spend too much time in class trying to

troubleshoot

Changes

We now have a solution to the problem The students continue to be hesitant to use the tool

because of concerns about other groups seeing their material and/or losing their material

I have taken a very hard position – they MUST post their notes or flunk the class

Next semester – perhaps provide “seed” information outside the wiki (time intensive to create) and they can import if they want

Comments

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

Comments

Problems in the classroom are part of the learning experience for MIS students

They need to learn what CAN happen They need to learn how to respond They need to learn coping strategies

Sauter’s Laws

First Law -- Never attempt to do something that someone

else has not already done successfully At least do not attempt it alone

Second Law -- If it is technology, it will break

Questions?

Email address: vicki.sauter@umsl.edu Home page: www.umsl.edu/~sauter DSS (undergraduate class) home page:

www.umsl.edu/~sauter/DSS/3843start.html DSS (graduate class) home page:

www.umsl.edu/~sauter/DSS/6833start.html Analysis (undergraduate class) home page:

www.umsl.edu/~sauter/analysis/ba3810start.html