scholarly journals A Cloud-Based Mobile System to Improve Project Management Skills in Software Engineering Capstone Courses

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Andres Neyem ◽  
Juan Diaz-Mosquera ◽  
Jose I. Benedetto

Capstone project-based courses offer a favorable environment for the development of student skills through an approach incorporating theoretical and practical components. However, it is often difficult to successfully coordinate between students, stakeholders, and the academic team. The absence of suitable tools for addressing this issue, along with time constraints, often prevents students from attaining the expected course outcomes. This raises the question “How can we improve project management skills in computing majors through the use of technology-enhanced learning environments?” This paper presents a Cloud-based mobile system for supporting project management under a framework of best practices in software engineering capstone courses. The Kanban approach was used as a core of the proposed system. Kanban boards are very popular in the software industry today. It has been empirically shown that they provide increased motivation and project activity control due to their inherent simplicity. This helps the students and academic team be aware of the project context as it aids in preventing ambiguities, flaws, or uncertainties in the development of software artifacts.

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 146-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Griffin

The primary motivation for integrating any form of education technology into a particular course or curriculum should always be to enhance student learning. However, it can be difficult to determine which technologies will be the most appropriate and effective teaching tools. Through the alignment of technology-enhanced learning experiences with a clear set of learning objectives, teaching becomes more efficient and effective and learning is truly enhanced. In this article, I describe how I have made extensive use of technology in two neuroscience courses that differ in structure and content. Course websites function as resource centers and provide a forum for student interaction. PowerPoint presentations enhance formal lectures and provide an organized outline of presented material. Some lectures are also supplemented with interactive CD-ROMs, used in the presentation of difficult physiological concepts. In addition, a computer-based physiological recording system is used in laboratory sessions, improving the hands-on experience of group learning while reinforcing the concepts of the research method. Although technology can provide powerful teaching tools, the enhancement of the learning environment is still dependent on the instructor. It is the skill and enthusiasm of the instructor that determines whether technology will be used effectively.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diogo Casanova ◽  
António Moreira

This paper presents a comprehensive model for supporting informed and critical discussions concerning the quality of Technology-Enhanced Learning in Blended Learning programmes. The model aims to support discussions around domains such as how institutions are prepared, the participants' background and expectations, the course design, and the learning process. The research that supported the design of this model was framed by a Grounded Theory method, combining different approaches to empirical data collection with a review of evaluation models on aspects of the quality of Online and Distance Learning. Throughout the paper, arguments are made that Higher Education institutions need to be more critical with regard to the use of Technology-Enhanced Learning, and to support it as a counterpart to face-to-face learning and teaching. The model provides a framework for teachers in Higher Education to reflect and discuss the quality of Technology-Enhanced Learning in their Blended Learning programmes.


2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 234-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Hall

PurposeThis paper sets out to argue that the strategic implementation of technology is implicated in a range of crises or socio‐economic disruptions, like peak oil, climate change and the rising environmental costs of energy consumption. It aims to argue that institutional technological implementation is contested, complex and should not be treated deterministically, but that technologists might usefully consider the impact of these disruptions on their practices. The paper seeks to amplify how a focus on resilience, rather than marketised outcomes, can enable higher education to use technology to overcome or adapt to disruption and crises.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is a critique. A conceptual analysis of the place of current research into the use of technology‐enhanced learning in higher education is critiqued in light of peak oil and climate change, in order to align strategic developments with disruptions and potential responses. The strategic response of one institution is outlined as a programme‐of‐work, and is related to a second university's approach.FindingsThe paper highlights five areas that require strategic responses to the use of technology in and for HE. These are: the place of TEL in the idea of the University; complexity in the use of technology, linked to shared values; adapting to disruption; institutional planning; and competing priorities for the use of technology.Originality/valueThe paper highlights the educational connections that are made between the politics of technology, shared values and socio‐environmental disruption. It also analyses a programme of work that is designed to engage with and adapt to disruption.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-205
Author(s):  
Chin-Chung Tsai

Purpose The purpose of this papers is to provide an overview of how students and teachers in Taiwan conceptualize learning, especially in technology-enhanced learning environments. Their conceptions of learning reveal the extent to which the prevalence of technological use in education has facilitated students to cultivate a more advanced conception of learning and develop a deeper learning approach. Design/methodology/approach It reviews a total of nine relevant case studies, covering the contexts of conventional schools (from elementary schools to college, and cram schools) as well as technology-enhanced environments (internet-assisted learning and mobile learning); and participants from Grade 2 students to adult learners as well as teachers. Their conceptions of learning and preferred learning approaches are summarized. Findings Results of the studies show the Taiwanese students’ and teachers’ conceptions of learning in general and of technology-enhanced learning in particular. The students tended to be passive learners to receive instructions and considered examinations as a short-term goal for their study, with surface learning approaches commonly adopted. Despite technology may help to promote their cultivation of a more sophisticated conception of learning, many of them still opted for rote memorization and practice as the major ways to study. The potentials of technology in enhancing learning thus have not been fully realized. Originality/value The results shed light on an Asian-specific educational culture which is exam oriented. They reveal the challenges regarding the use of technology in education, which hinder the promotion of students’ advanced conceptions of learning. They also highlight the directions of future work to create a more accessible and gratifying technology-enhanced environment.


Author(s):  
Ali Al-Ataby

Technology-enhanced learning and teaching methods have been in literature and for many years now. Many educational institutes all over the world have been using these methods to deliver their programs and degrees. Nevertheless, some institutes are not very keen on using technology in some disciplines, and deliver their programs in a traditional way for a number of reasons, especially if these have been successful and well-attended (i.e. popular) by students. In the current era, where COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted every corner of our life including higher education, technology has become a critical success factor to reduce the negative impact of this pandemic. Accordingly, it is now no longer an option to opt out from using technology in learning and teaching. This doesn’t just refer to providing (dumping) contents to students digitally, but to facilitate learning and deliver engaging and highly interactive experience to compensate for lack of face-to-face interaction between the students and their teachers and also amongst the students themselves. The use of technology in education due to COVID-19 pandemic, however, has confronted by a number of challenges. In some cases, the focus was shifted to the contents (documents, videos…etc.) rather than interactivity and student engagement. Furthermore, the students were highly overwhelmed with contents in a short period of time, which has caused anxiety, dissatisfaction and performance issues. In this paper, examples of teaching methods based on the use of technology that are employed during the lockdown period are provided. Moreover, a number of subsequent challenges due to current situation are discussed, and recommendations for implementation and best practice are shared. Also a proposal for a flipped delivery model to move forward is provided and discussed. Anecdotal student feedback has shown that the used methods and techniques were really helpful and have boosted student learning and enthusiasm in this difficult time.      


Author(s):  
Diana Laurillard ◽  
Elizabeth Masterman

This chapter focuses on supporting university teachers in the UK in the more innovative use of digital technologies. Although the use of these technologies is now widespread and increasing, it is not always optimised for effective learning. It is important that teachers’ use of technology should be directed towards innovation and improvement in teaching and learning, and should not merely replicate their current practice in a digital medium. The authors therefore make the case for an online collaborative environment to scaffold teachers’ engagement with technology-enhanced learning. The chapter outlines the findings of our recent research into a blended approach to TPD, and use these to identify the requirements for an online collaborative environment: tools for learning design, guidance, and access to relevant resources to support teachers in their discovery of new forms of technology-enhanced teaching and learning. Such an environment, they argue, would provide a framework for a “community of innovation” in which teachers participate both as learners and researchers.


Author(s):  
Neeta Baporikar

The use of technology for learning and teaching brings optimism and opportunity for education. It liberates both the teacher and the student in the scholarly enterprise by removing traditional boundaries and restrictions to knowledge. However, it also challenges us to consider the best possible uses of that technology for our students and, more fundamentally, our actions as educators. The term technology enhanced learning is used extensively throughout the educational world; it is the latest in an assortment of terms that have been used to describe the application of information and communication technologies (ICT) to learning and teaching. Through exhaustive literature review and grounded theory approach this chapter reflects on the teaching – technology nexus, the use of technology as a student driven learning strategy with focus on augmenting student learning. The findings indicate that there is a strong nexus between teaching and technology in today's world. Further, adopting technology would aid better to put students in the driver's seat.


Author(s):  
Bharavi Mishra ◽  
K. K. Shukla

In the present time, software plays a vital role in business, governance, and society in general, so a continuous improvement of software productivity and quality such as reliability, robustness, etc. is an important goal of software engineering. During software development, a large amount of data is produced, such as software attribute repositories and program execution trace, which may help in future development and project management activities. Effective software development needs quantification, measurement, and modelling of previous software artefacts. The development of large and complex software systems is a formidable challenge which requires some additional activities to support software development and project management processes. In this scenario, data mining can provide a helpful hand in the software development process. This chapter discusses the application of data mining in software engineering and includes static and dynamic defect detection, clone detection, maintenance, etc. It provides a way to understand the software artifacts and processes to assist in software engineering tasks.


2013 ◽  
pp. 963-978
Author(s):  
Adrian F. Ashman

Small, modestly funded and resourced schools can be disadvantaged by limited access to information and communication technology (ICT). This chapter outlines a two-year project conducted in six small special schools located in metropolitan and rural communities. The project was designed to increase the participating schools’ ICT capabilities and promote the use of technology to deliver the curriculum in efficient and appealing ways to their students with a diversity of intellectual and behavioral difficulties. An ICT specialist supported the schools over the course of the project and promoted the introduction of Universal Design for Learning. At the conclusion of the project all schools had made notable gains in acquiring state-of-the-art technology. Teachers and students had become capable and enthusiastic users of hardware and a range of operating and educational software.


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