Learning about computers continues to be regarded as a rather informal and complex landscape dominated by individual exploratory and opportunistic approaches, even for students and instructors in Computer Science Departments. During the last two decades, software animated demonstrations (SADs), also known as screencasts, have attracted particular…

The majority of an engineer's time in the software industry is spent working with other programmers. Agile methods of software development like eXtreme Programming strongly rely upon practices like daily meetings and pair programming. Hence, the need to learn the skill of working collaboratively is of primary importance for software developers.…

While delivering the Intelligent Systems course, an elective course in the Master of Business Information Technology program at RMIT University, it was felt that there was a learning issue as students' learning seemed to be superficial. This perception was based on the questions students asked in class and the mechanical attitude they adopted…

This paper reports on the findings from a quantitative research study into the use of a software tool that was built to support a part-complete solution method (PCSM) for the learning of computer programming. The use of part-complete solutions to programming problems is one of the methods that can be used to reduce the cognitive load that students…

Although pair programming has proved its usefulness in teaching and learning programming skills, it is difficult to assess the individual roles and abilities of students whilst programming in pairs. (Note that within this manuscript, the term assessment refers to evaluating individual student performance.) Assessing only the outcomes of a pair…

Business intelligence derived from data warehousing and data mining has become one of the most strategic management tools today, providing organizations with long-term competitive advantages. Business school curriculums and popular database textbooks cover data warehousing, but the examples and problem sets typically are small and unrealistic. The…

Program visualization is one of the various methods developed over the years to aid novices with their difficulties in learning to program. It consists of different graphical--often animated--and textual objects, visualizing the execution of programs. The aim of program visualization is to enhance students' understanding of different areas of…

This paper illustrates an approach used to enhance student learning outcomes in a combined cross-listed Systems Analysis and Design (SA&D) course and examines benefits perceived by students through analysis of assessment and students feedback. The SA&D course is a required course in both the Management Information Systems (MIS) major and the…

Modern information technology and computer science curricula employ a variety of graphical tools and development environments to facilitate student learning of introductory programming concepts and techniques. While the provision of interactive features and the use of visualization can enhance students' understanding and assist them in grasping…

This paper examines the impact the use of the Java programming language has had on the way our students learn to program and the success they achieve. The importance of a properly constructed first course in programming cannot be overstated. A course well experienced will leave students with good programming habits, the ability to learn on their…

Systems Analysis and Design is a core component of an education in information systems. To appeal to a wider range of constituents and facilitate the learning process, the content of a traditional Systems Analysis and Design course has been supplemented with an alternative modeling approach. This paper presents an instructional design that…

While most Information Systems (IS) professionals spend much of their time in the implementation or management of projects, the curriculum of university Information Technology (IT) courses does not always reflect this. While most university IT courses cover some aspects of project management, some do not go into this topic in any depth, and many…