One of the subjects that undergraduate students learning Object Oriented (OO) design find hard to apply is the construction of class hierarchies in general, and the use of interface classes in particular. The design process requires decomposition and reconstruction of problems in order to model software classes. The common attributes and behaviors…

Games technology has undergone tremendous development. In this article, the authors report the rapid advancement that has been observed in the way games software is being developed, as well as in the development of games content using game engines. One area that has gained special attention is modeling the game environment such as terrain and…

Voice over IP (VoIP) has been infiltrating campus networks, but more like stray weeds in an unattended garden than like a well-planned crop. Trouble is, in most instances, moving directly from a PBX or Centrex service to VoIP represents a shift too costly and dramatic for many academic institutions to undertake. Instead, schools have been…

Typical web lectures consist of two different kinds of media linked together: an audio- or video-recording and the corresponding slides or desktop recording. Both media are synchronized so that the slide or image shown corresponds to the position currently played in the time-based media stream. Web lectures are thus composite media consisting of a…

Living inside built environments--infrastructure--it is easy to take for granted the things that we do not need to engage, but are at work behind the scenes nonetheless. Well-designed systems become invisible, but to engage them, how do we know which perspectives, objects, and relationships are useful? I examine the University of Michigan Digital…

Although there have been a number of studies on large scale implementation of proprietary enterprise information systems (EIS), open-source software (OSS) for EIS has received limited attention in spite of its potential as a disruptive innovation. Cost saving is the main driver for adopting OSS among the other possible benefits including security…

Advances in grid technology have enabled some organizations to harness enormous computational power on demand. However, the prediction of widespread adoption of the grid technology has not materialized despite the obvious grid advantages. This situation has encouraged intense efforts to close the research gap in the grid adoption process. In this…

Universities are increasingly looking into self-service systems with intelligent digital agents to supplement or replace labor-intensive services, such as academic counseling. The Open University of Hong Kong has developed an intelligent online system that instantly responds to enquiries about career development, learning modes, program/course…

This article discusses the processes that occurred when the Library, Controller's Office, and Information Technology Department agreed to create an interface between the Library's Innovative Interfaces patron database and campus administrative software, Banner, using file transfer protocol, in an effort to streamline the Library's accounts…

For technology-enhanced learning, the idea of "learning objects" transfers the technologies of content management, methods of software engineering and principles of open access to educational resources. This paper reports on CampusContent, a research project and competence centre for e-learning at FernUniversitat in Hagen that designed…

The growth of E-business has made experience in server-side technology an increasingly important area for educators. Server-side skills are in increasing demand and recognised to be of relatively greater value than comparable client-side aspects (Ehie, 2002). In response to this, many educational organisations have developed E-business courses,…

Reconfigurable computing is an established field in computer science. Teaching this field to computer science students demands special attention due to limited student experience in electronics and digital system design. This article presents a compact course on reconfigurable processors, which was offered at the Technische Universitat Darmstadt,…

There are many factors that make the undergraduate systems analysis and design course somewhat enigmatic in its purpose, and therefore equivocal in its delivery. The purpose of this research is to learn, specifically, what instructors are teaching in their systems analysis and design courses. This paper reports the results of a survey and follow…

Digital library is commonly seen as a type of information retrieval system which stores and accesses digital content remotely via computer networks. However, the vision of digital libraries is not limited to technology or management, but user experience. This book is an attempt to share the practical experiences of solutions to the operation of…

A challenge faced by many instructors of systems analysis and design courses is the selection or development of projects that provide challenging, yet suitable, learning experiences for the students. Employing a system development project case in undergraduate MIS courses offers students a multitude of opportunities to experientially examine…