Stevenson U Website Issue???? November 17, 2009
Posted by afoote in : Information Systems, Knowledge Management , add a commentOne of the discussions in the IS48, Project and Knowledge Management course, is finding information on the Stevenson website. The exercise involves finding when the Final Exam for IS481 is scheduled. Although it sounds like a relatively easy task, the task is more difficult than it is perceived. The navigation process is a challenge because the Stevenson website was not developed to provide students with the answer to when their final exams are. After a couple of these frustrating exercises it become clear that the Stevenson website was not developed to aid students at Stevenson. The Stevenson website is designed to help recruit new students and present a favorable appearance of the school to the external community that work with Stevenson University.
At a recent meeting of the school of business and leadership, there was a discussion also about how difficult the Stevenson website is for faculty to use. As is the case with students, the website is not set up for faculty oriented tasks either. The Stevenson website is designed to help recruit new students and present a favorable appearance to the external community that work with Stevenson University. Is this a problem?
Stevenson students and faculty do not spend most of their time on the Stevenson website. As a matter of fact, it is an unusual occasion that they need to use the website. Students and faculty spend most of their time on the Stevenson web environment of Blackboard. Every course that a student is enrolled in has a significant amount of information on Blackboard. Blackboard is the environment to submit assignments, tests and quizzes are taken there and even classroom discussions occur in this environment. So why should students and faculty go to the Stevenson website to find information. Why is that information not available on Blackboard? That is where student and faculty spend most of their time. So instead of trying to change the Stevenson website, why not add to the Blackboard environment. Why not add to the Blackboard environment all the needed information for students to be successful at Stevenson University? The problem is not the level of difficulty to find information on the Stevenson website, but why is that information is not available in Blackboard?
From discussions with thepeople involved with Blackboard in the Office of Information Technology at Stevenson, this is exactly what is being planned for the future. There is a lot of planning to make the Blackboard environment as the central website for students and faculty. There is a new release of the product that is currently being installed and over the next few years new connections will be added to the environment. More information will be available in Blackboard and student will have even less occasions to use the Stevenson website. The Stevenson website will be improved to present a better appearance for recruiting students and working with the external community, but not to be used as a resource for students and faculty. The resource for students and faculty is Blackboard.
Project & Knowledge Management – Grown Up Digital February 10, 2009
Posted by afoote in : Knowledge Management , add a commentTo start the course IS481 Project and Knowledge Management, the book Grown Up Digital by Don Taspcott was discussed. This book looks at how the Net Generation has grown up in a digital world with the Internet, video games and cell phones. It discusses their approach to the workplace and to the world of education. During the discussion on education the video of A Vision of Students Today was presented. This YouTube video is critical of the way students are educated today. The video suggests that maybe changes are needed to the education process. Do the same techniques that have been used for the past hundred years still work? Students have grown up with Google, Wikipedia, virtual reality and blogs. They are using them in our classes. Is there a way we can use them in the education process?
