Repackaging the Introductory IS Survey Course: An Information Technology Solution Sharen Bakke Cleveland State University

Is this familiar?

Introducing … A Unique Curriculum  Objective 1. Enjoyable classroom experience 2. Students can regulate the learning process 3. Electronic administration and grading  Effectiveness

Pedagogical Considerations  Positive learning experience  Active learning techniques  Giving students a choice  Practice opportunities  Formative assessment

1. Enjoyable Classroom Experience  Environment  Rapport  Guided lectures  In class quizzes to earn tokens Single: 1 student - 1 question – 10 seconds Teams: 2 teams - 2 students – 3 questions within certain time period Group: 1 team - 4 students – 10 questions within certain time period – whole class helps

Token Awards Gift TypeVariationOptionsPoints Due date extension Quiz/ Homework 1 – 5 days Erase a gradeRetake a quiz 4.5 Additional submission Submit 1 more homework.15 RewindLate assignments Assessed a late fee.5

2. Students can regulate the learning process  Homework completed and graded online range of due dates may be submitted 3 times – last one counts  Quizzes Administered in a computer lab - proctored Range of due dates Open book/ open note/ open application  Prerequisite practice exercises Must be completed successfully before taking quiz

Prerequisite Practice Exercises

Selecting from the Gift Catalog

Extra-Credit Opportunities  Early-bird specials  Pop questions that randomly appear while online

3. Electronic Administration and Grading  Homework and Quizzes created graded recorded  Game shows set up administered  Tokens created redeemed  Calendar  Student information  Communication  Grades ORIONORION – online classroom management application

Managing the Tokens

Effectiveness of the new curriculum  Sample Large introductory IS course mid-western public university  Quiz scores 5 semesters before 5 semesters after Compared difference between quiz 1 and quiz 5  Student comments

Empirical Results  H a = Quiz scores for students after the implementation of the new curriculum are higher than quiz scores obtained before the new curriculum was adopted  Independent sample t-test: quiz score differences Before: M =.3422 SD = After: M = SD = 13.9 T(3317) = , p = 0.00 significant  Research hypothesis was confirmed

Student Comments  ORION lets me do things when I want to – I like that  I like the feedback ORION gives me – it helps me get my work done  ORION keeps me focused and requires me to do the work  the pop extra credit is nice - I used the points several times to buy gifts from the catalog  the chatroom is a good way to get help from other students

Conclusions  The class is fun and entertaining compared to the traditional approach  Students successfully self-regulate the learning process  Class is almost completely administered electronically through ORION  Greatest impact completing prerequisite exercises successfully before taking quizzes tackle more challenging topics