“Just Me in a Closet with a Computer”: Student Perceptions of College-Level IT education 4/4/08 Heekyung Choi

What are Students’ Perceptions and Expectations of College-level IT Education?

Methodology Research Setting: The IT minor program on campus Research Setting: The IT minor program on campus Qualitative in-depth interview Qualitative in-depth interview Interviewees: 28 undergraduate students from various majors Interviewees: 28 undergraduate students from various majors Analysis using the grounded theory approach Analysis using the grounded theory approach

Findings Major interests in IT education Major interests in IT education Design/Create digital artifacts on their own Design/Create digital artifacts on their own Learn about theories that explain current affairs and social implications Learn about theories that explain current affairs and social implications Human-computer interaction Human-computer interaction

Findings Perceptions about traditional computing education Perceptions about traditional computing education Hard/Tedious/Solitary Hard/Tedious/Solitary Not practical Not practical Not newbie friendly Not newbie friendly “I would rather talk and interact with people, than have just me in a closet with a computer.” “I would rather talk and interact with people, than have just me in a closet with a computer.” Perceptions about college education in general Perceptions about college education in general Rigid boundaries Rigid boundaries No place for human aspects of computing No place for human aspects of computing

Findings Motivations for pursuing IT education Motivations for pursuing IT education Not necessarily because they like IT Not necessarily because they like IT Related to their majors: “Complimentary vs. Supplementary” Related to their majors: “Complimentary vs. Supplementary” Related to their career plans Related to their career plans External Awareness External Awareness Advisors, future employers, peers, etc. “The interviewer said, we want you to do accounting, not to fix computers” Advisors, future employers, peers, etc. “The interviewer said, we want you to do accounting, not to fix computers”

Conclusions Undergraduate students have diverse needs/interests in IT education Undergraduate students have diverse needs/interests in IT education Traditional computing programs do not seem to respond to their needs Traditional computing programs do not seem to respond to their needs Students expect practical advantages from enrolling in an IT program Students expect practical advantages from enrolling in an IT program Awareness of various stakeholders is important Awareness of various stakeholders is important

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