Rick Homkes
ABSTRACT
Service-Learning is the delivery of a service to the community within the context of an educational program of study. Going further, it is a form of experiential learning, applying what was learned within a classroom or laboratory setting to problems of the real world. Using service-learning, students in information technology can experience the unstructured problems of a real world situation while having the structure of a university course. While one major goal of service-learning is service, the delivery of some benefit to the community partner, the other major goal is for the students to achieve the learning that is part of the department's education objectives. It is therefore a pedagogy which should be investigated for efficacy as any other pedagogy would be. This paper investigates how information technology based service-learning could be measured for both service and learning. For service, a longer term follow-up with the non-profit partners is presented. The purpose is to ascertain if the service learning project really did help the non-profit partners provide their services better, or, conversely, if the service-learning project was really a "feel good" project for the student and a "promotion" project for the community partner. For the learning portion of service-learning, a review of assessment methods is presented. These methods look at two areas, the application of Information Technology domain specific hard skills and also the application of other skills such as teamwork, communication, and project management. The use of a project postmortem is proposed as a reflective exercise to measure how the student participants have been changed in the process.
- ABET Computing Accreditation Commission. 2007, November 3. Criteria for accrediting computing programs. Retrieved June 21, 2008, from http://www.abet.org/forms.shtmlGoogle Scholar
- Barrington, L., & Duffy, L. 2007. Attracting underrepresented groups to engineering with service-learning. Proceedings of the 2007 ASEE Annual Conference. Retrieved July 7, 2008 from http://www.asee.org/acPapers/AC%202007Full2871.pdfGoogle Scholar
- Bringle, R., Phillips, M., & Hudson, M. 2004. The measure of service learning: Research scales to assess student experiences. American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
- Collier, B., DeMarco, T., & Fearey, P. 1996. A defined process for project postmortem review. IEEE Software. July, 1996. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Dark, M. 2004. Assessing student performance outcomes in an information security risk assessment, service learning course. Proceedings of the SIGITE '04 Conference (Salt Lake City, UT, October 28-30, 2004). Retrieved 6/19/2008 from http://portal.acm.org Google ScholarDigital Library
- Fulbright, R, & Routh, R. 2005. IPC Incorporated: A student-run IT services company for experiential learning. Proceedings of the SIGITE '05 Conference (Newark, NJ, October 20-22, 2005). Retrieved 6/19/2008 from http://portal.acm.org Google ScholarDigital Library
- Furco, A. 1996. Service-learning: A balanced approach to experiential education. In Corporation for National Service (Ed.), Expanding Boundaries: Serving and Learning. Cooperative Education Association, Columbia, MD, 2--6.Google Scholar
- Hazim, S. 2004. Improving students retention by engaging them in real life. Proceedings of the 2004 ASEE Annual Conference. Retrieved July 7, 2008 from http://www.asee.org/acPapers/2004-2413_Final.pdfGoogle Scholar
- National Service-Learning Clearinghouse. What is service learning? Retrieved May 16, 2008 from http://www.servicelearning.org/what_is_service-learning/index.phpGoogle Scholar
- Phillips, L, Brady, A., & Jousma, K. 2007. Interdisciplinary international senior design: How service learning projects in developing countries support ABET accreditation. Proceedings of the 2007 ASEE Annual Conference. Retrieved July 7, 2008 from http://www.asee.org/acPapers/AC%202007Full1638.pdfGoogle Scholar
- Pressman, R. 2005. Software engineering: A practitioner's approach (Chapter 21). McGraw Hill, New York, NY. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Reel, J. 1999. Critical success factors in software projects. IEEE Software. May/June 1999. Google ScholarDigital Library
Index Terms
- Assessing it service-learning
Recommendations
Innovative problem-based learning integrated with G suite for education
IC4E '19: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on E-Education, E-Business, E-Management and E-LearningAn innovative problem-based learning integrated with G Suite for education was established to facilitate the knowledge of pharmaceutical analysis and support 21st century skills for pharmacy students. Evaluation of learning outcomes demonstrated the ...
Harmonizing technology with interaction in blended problem-based learning
This paper discusses the harmonizing role of technology and interaction in a qualitative study on blended problem-based learning within the context of academic development in higher education. Within this setting, and as both designers and tutors in ...
"What I learn is what I like." How do students in ICT-supported problem-based learning rate the quality of the learning experience, and how does it relate to the acquisition of competences?
Although advocated in theory, research findings on the benefits of ICT integration into inquiry-based learning arrangements such as problem-based learning (PBL) are still ambiguous. One explanation might be that until now students' subjective views on ...
Comments