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Students today are often assumed to be digitally literate and prepared for college, but that is not always the case. Introductory technology courses at the college level provide students with the technology and digital skills necessary for them to succeed in college. This study, conducted at a small New England "business school" that also offers liberal arts degrees, sought to determine which digital skills most incoming first-year college students have. The study examines which digital skills and competencies students acquire before entering college, and if those skills are adequate to achieve academic success in college. Guiding the study are these research questions: (RQ1) What digital devices are students using and with what frequency? (RQ2) What digital literacy competencies (DLCs) do incoming first-year students possess? (RQ3) How do first-year students self-rank their DLCs, and how does that compare to individual task self-ranking? (RQ4) What DLCs do incoming first-year students perceive as the most important to know, and do they have those skills? Results showed that most K-12 students are learning on Macs or Chromebooks and use the Google Suite of applications. They may need to switch to Windows machines and/or Microsoft Office products upon entering college. Almost 16% reported taking no high school courses covering computer topics. Only 34% of incoming first-year college students consider themselves "tech savvy" and most rank themselves at the beginner or intermediate level on digital literacy competencies. They believe the three most important skills to know are spreadsheets, programming, and word processing.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of objects that can exchange data with other devices also connected to the Internet. One of the most common consumer examples of IoT is home automation, as a variety of smart devices, including doorbells, lightbulbs, thermostats, and refrigerators are now available which users can control remotely using mobile apps or smart speakers. In this hands-on activity, students will apply their basic skills in accessing wireless networks and using mobile devices to connect an Amazon Echo smart speaker to a home network, configure smart plugs to communicate with the Echo, and develop routines to interact with the smart plugs, smartphones, and other smart devices.

Bloomberg Terminal is one of the most prominent and valuable tools for business and technology professionals. Having familiarity with Bloomberg is a desirable qualification for business students upon graduation. This classroom activity introduces Bloomberg Terminal in an introductory information technology (IT) digital literacy course at a business university. This activity guides students to find and analyze data related to capital markets that they will need to understand regardless of their chosen major. Students learn to apply IT concepts and develop their technology skills to complete the activity.

Organizations are keenly interested in data gathering from websites where discussions of products and brands occur. This increasingly means that programmers need an understanding of how to work with website application programming interfaces (APIs) for data acquisition. In this hands-on lab activity, students will learn how to gather data from several prominent websites using APIs and then build predictive models using that data. Unlike popular challenges on competition sites such as Kaggle where challenges often supply the data, this project emphasizes the data acquisition step of the analytics lifecycle. Working with data from Spotify, YouTube, and Twitter, students will fill out a music based March Madness bracket to predict the winner of the annual Locura De Marzo, a popular middle and high school Spanish competition. By becoming familiar with the data available from each site, through the analysis of the JSON formatted data returned by the APIs, students will be able to explore which features of a song might lend themselves to higher voting by high school students in order to build better prediction models.

Recent years have witnessed a growing demand for business analytics-oriented curricula. This paper presents the implementation of an introductory Python course at a business university and the attempt to elevate the course's relevance by introducing data analytics topics. The results from a survey of 64 undergraduate students of the course are analyzed to understand their perceived relevance of having Python programming skills upon entering the workplace, and how course design and other student characteristics influenced the perceptions of their learning and performance. Results demonstrate that business students are highly motivated to take Python programming courses to better position themselves for future career opportunities in the growing field of data analytics. We also found that students with no prior programming experience performed better than students who had some prior programming experience, suggesting that Python is an appropriate choice for a first programming language in the Information Systems (IS) curriculum. The paper concludes with recommendations for offering an analytics-focused first programming course to bring added relevance to IS students learning programming skills.

Project-based learning (PBL) engages students deeply with course concepts and empowers them to drive their own learning through the development of solutions to real-world challenges. By taking ownership of and completing a project that they designed, students develop and demonstrate creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration skills. This paper describes two different software development projects, designed with a PBL approach, in Python coding courses at two business universities in the United States, in which students queried real-world data to answer their own questions and interpret the results. The authors contend that projects based on a PBL approach motivate students for self-exploration and allow for the measure of student learning. The authors present their respective projects, share examples of student work, and offer suggestions and lessons learned from implementing PBL assignments in their classrooms. Finally, the authors reflect, through sharing student comments, on how key aspects of PBL are manifest in this project and discuss challenges in offering and managing PBL assignments. With Python's popularity on the rise, these two class examples serve as a model for how instructors can incorporate autonomy in PBL assignments, offering a valuable learning opportunity for students to create software applications that meaningfully demonstrate their coding skills.

This paper presents student projects analyzing or using blockchain technologies, created by students enrolled in courses dedicated to teaching blockchain, at two different universities during the 2018- 2019 academic year. Students explored perceptions related to storing private healthcare information on a blockchain, managing the security of Internet of Things devices, maintaining public governmental records, and creating smart contracts. The course designs, which were centered around project-based learning, include self-regulated learning and peer feedback as ways to improve student learning. Students either wrote a research paper or worked in teams on a programming project to build and deploy a blockchain-based application using Solidity, a programming language for writing smart contracts on various blockchain platforms. For select student papers, this case study describes research methods and outcomes and how students worked together or made use of peer feedback to improve upon drafts of research questions and abstracts. For a development project in Solidity, this study presents the issues at hand along with interview results that guided the implementation. Teams shared lessons learned with other teams through a weekly status report to the whole class. While available support for the Solidity teams was not ideal, students learned to use available online resources for creating and testing smart contracts. Our findings suggest that a project-based learning approach is an effective way for students to expand and develop their knowledge of emerging technologies, like blockchain, and apply it in a variety of industries.

Learning cybersecurity awareness builds on basic information technology concepts and digital literacy skills. In an effort to raise cybersecurity awareness among information technology students, this paper describes a series of three different interactive sessions offered to students of all levels at a business university. The sessions introduced cybersecurity awareness through identifying actual breaches and incidents, using open source intelligence tools, and participating in a capture the flag style competition. Student comments in blog posts and interviews after these sessions show the relevance of cybersecurity awareness in their daily lives and a general sense of surprise, amazement and concern at how much personal information is readily available online.

The importance of updating, expanding and improving what is taught in cybersecurity curricula is increasing as the security threat landscape becomes more dangerous, breaches become more frequent, and the number of deployed Internet of Things (IoT) devices, known for their security challenges, grows exponentially. This paper argues that a profile of "T-shaped" skills, which is known to be desirable in many consulting and design professions, is being reflected in the latest manifestations of cybersecurity curriculum design and accreditation. A model of learning that yields "T-shaped" professionals combines the ability to apply knowledge across domains (breadth) with the ability to apply functional and disciplinary skills (depth). We present the design of a junior- or senior-level cybersecurity course in which the horizontal stroke of the "T" (representing breadth) spans knowledge areas that cut across the people, process and technology triad. The vertical stroke of the "T" (representing depth) is provided by two aspects of the course design: first, learning the foundational principles of cybersecurity, including practical examples from cryptography and network security; and second, applying the principles of cybersecurity to a semester project, allowing students to expand the core "T" of the course to satisfy their own passions and interests. Our paper concludes with student and instructor reflections on the implementation of this cybersecurity course, as well as broader implications of the lessons learned after the initial offering of this course.

Estimote Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons deployed throughout a university campus enabled the creation of interactive tours for prospective and accepted students at Fall and Spring open house events. By configuring their mobile devices with an app to detect the beacons' signals, participants could view webpages containing information based on their current physical locations from the web addresses pushed to their devices by nearby beacons. Google Analytics and relational database reporting functions provided information related to the behavior of campus guests. This study presents lessons learned from deploying a Physical Web and results of analyzing user behavior based on the analytics data. The conclusions drawn from this data can be used to improve campus visits for prospective students and supplement decision making in university admissions offices. Participants in a follow-up survey shared their impressions of the Physical Web as an emerging technology. By joining in the project, participants said they learned more about the Physical Web and its application to real-life scenarios.

Python is a popular, general purpose programming language that is gaining wide adoption in beginning programming courses. This paper describes the development and implementation of an introductory Python course at a business university open to students in a variety of majors and minors. Given the growing number of career opportunities in analytics, the instructors felt that including a module on Data Analytics would add relevance and interest in the course. A survey given at the end of the semester shows students found this topic to be relevant to their future uses of Python. The paper also discusses challenges in teaching a first programming course to students with varying levels of programming experience.

As industry embraces the agile methodology for application development, universities are shifting their curricula to teach agile principles along with traditional waterfall concepts. This paper describes a simulation game offered to students in a first-year computing concepts course to introduce both models of application development. Students work in development teams to design, build, and test paper airplanes following both waterfall and agile principles to experience the roles, processes, and challenges of each. Participants track their team's progress throughout the activity, so they can draw conclusions about the benefits and challenges of each approach. Survey results indicate that students learned the various roles and approaches of both methods through this experience.

Connecting ordinary devices to the Internet is a defining characteristic of the Internet of Things. In this hands-on lab activity, students will connect a wireless doorbell to the Internet using a Raspberry Pi computer. By modifying and running a program on the Raspberry Pi to send an email or text message notifying a recipient that someone is at the door, students will gain an appreciation for how the Internet of Things enables devices to work together to produce new products or solutions. The activity also serves as a brief introduction to interacting with the Linux operating system on a Raspberry Pi computer. Working in groups of 3 or 4, students will demonstrate their understanding by completing a collaborative lab report that summarizes the key takeaways of each step. Little or no programming skills are required. The experience of physically connecting an everyday object to a device online gives an appreciation of the potential for automating tasks using the Internet of Things.

This paper explores the course design and implementation of a first-year discovery seminar on "Living in the Metaverse" offered at a business university. Integrated with standardized college-readiness topics, the course combines hands-on activities with collaborative assignments and class discussions to present a multidisciplinary exploration of the metaverse from business, technology, and societal perspectives. The authors describe how they utilized the TPACK (Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge) model in designing the course, and how this model can be applied when considering how to incorporate new technologies into courses. To assess the effectiveness of this approach, the authors surveyed students in three sections of the course taught during two consecutive semesters to determine their attitude toward relevant technologies and the course topics. We found that hands-on activities with virtual reality headsets helped make metaverse concepts easier to grasp, while students still had concerns about widespread use of the metaverse, including privacy and security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching game development has become an accepted methodology for introducing programming concepts and capturing the interest of beginning computer science and information technology (IT) students. This study, conducted over three consecutive semesters, explores game development using a gaming engine, rather than a traditional programming language, as a means not only to introduce programming concepts, but also to promote the development of information and communications technology (ICT) literacy skills among first-year business students. The paper argues that in addition to learning programming concepts, completing the steps involved to develop and publish an original game requires students to demonstrate a variety of ICT skills. To be successful, they must be proficient at creating and editing multimedia, interacting with multiple operating systems and mobile devices, performing research online, transferring files from one machine to another, and uploading the files for their games to an app store and the web.

The start of the college experience is often hectic as students discover their new surroundings on campus. Students must carry out several high-tech tasks on their laptops and mobile devices in order to be successful participants in the digital culture that permeates their institution of higher learning. This paper describes the implementation of mandatory JumpStart sessions, held during the first week of the semester outside of class time, for first year students enrolled in a required Technology Concepts course. The goal of these peer-led sessions is to set up student laptops and devices to function within the university's computing infrastructure, to install needed software for their technology concepts course, to introduce students to computing resources on campus, and to create a social learning environment where students engage with each other. In doing so, students form a community of practice which serves them well as they acclimate to their new surroundings.

From their presence on social media sites to in-house application data files, the amount of data that companies, governments, individuals, and sensors generate is overwhelming. The growth of Big Data in both consumer and enterprise activities has caused educators to consider options for including Big Data in the Information Systems curriculum. Introducing Big Data concepts and technologies in the classroom often is reserved for advanced students in database or programming courses. This paper explores approaches for integrating Big Data into the Information Systems curriculum, and presents a sample lesson for presenting basic Big Data concepts to first year students in a general education Information Technology course. As the need for IT professionals with Big Data skills will continue to increase, including these topics in a general education technology curriculum is especially pertinent.

The Computer Information Systems Learning and Technology Sandbox (CIS Sandbox) opened as a collaborative learning lab during the fall 2011 semester at a New England business university. The facility employs 24 student workers, who, in addition to providing core tutoring services, are encouraged to explore new technologies and take on special projects to support or enhance the day-to-day operations of the CIS Sandbox. Doing so creates a culture of entrepreneurship and encourages innovation among the student workers and their peers. This paper follows up on previous results by describing a student-initiated development project to rewrite a card-swipe desktop application that tracks student usage, as an integrated suite of web and mobile apps. The paper presents the architecture of the new system along with perceptions from the student developers around their motivations to contribute to the CIS Sandbox technology infrastructure. Initial use of the prototype suggests it will improve productivity among tutors and provide faculty with easier access to tutoring data.

Much has been written on the skills and capabilities of a new generation raised with social media, smartphones, and immediate access to data and information via the Internet. Today's college students grew up using the Internet, where they both generate and consume data. But do incoming college students have the skills necessary to thrive in a digital world that requires the ability to generate, analyze, and share insights from data? This paper presents a study, performed at two small New England institutions each with a business focus, which examines the digital skill sets of first-year college students in relation to the skills they have developed before entering college. The authors also consider whether there is a "digital divide" among first-year college students in relation to their previous technology skills. When applying the Databilities framework for evaluating data literacy competencies, results show that teaching data literacy skills to first-year college students will be critical to their academic success as future information technology workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fresh coat of paint and new furniture were the obvious external changes to an eleven-year-old computer lab at Bentley University when it was renovated in 2011. More difficult than changing the outward appearance of the room was changing the perceptions of what happens inside. The facility had a reputation of being a place where only students who needed help would go, and the role of assistants who worked there was limited to tutoring and maintaining equipment. This case study describes the transformation of a Computer Information Systems (CIS) department tutoring laboratory into a Learning and Technology Sandbox where student lab assistants are employed as staff of a startup company, whose responsibilities include not only tutoring, but managing the technology and business infrastructure, publicity, and day-to-day operations of the facility. Students who frequent the facility go for tutoring as well as to independently explore new technology. This study, which included both surveys and personal interviews of student workers and student attendees, suggests that through the use of web-based collaborative applications, social media, and a work environment that encourages exploration, the Sandbox has provided student workers with an opportunity to build skills as entrepreneurs, and changes the nature of what a computer lab can be for the students who frequent it.

The "flipped classroom" model has become increasingly popular in recent years as faculty try new ways to engage students in the classroom. In a flipped classroom setting, students review the lecture online prior to the class session and spend time in class working on problems or exercises that would have been traditionally assigned as homework. The ability to easily create and consume multimedia on personal computers, tablets, smart phones, and personal media players, and the increased availability of web-based tools for collaboration and communication are two factors that contribute to the popularity of the flipped classroom. This paper presents an implementation of the flipped classroom pedagogy in a first-year introductory Information Technology course, specifically focusing on how these techniques were used to facilitate students' experiences learning Excel concepts. A survey given to students in three sections of the course suggests that students found the instructional methods captured their interests, challenged them, and contributed to their learning.

Search engine optimization (SEO), the promoting of a Web site so it achieves optimal position with a search engine's rankings, is an important strategy for organizations and individuals in order to promote their brands online. Techniques for achieving SEO are relevant to students of marketing, computing, media arts, and other disciplines, and many college courses have begun to include SEO as part of their curricula. This paper describes an exercise for learning about SEO that mimics a popular online event known as an SEO contest. Contest participants implement a variety of SEO techniques in order to achieve the top position for an assigned word or phrase in a search engine's results. This paper also examines the learning benefits that such an exercise provides.

This paper describes the implementation and results of a cross-cultural pairing between college students in the United States and Romania who worked together over the period of one month to create a multimedia presentation that shared their learning about topics of multimedia and culture. Students could use any web-based collaboration tools of their choice, including email, instant messaging, voice and video conferencing to complete the project, and documented their results on a collaborative wiki. The project gave students an opportunity to use Web based collaboration tools to create tangible work products with international partners. This paper presents an analysis of the technologies they used and how they used them to complete the project, and examines their learning based a survey and their own qualitative remarks. Results show that students gained proficiency at selecting and using appropriate web based collaboration tools. They also overcame issues related to language, time zones and technology.

Computer literacy has evolved from writing simple BASIC programs to using desktop productivity applications. The shift from mainframe to personal computer brought about the need to rethink computer literacy courses to introduce basic skills and familiarity using desktop productivity applications. While these skills remain important, the recent shift of applications and data from the desktop to the Web has brought about another stage in the evolution of computer literacy education to the extent that today's students not only need to be "computer literate" but also "Web literate" or "Web 2.0 literate." Computer literacy courses retained the old concepts, but had less time to cover them because of the need to introduce new concepts. This paper examines approaches to teaching first year college introductory technology courses and suggests practical exercises and skills required for today's students to be Web 2.0 literate.