Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY STUDENTS
Time Management and Software Issues
Students are challenged by the strict time constraints of the assessment; they have 10
weeks to complete the database task. Academic staff members encourage students to spend
the initial weeks advancing their knowledge of the software to be used. No formal software
training sessions are held for this purpose. The study program is time-tabled such that
students should attempt the training theory and examples prior to attending a practical
session. It is during these sessions that the students are able to ask questions and discuss
alternative features that are available in the software being used. External students are given
access to a telephone help line for software-based queries. While undertaking this learning,
students commenced the information-gathering phase of the system development.
Information Gathering
Even though students are given a large amount of information in the case study
presented, they are required to determine any important information missing from the
documentation and consult directly with the business to uncover the relevant data. It is this
area in which the students experience major difficulties. Information gathering is undertaken
through the use of a Web-based discussion board. The problems that they encounter include
minimal understanding of the process, requests for unnecessary information, inability to
reword questions if an inadequate reply is received, not asking any questions, and not
referring to the Web discussion board, which therefore, leads to making incorrect assump-
tions.
The ability to determine which information is actually relevant to solving the problem
or issues they have highlighted is another problem that students experience. Students
regularly try to include all of the information from the case study and are extremely reluctant
to discard inappropriate and unnecessary information.
Group Issues
A problem that appears from this discussion board approach is that the enthusiastic
groups ask the relevant questions, leaving those students and groups that are less organized
to use the responses to other's questions. It is here that the less organized groups lose in
the learning process and are unable to take any understanding of the information-gathering
phase into other courses or to their ultimate employment on graduation. Group cohesion,
organization, and time management are issues identified by the students as the most essential
for attaining good results in the development of the database.
Logical Design Issues and Documentation
At the same time the students are learning the features of the software, they are
attempting to design the database application, and they have a tendency to launch directly
into physical design and implementation. This tends to cause the most problems in the case
of database construction. Students who do not use data modeling techniques to identify the
entities and attributes required, together with the primary keys and table relationships,
experience the greatest difficulty with producing a sound, effective, and usable application.
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