Information Technology Strategies for Internet-Based Education
Walter Rodriguez, Charles J. Fornaciari,
Judy Wynefwop, Tom Harrington,
Kazuo Nakatani, Alex Ruiz-Torres,
David Johnson, Roy Boggs, and
Mark Pendergast
It has been said that teaching is a profession inherently pursued in isolation from our peers, therefore, sharing more about teaching is a valuable endeavor. This paper shares iimovative ideas for enhancing student-faculty interaction. It offers a set of geueral strategies for managing Web-course complexity. The authors advocate twelve educational strategies, or "habits," that have been developed and tested at America's Newest Public University-where over 20% of courses are delivered via distance-learning technologies, mainly, Internet mode. The strategies are based on their backgtouud in computer information systems anddecision sciences as well as their collective experience in Internet delivery. In trying to improve their Internet course delivery, these professors became better teachers, both online and on-campus.
Walter Rodriguez is professor and chair-director of the Computer Information Systems, Decision Sciences, Computer Science, and Engineering Departments at Florida Gulf Coast University. He holds a Ph.D. in project management from the University of Florida (1982). Dr. Rodriguez is founding chair of the Engineering Computer Graphics Program at Georgia Tech (1985-93). While serving as Berger chair at Tnfts University, he received Harvard FoundationMedal (1994) and MITPost-Doctoral Fellowship (1996). Dr. Rodriguez's current sponsored grants are SMPU e-Learning (2001-2005) and NSF CREW (1997-2001). He has research interests in the areas of multi-project management, advanced distributed learning technologies, and systems development.
Charles J. Fornaciari is an assistant professor of management at Florida Gulf Coast University. He holds a Ph.D. in strategic management from Florida State University (1996). Dr. Fornaciari was the director of computer training at the Center for Professional Development at Florida State University.His research interests arein theareas of corporate strategic change, spirituality in organizations, and technology in educational organizations.
Judy Wynekoop is an associate professor of computer information systems at Florida Gulf Coast University. She holds a Ph.D. in information systems from Georgia State University (1991). Dr. Wynekoop has previously worked as an internal auditor in the private sector and a criminal investigator for the federal government. Her research interests are in the areas of data communications, software development processes, and tearn performance.
Tom C. Harrington is a professor of decision sciences, and director of AACSB accreditation for the College of Business at Florida Gulf Coast University. He earned a Ph.D. in operations management from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1980. Dr. Harrington received the Council of Logistics Management Founder's Award for applied research and the.Florida State Legislature Teaching Award. He was formerly chief, U.S. Air Force Transportation Programs at the Pentagon. Dr. Harrington's research interests are in the areas of applied statistics and quantitative methods analysis, strategic aligrunent, and logistics systems analysis.
Kazuo Nakatani is an assistant professor of information systems at Florida Gulf Coast University. He earned a Ph.D. in information systems from Texas Tech University in 1999. Dr. Nakatani's research interests are in object-oriented systems analysis, database management systems, and distance education.
Alex Ruiz-Torres is an assistant professor of decision sciences at University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP) and was founding faculty member at Florida Gulf Coast University (1997-2000), in the Department of Information Systems and Decision Sciences. He received his B.S. in industrial and systems engineering from the Georgia InstituteofTechnology in 1991, his M.S. in industrial and management engineering from Stanford University in 1992, and his Ph.D. in industrial and manufacturing engineering from the Pennsylvania State University in 1997. Dr. Ruiz-Torres' research interests are in the areas of production planning, logistics, simulation, information systems, and space systems design.
David Johnson is a visiting professor of computer information systems at Florida Gulf Coast University. He holds a Ph.D. in computer information systems from the University of Michigan (1981). Dr. Johnson has 25 years of industry experience in information systems development. He helped organize and is currently president of the SW Florida Chapter of the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP.) Dr. Johnson's research interests are in strategic information technology planning, information systems analysis and design, database management, and application development.
Roy Boggs is a professor of computer information systems at Florida Gulf Coast University. He holds a Ph.D. in Germanic linguistics from the University of Texas-Austin (1969) and has also earned a postdoctoral master of science in information systems (MSIS) from the University ofPittsburgh in 1977. Dr. Boggs was awarded the Fulbright Fellow award in Munich, Germany, and the Alexander von Humboldt Fellow award in Marbug, Germany. His research interests are in information systems analysis and design.
Mark Pendergast is an associate professor of computer information systems at Florida Gulf Coast University. He holds a Ph.D. in management infurmation systems from the University of Arizona (1989) and is a member of the ACM and IEEE computer societies. Dr. Pendergast was an analyst and engineer for Control Data, Harris, and Ventana Corporations. His research interests are in the areas of data communications, systems design, group support systems, and knowledge management.
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