Volume 2

11 pages 673 K bytes

Simplicity First: Use of Tools in Undergraduate Computer Science and Information Systems Teaching David R. Naugler Southeast Missouri State University Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 Ken Surendran Southeast Missouri State University Cape Girardeau, MO 63701

Abstract: Use of tools – either home grown or industry supported - is inevitable in teaching CS/IS courses. The authors first examine the pros and cons of using tools in Computer Science and Information Systems courses. They briefly discuss the side effects of using tools on learning. In light of these discussions, they then focus on the impact of using tools in database management, and systems analysis and design on the students’ overall learning by analyzing student feedback in these courses and student performance in the capstone project course in which knowledge gained in these two are applied. Based on their observations, the authors make a few suggestions for the appropriate use of tools and conclude that more care is required in using tools in lower-level courses.

Keywords: software tools, database, analysis and design, industry partnership, tool selection

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Recommended Citation: Naugler and Surendran (2004). Simplicity First: Use of Tools in Undergraduate Computer Science and Information Systems Teaching. Information Systems Education Journal, 2 (5). http://isedj.org/2/5/. ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2003: §2232. ISSN: 1542-7382.)