2020 EDSIG Proceedings: Workshop Presentation


Teaching the First Course in Information Systems: Integrating Theory and Practice


Hossein Bidgoli
California State University

Danielle Klahr
Cengage Learning

Objectives
Teaching the first course in Information Systems is a challenging task. Some students come to the course with different backgrounds and some students come with little to no background. Teaching the course in a pure theory format would be uninteresting and teaching it in a pure technical manner could discourage certain students. We have developed an ideal format and framework for teaching this course that integrates cutting-edge Information Systems topics such as blockchain, mobile analytics, IoT, VR, and AI with Porter's Three Strategies and Five Forces Model. The framework brings a practical view to the course which has been well received by a diverse group of students. For each lecture we set up seven to ten learning outcomes introduced to the students at the beginning of each lecture. Using daily Tweets that accompany the textbook, we incorporate new and cutting-edge topics into our lectures. We spend 3-5 minutes at the beginning of each lecture and review breaking news that is related to the IS field. A typical lecture is a combination of theory, discussion, video presentations, hands-on exercises, and practical and real-life examples that relate class discussions to real-life practice. Each lecture examines 2-3 companies that have successfully used various IS technologies highlighting Porter's Strategies. In an interactive format some participants will be asked to identify where a particular company falls within the Porter's model and the IS deployment. Every piece in each lecture is directly linked to a learning outcome outlined at the beginning of each lecture. To further engage our students and keep them motivated, we give them two questions or assignments for the next class period. This creates a dynamic link between the class periods and the time that students study themselves. In addition, we will go live into the publisher supported MindTap courseware which offers concept and career videos, introductory SQL labs, case studies and scenario-based activities that require students to make business-focused decisions.

Targeted Attendees
Educators and researchers at all levels with an introductory computing background should benefit from this workshop.