Rebooting Information Technology Programs

Developing curriculum guidelines for high quality, rigorous degree programs in Information Technology (IT) requires broad engagement of international perspectives and critical input from the industry sector and computing professional societies. As the computing field rapidly evolves, ACM and IEEE Computer Society have partnered to regularly update curriculum reports, including curriculum guidelines for baccalaureate IT programs, also known as the IT2017 report. Released in December 2017, the report provides the framework for revising the ABET IT program criteria used to accredit undergraduate IT programs. The panelists will describe different perspectives and rationales for the proposed revisions, will address potential obstacles in formulating theses revisions, and will solicit feedback for both the impact and possible improvements for these revisions.

Screening assessments in vocational colleges are a strategic innovation in educational evaluation, designed to identify the cognitive and technical readiness of students entering program-specific courses. In Malaysia, the Information Technology (IT) program within Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) plays a pivotal role in equipping students with programming, computational thinking (CT), and digital skills essential for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) and the digital economy. However, cognitive screening assessments tailored to IT programs in vocational colleges remain underexplored, leading to inconsistencies in student intake quality and misalignment between curriculum expectations and industry demands. This study employs a SWOT analysis framework to examine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of integrating screening assessments for programming and CT in vocational IT education. Data were collected through a literature review from major databases including Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, focusing on empirical studies in programming and CT. Findings highlight several strengths: improved problem-solving abilities, industry relevance, and enhanced employability for graduates. Weaknesses include limited institutional resources, insufficient teacher training, and uneven student readiness. Opportunities emerge through government initiatives, educational technologies, and industry collaborations, while threats stem from rapid technological change and persistent digital divides. The study underscores the need for program-specific screening tools that ensure equitable access, enhance employability, and align vocational IT programs with evolving industry standards, thereby supporting Malaysia’s digital transformation and competitiveness.

Entrepreneurship is a novel course in the curriculum for students in the Information Technology (IT) degree program at La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia. In comparison to other IT-related courses, the Entrepreneurship course seeks to develop business management knowledge and skills; its learning design is thus different to that of other courses in the IT program. The concept of constructive alignment for curriculum renewal suggests that there are several components of good course design. In this paper, we use the principles of constructive alignment to analyze and redesign several components of the Entrepreneurship course. The focus is on reviewing and aligning the assessment tasks to ensure an effective evaluation and the achievement of student learning outcomes. Since assessment drives student learning, we describe the innovative assessment tasks that were implemented to enhance student learning, provide the rationale for the design of these tasks as supported by the current literature, and reflect on possible future improvements. The course redesign process and the constructive alignment and innovative assessment can be applied to other courses in the field, and more broadly to curriculum, teaching, and learning in higher education.

Undergraduate Information Technology (IT) education often faces challenges in delivering complex instructional materials that are difficult for students to understand using conventional learning methods. Technology-based visualization, particularly Virtual Reality (VR), has a significant potential to enhance conceptual comprehension by offering immersive and interactive learning experiences. This study aims to develop Content-Based Virtual Reality (CBVR) and evaluate its effectiveness in supporting the learning of desktop PC hardware introduction. A research and development (R&D) approach was implemented by adapting the Alessi and Trollip model, which consists of planning, design, and development stages. Expert validation was conducted to assess the accuracy and quality of the content, while practicality and effectiveness tests involved students from the Informatics and Computer Engineering Education program. Data were gathered through questionnaires and observations and analyzed using descriptive statistics from Jamovi. The findings showed that the developed CBVR content is valid, feasible, and capable of providing a more engaging and immersive learning environment. The effectiveness results indicate a notable improvement in students’ understanding compared to conventional learning approaches, reflected in increased learning scores and higher engagement levels. CBVR has proven effective in enhancing both conceptual and procedural understanding and holds strong potential for broader application in undergraduate IT education.

Since entering the new era, with the rapid development of information technology and the acceleration of the process of global economic integration, many aspects of my country’s social life and economic fields are undergoing profound historical changes. The integration of information technology and physical education is becoming a hot topic in my country’s current information technology education and even the entire education informatization process. The purpose of this article is to study the integration of information technology and physical education process. This article uses modern information technology to integrate with physical education. The teaching effect produced by it is significantly better than the traditional teaching model. It can more effectively solve the difficulties in the textbook, and can help students establish movement representations and understand movements faster. Essentials to stimulate students’ interest in learning. This research systematically elaborates the connotation and significance of information technology and the impact of information technology on middle school physical education, and scientifically explores the physical education curriculum, analyzes the basis and conditions of the integration of physical education and information technology education, and studies the information technology and middle school through teaching experiments. The mode and effect of physical education integration. This article takes the university’s physical education major curriculum integration as the research object, and conducts research and analysis through literature method, questionnaire survey method and mathematical statistics method to define the level of information technology and physical education major curriculum integration. Investigation and research show that more than 30% of physical education humanities teachers can often find a suitable resource bank and obtain relevant teaching materials, but the lack of targeted physical education software largely affects teachers’ access to resources.

After the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the IEEE Computer Society endorsed the recently completed Information Technology Curricula 2017 Curriculum Guidelines (IT2017) for Baccalaureate Degree Programs in Information Technology (IT) [1], the ACM Committee for Computing Education in Community Colleges (CCECC) at the direction of the ACM Education Board joined with the chair of the IT2017 task group to create corresponding guidance for two-year colleges offering IT transfer programs. In some countries, students can complete the first two years of a Bachelor's degree at a two-year school (which may be known as a community college, technical college, or junior college), and then transfer to a university to complete the remaining two years of their course of study [3]. The CCECC formed the IT Transfer Task Force (ITTTF), consisting of educators from both two-year colleges and four-year universities, to provide guidance for IT programs in such two-year schools. The guidance includes the competencies students should achieve during the first two years of an IT Bachelor's degree. The ITTTF is currently seeking public feedback from educators and IT industry representatives on an initial set of competencies to guide how the ITTTF should proceed to build IT Transfer Curriculum Guidelines. This poster will outline the initial selection of competencies to solicit feedback and input on the guidelines, including best practices for communication between two year IT Transfer programs and their four year university partners.

The article examines the development trends of information and communication technologies in education as the basis for the formation of an information society. The stages of development of information technologies from manual information to network technology are described. The purpose of the article is to analyze the current trends of the use of information technologies in educational institutions. General scientific methods were used during the research, in particular: analysis and synthesis, comparison, analysis of time series, graphical method, etc. The meaning of information and communication technologies is revealed, as well as the regulatory and legal framework for their development and implementation in the educational process in Ukraine is indicated. Comparison of government forms of statistical reporting is carried out in terms of the use of modern information technologies, namely, the expansion of the ZNZ-1 form with the following indicators: about the technology and speed of the Internet, the availability of Wi-Fi technology, the availability of modern printing devices (including 3D printers by type), educational software used in the educational process and are on the balance sheet of the institution, etc. The current state of the provision of general secondary education institutions with an Internet connection was investigated (less than 100 institutions do not have such a connection, which is less than 1% of the total number). The level of provision of schools' connection to a high-quality Internet network (with a data transfer rate of more than 30+ Mbit/s), as well as the number of students per one stationary or laptop computer by regions, are described.

In the realm of Information Technology (IT) education, On-the-Job Training (OJT) plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. This study examines the OJT course within a distinguished private higher education institution offering a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) program. The investigation evaluates the current state of the OJT course, aiming to uncover its strengths and weaknesses. By analyzing the interplay between academia and practical training, the study identifies areas for improvement and offers strategies to enhance the efficacy of the OJT program. The research not only addresses the immediate educational needs of IT students but also contributes to delivering an industry-relevant learning experience. Through a quantitative correlational design, data was gathered from Revalida grades and intern performance evaluations. The results reveal correlations between academic performance and competency levels, highlighting areas for improvement in communication and presentation skills. The study concludes that while the OJT program effectively prepares IT professionals, targeted interventions can further enhance its effectiveness. Recommendations include curriculum revamps for industry relevance, fostering future-proof IT professionals, and building collaborative ecosystems for success.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the communication skills of preservice information technology (IT) teachers attending Computer Education and Instructional Technologies (CEIT) at Anadolu University and to examine their levels of communication skills with respect to various variables. In the study, the singular and correlational survey models were applied. The research sample included a total of 183 preservice IT teachers in the 2009-2010 academic year. As the data collection tool, a demographic information form and the communication skills inventory developed by Ersanli and Balci (1998). The findings obtained in the study revealed that the preservice IT teachers’ levels of cognitive, emotional and behavioral communication skills did not change with respect to their gender or their parents’ educational background. On the other hand, it was found out that the freshman students had higher levels of emotional communication skills than the senior students did

The relevance of the study is determined by the need to update the methods of teaching physical culture in universities based on information technologies in accordance with the socio-cultural conditions of the present time. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the need to use information technologies in physical education in Ukrainian universities, followed by the development of a conceptual model based on the experience of foreign higher education institutions. The research of the selected problem was conducted in two stages based on systematic and innovative approaches using the method of analysis, synthesis, generalisation, systematisation, and comparison. The paper identified the need to introduce information technologies in the educational process of physical culture in universities based on the research of Ukrainian and foreign authors. The article analysed and compared the practices of using information technologies in physical education classes in universities of European countries, such as Spain, Ireland, Portugal, the Russian Federation, as well as Asian countries, among which are Japan and China. It was found out that the introduction of informatisation tools in the educational process of physical education in Ukrainian universities is accompanied by certain difficulties, and at the same time, the actualisation of the search for solutions to these problems was identified. The main ways of introducing information technologies in physical education classes in leading Ukrainian universities were considered. Based on the experience of Ukrainian and foreign universities, a conceptual model of information technologies usage in the educational process of physical education was developed, which is based on improving individual and collective skills using a universal mobile application and fitness games. The value and prospects of further research lie in creating a universal mobile application and implementing the author's methodology in practice

This article analyses the field of research on information and communication technology (ICT) in education. It reviews the results of ICT researches carried out in the world. First, the article presents the retrospective of researches on ICT implementation into education. Summarizing them, it reviews main research findings in five areas of ICT implementation: 1) the impact of ICT use on students achievements and attitudes; 2) the impact of ICT use on teachers; 3) the effect of teachers' factors and instructional methods on ICT efficiency; 4) the influence of infrastructure and organizational factors on ICT efficiency; 5) the effect of specific software design features. Then, the paper reviews the main recent and future directions of researches on ICT in education, in the world. Finally, it shortly reviews the most important future directions of ICT research and development in Lithuania. The article concludes that in spite of numerous ICT studies worldwide the national research and experiments have to be carried out in order to implement ICT in an appropriate for Lithuania and efficient way.

This study delves into the role of information technology in Islamic Religious Education (PAI) administration. With the rapid advancement of technology, the incorporation of information technology in educational administration is increasingly crucial to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of learning and educational management processes. Employing a qualitative approach and literature review methods, this research examines various literature and previous studies related to information technology application in PAI administration. The findings reveal that information technology significantly simplifies information access, expedites administrative processes, and enhances the quality of educational services. Furthermore, information technology facilitates educational material dissemination, student data management, and communication among teachers, students, and parents. Despite challenges such as infrastructure limitations, educators' technical capabilities, and data security concerns, the study concludes that effectively implementing information technology in PAI administration can yield substantial positive impacts with the support of all relevant stakeholders.

In this paper, we discuss meaning and options for information technology (IT) education in context of IT training and choice of optimal IT profession. IT education and work provided training can be presented as a combination of academic and professional knowledge and skills which allow fulfilment of job requirements. As a starting point, key requirements are identified which are linked to key items for optimal choice of IT profession. General and specific skills are defined, and also attitude which our graduates should have for specific profession. The methodology for IT education is formed in context of IT training and optimal choice of IT profession.

This paper deals with the main problem of involving information technology in teacher education - structure and contents of teachers' training courses based on distance learning. In Lithuania, the Standard of computer literacy for educators has been developed. It should be the main source of all teachers' training courses on information technology. The Standard consists of two parts: technological and educational. The main attention of the paper is paid to the analysis and requirements of the educational part that becomes more and more urgent: it requires some psy- chological, cognitive, social, and pedagogical knowledge referring to the information technology usage in education. This paper comprehensively covers the problems of application of information technology in education, course planning, and implementation of distance teaching, it referring to the teachers' training course on educational issues of information technology via distance learning, carried out by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania and organized by the Centre of Information Technologies of Education, and summarises its results.

The development of modern information-communication technologies has enabled the development of electronic knowledge distribution channels that expand the effective level of general and specialist education. This trend is also present in higher education because higher education institutions and institutes increasingly rely on the use of modern information-communication technologies in their operations. The effects of the use of personal computers, the Internet and global social networks are multiple in the higher education system as well. In the process of acquiring new knowledge, developing creativity, as well as ensuring greater activity in the process of education, new learning technologies, with the use of multimedia systems, created the prerequisites for the engagement of all individual and collective resources. The most important source of the state’s competitive advantage is the ability to educate and retain highly educated personnel in the field of information technologies. From that aspect, the paper discusses information technologies as a scientific discipline and general conditions for education in the field of information technologies. The impact of technical and pedagogical changes on education in this area is analyzed with particular attention. It is known that information technologies are suitable for vocational education, and the modern environment sets specific requirements regarding the applicability of knowledge acquired in higher education institutions. The dynamic and turbulent market emphasizes the applicability of knowledge as a key requirement in the educational process. These short researches propose new educational modules that should structure teaching in the field of information technologies in accordance with the global demand in this sector. Every society strives for a more efficient and economical system of education, and therefore the issue of the use of new information technologies in education comes down to the problem of creating a theoretically ideal model of the use of these technologies at all levels of education and work.