Workshops
(ordered by presentation time)
Workshop Chair
Nesrin Bakir,
West Texas A&M University
Paper-A-Thon
Jeff Cummings
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Michelle Louch
Carlow University
In conjunction with the presentation of abstracts, we will be supporting a "paper-a-thon" session to provide for an environment in which our community of authors, researchers, and creative thinkers can get together to partner in new work or to help provide support/direction to the abstract presentations. We will also be providing consultation with the journal editors on guidelines and advice for publishing.
Wednesday at 1:35 p.m.
AI Deep Learning With TensorFlow And Keras In Google Cloud Platform
Thuan Nguyen
The University of North Texas
Denise Philpot
University of North Texas
Human beings have long dreamed of creating machines that can be trained to learn and think. AI deep learning, a subset of the traditional machine learning, is based on the concepts of artificial neural networks and offers powerful methods to solve these problems. In recent years, AI deep learning has delivered stunning achievements in different fields including engineering, medicine, and manufacturing. To facilitate and speed up the tasks of building, training, and testing the neural networks, researchers and practitioners can use various artificial intelligence (AI) frameworks of whichTensorFlow, an open-source library developed by Google, is currently the most popular one.
In this workshop, the attendees will get an introduction to the general artificial neural network, the convolutional neural network, and the TensorFlow AI framework. The attendees also learn about HOWTO perform the following steps in building, training, and testing a deep learning neural network:
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How to set up a deep learning virtual server that has a full stack of software applications including TensorFlow, Jupyter Notebook, to name a few, required for deep learning tasks in Google Cloud Platform.
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How to make a secured connection from a local computing device to the remote deep learning server using Gcloud SDK.
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How to start Jupyter Notebook in the remote deep learning server and use it in the local computer to develop deep learning code.
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An introduction to the general artificial neural network.
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An introduction to the convolutional neural network.
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An introduction to the TensorFlow AI framework.
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How to write Python code using Jupyter Notebook running in the remote deep learning server.
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How to build a convolutional neural network using TensorFLow for an image recognition application.
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How to train a convolutional neural network using TensorFlow for an image recognition application.
- How to test a convolutional neural network using TensorFlow for an image recognition application.
Wednesday at 3:35 p.m.
Courseware as Code with GitLab
Christina Hupy
GitLab
Traditional course content is typically stored in binary files on a hard drive and then shared with students on a learning management system or course website. This approach is rife with limitations including lack of source control and versioning, and the inability to collaborate.
Courseware as code is a revolutionary approach to designing, creating, and maintaining course content based on a foundation of DevOps workflows and philosophies.
In the courseware as code model, course assets such as lectures, assignments, and quizzes, are stored as markdown files and treated as code in a central repository. Continuous integration (CI) and continuous development (CD) pipelines are used to build the assets. These non-binary formats allow for text parsing, version control, and collaboration through merge requests. Epics, issues, labels, and milestones are used to manage assignments.
Extended functionally such as automating classroom management tasks, peer-feedback, and security tests can be easily built. CI/CD pipelines are used to auto-grade code assignments, exams and they can be used to create DevOps games and interactive assessments.
Building this workflow can be challenging for instructors new to DevOps. The GitLab for Education Program team was awarded a Google Summer of Code (GSoC) project for Courseware as Code in the summer of 2021. The GSoC intern created a free Courseware as Code GitLab template that can easily be cloned. Functionality includes a built-in GitLab pages website, slide builder, in-course interactive quiz modules, docker image for repeatability, as well as Python scripts for classroom administration. Any instructor who is interested in building course content and teaching using the DevOps lifecycle should attend.
This workshop will present the basics of the model, highlight some advanced use cases from the literature, and GitLab customers, including the US Army Cyberschool, and demonstrate how to fork the project template. Participants will be up and running with a course on GitLab by the end of the workshop.
Thursday at 2:25 p.m.
Leveraging Capture the Flag (CTF) Software in the Classroom
Brandon Brown
Coastline College
This workshop will provide a “how-to” guide on how to build and incorporate CTF activities in the classroom. Capture the Flag software can be intimidating and hard to understand. Even more challenging is the building of content to incorporate into the activities. I will cover the build out and system administration of one of the most common platforms that can be used on premise, within cloud architecture such as AWS, and even a hosted solution. This will also include instruction on how to obtain educational discounts of up to 80% off list price for the hosted solutions and how to leverage several free / open-source platforms. This will be a “hands-on” workshop where attendees will be provided several means to build their own CTF in as little as one hour. Finally, we will brainstorm different challenge categories in IS/IT topics for the CTF such as cybersecurity.
Friday at 10:45 a.m.
Management Information Systems Instruction for the Distracted:
Reaching Gen Z and Millennials Without Deterring Non-Traditional Students
Ted Tedmon
North Idaho College
Casey Wilhelm
North Idaho College
A dynamic, interactive discussion of how professors can adjust instructional designs to meet the challenges of teaching management information systems. Student populations have changed but too few professors have adjusted their instructional designs to meet these changes. Today’s classes include significant numbers of ESL students and numerous students receive accommodations for cognitive challenges such as ADHD, yet little is done to meet the needs of these students aside from allowing additional time for assignments or assessments. Often, these accommodations alienate students by requiring them to use alternative examination sites such as testing centers, which can exacerbate feelings of separation from the rest of the class.
Additionally, numerous studies show that millennials and Gen Z students do not read textbooks, believing it is more efficient to use “Quizlet” and similar sites to prepare for tests. Despite this, most instructors still assign traditional readings, citing their own learning experiences. Similarly, Millennials, in particular, demand more recognition as well as the opportunity to provide feedback for their assignments, but aside from an end-of-term survey, few courses provide for these needs.
Management Information Systems instructors face unique challenges due to rapidly changing technology. Textbook publishers take advantage of this dynamic environment by releasing new editions nearly every year with accompanying price increases. Many popular offerings are currently in 15+ editions. Adopting new editions necessitates a complete restructuring of a professor’s course, despite the similar content, as chapter titles and arrangements often change.
Ted and Casey have conducted extensive research about how today’s post-secondary students learn. This presentation provides information that covers the learning traits of today’s students and how students are not utilizing the most effective learning strategies. This presentation provides tools, and the rationale behind their use, in order to assist instructors to increase student engagement, retention, and academic success.
Thursday at 9:10 a.m.
Managing Change in MIS Courses: Building Evergreen Learning Tools Together
Brian Sylvester
Wyatt Morris
Dean Karampelas
McGraw Hill Higher Education
Friday at 10:45 a.m.
Not Just Another List: Increasing Student Engagement Using Innovative Apps
Michelle Louch
Carlow University
Ira Goldstein
Siena College
RJ Podeschi
Millikin University
Melinda Korzaan
Middle Tennessee State University
While not new, conversations about what instructors do and how technology can be harnessed for student engagement took on new meaning in the last 20 months because, this time, faced an uncertain future, there was room to shift paradigms and strategies -- rather than ponder such a possibility. In addition, a year of remote learning afforded a time to explore new interactive learning tools and technologies along with ways to incorporate such tools to enhance student participation, collaboration, and education. In this workshop, presenters will provide interactive demonstrations of four such tools: Mentimeter, Padlet, AWS, and Replit. This collaborative presentation will begin with interactive demonstrations of Mentimeter, a device that captures student input using polls, quizzes, word clouds, Q&As, and Padlet, a collaborative notice board. This workshop will then explore Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform as a tool to engage students in learning cloud-based services. Through AWS Classrooms, students receive free cloud credits to host static websites through S3 storage, launch a Linux instance, or practice SQL through various database platforms. Finally, attendees will experience Replit, a collaborative in-browser Integrated Development Environment (IDE) as a tool for teaching Python programming. In addition to diving into demonstrations of these four technologies, attendees will receive a list of other collaborative technologies and be invited to collaborate with other participants, sharing some of their own favorite tools.
Thursday at 10:20 a.m.
Successful Strategies for Writing a Textbook
Beth Lang Golub
Prospect Press VT
Are you dissatisfied with the textbooks for a course you teach? Maybe you should write your own. There are clear steps to systematically developing, class testing, and socializing a project. Bring your pet ideas to this workshop where we will examine the pathway to success. This workshop is for anyone who is writing, considering writing, or just interested in learning more.
Friday at 10:20 a.m.
What’s Happening at Prospect Press
Beth Lang Golub
Prospect Press VT
Prospect Press publishes texts for the entire IS curriculum and increasingly in Data Analytics. This session will present recently published titles, titles forthcoming soon, and those in development. This session will emphasize how each makes an innovative contribution. Bring your questions and ideas for new titles to serve the ever-evolving discipline.
Wednesday at 3:10 pm