In their efforts to effect positive local change, universities have long been directly involved in shaping the community agendas of their local milieu.The same is now becoming true as it relates to improving the local technology landscape.Universities are natural partners in community development efforts given the human, intellectual and financial resources they can bring to bear on problems.They are also logical partners in community IT initiatives for these same reasons, and in recognition of the educational and technological resources resident on their campuses."Mangaging IT/Community Partnerships in the 21st Century" is perhaps the first comprehensive examination of the critical considerations for community-university partnerships involving information and communications technology.From course partnerships to educational and business partnerships to the so-called "digital divide," this book is a must for community practitioners and university researchers alike!
Product DescriptionUniversities are increasingly being asked to play agreater role in their communities. With the growth of the technologyindustry and the increasing importance of the Internet in educationand everyday life, academic IT departments are beginning to formpartnerships with both non-profit and for-profit organizations in thelocal community. These partnerships can relate to the wholecurriculum, to specific classes, to students internships, totheoretical research, and to industrial research, and there are manyother possibilities for IT/Community partnerships. ManagingIT/Community Partnerships in the 21st Century explores the variouspossibilities for partnerships between academic IT departments andcommunity-based organizations.
From the Inside FlapIntroduction to 'Managing IT/Community Partnerships in the 21st Century'
Many people have a stereotypical view of the university as an 'ivory tower' of scholars who keep to themselves and are not involved with the day-to-day activities of the communities around them. In reality, most universities have multiple partnerships through which they make an immediate impact in the local communities. Community partnerships cross all boundaries within the university: Faculty, staff, and students, academic departments, administrative departments, student affairs, and athletic departments all can make a difference in their surrounding communities. Many universities even have offices of community service, or offices of community partnerships. The relationship between universities and their communities is a living, breathing relationship.
Academic departments of information technology can play a major role in these community partnerships. While these academic departments may have a variety of titles (Information Systems, Management Information Systems, Computer Information Systems, Information Sciences, Management Science), and may fall under multiple academic units (Colleges of Business, Engineering, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Library Sciences, etc..), these departments all have an important role to play, and important resources to share. As the importance of information technology increases, there are many technology needs in the community that go unfulfilled. Information technology must be not only for those who are economically privileged. Information technology must be used to improve the quality of everyone's life.
The chapters in this book provide a sampling of the many different types of partnerships taking place between communities and academic departments of information technology. The partnerships described take place in different universities, large and small, with different missions, in many different countries. They demonstrate the wide range of partnerships that have taken place, and they can provide a base of literature with which to build future partnerships.
I have organized the chapters along four major themes: course partnerships, educational partnerships, business partnerships, and digital divide partnerships. Although these themes, and the related partnerships, are not mutually exclusive, they provide a conceptual framework in which to present these partnerships. For instance, many of the course partnerships involved partnerships with local primary and secondary schools. Some of the business partnerships involve course curricula. Some of the business partnerships involve the educational system-local primary and secondary schools. Some of the course partnerships involve the digital divide. These different types of partnerships should not be viewed as individual solutions; rather, combinations of all of these partnerships should be sought to best meet the needs of the university and the community.
The first chapter, 'Service-Learning Opportunities in the Information Systems Curriculum,' by Jonathan Lazar and Doris Lidtke, provides a background on service-learning courses within the information systems curriculum. Service-learning courses involve students taking part in community service that is structured in a way to build on the classroom curriculum. In this chapter, the advantages and disadvantages of service-learning are discussed, and the infrastructure needed to successfully operate a service-learning class is presented. The major courses in an information systems curriculum are then presented, with corresponding information on how to present the class as a service-learning class, and where possible, examples of how service-learning has been successfully utilized. From personal experience and the published literature, the lessons learned can assist those attempting to implement service-learning in their classes. Finally, important issues that impact on the information systems curriculum, such as cheating and accreditation, are presented in the context of service-learning.
'Active-Learning in Higher Education: A Model and Roadmap, ' by Venkatesh and Small (Chapter 2), continues the discussion on service-learning and other experiential learning processes. The chapter provides an excellent discussion of the educational theories that inspire experiential learning in universities. The authors discuss their experiences with field projects at Syracuse University, including a number of design and networking-related courses. Venkatesh and Small also provide a discussion of the infrastructure at Syracuse University that has allowed their experiential learning programs to flourish.
In Chapter 3, Ruppel and Ruppel describe in detail a service-learning class that has worked with the same community partner for five semesters. In this Systems Analysis and Design class at the University of Toledo, students have helped a small K-8 private school with their computer networking needs. In the different semesters, the student groups assisted with the planning, design, and wiring of the computer network for the school. The students also assisted with grant writing, cost-benefit analyses, and web site development. This chapter provides an interesting view of a service-learning class, because students and faculty worked with the same non-profit organization over five semesters. Ruppel and Ruppel discuss the benefits of this course to both university students and the local school, and present their lessons learned, to be applied in courses that focus on networking or systems analysis and design.
Roberts and Boyle present the partnerships at the University of Leeds, a large university in the United Kingdom, which is surrounded by economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. This chapter, entitled 'University/Community Partnerships: Capstone Projects that Make a Difference,' describes the final-year projects that have benefited the community. All undergraduates are required to take part in capstone projects that last a minimum of 300 hours, and students can choose to do things such as perform research or develop new informational systems. Many of these final-year projects have been structured to assist local schools in meeting their information technology needs. These students have helped local schools with tasks such as infusing information technology into the curriculum, developing summer school programs in technology, organizing student clubs for those interested in technology, and building web sites. These projects have made a positive impact in the local community, and have also generated positive press for the university. Roberts and Boyle discuss the problem of evaluating these student projects for quality, given the variation in topics and location...
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