Improving Interpersonal Skills in Introductory Computer Courses

Dewey A. Swanson
Assistant Professor Computer Technology
Purdue University
4601 Central Avenue
Columbus, IN 47203-1769
(812) 348-7238
dswanson@iquest.net

Abstract

In order to be successful in information technology it is important that employees are competent technically. Equally important is that the employees have communication skills, both verbal and written. Information technology programs typically focus on developing the technological skills and often times leave the communication skills to the Speech and English courses. Talking with employers indicates that IT workers still lack in communication skills. One thing that we do in our introductory information technology class is include many activities that promote verbal and written communications. These activities are easy to incorporate into courses. This can be accomplished in either introductory or advanced level courses. In this paper I will discuss some of the more successful activities and some activities which weren't as successful that we've included in our CPT 135 PC Technology and Applications course.

Introduction

The Computer Technology Department is in Purdue University's School of Technology. The Department of Computer Technology provides educational experiences for students to develop and manage business computer applications, management information systems, databases, and computer networks. The program provides a strong emphasis on the technical skills necessary to be successful in industry while providing additional courses that develop well-rounded students. Many of these additional courses involve techniques that enhance the written and oral communication skills of the student.

Are we successful in developing information system professionals? Yes, our department has a 100% placement record over the most recent year of statistics and salary ranks near the top of all students graduating from Purdue University. Can we improve the product? Certainly, we can! As a faculty member I talk with recruiters and staff from companies in search of quality information technology (IT) professionals. The typical technical skills request list, like Oracle experience, Visual Basic programmer, NT experience, etc. are mentioned depending on the skill set needed by a particular company. However, one skill that is requested across the board is strong communications skills. Companies are looking for employees that are not only technically strong but that communicate well. In fact a complaint often heard is that students are technically strong but weak in oral and written communication skills. Apparently, this is widespread concern. A survey of Central Indiana companies sponsored by Indiana Information Technology Association and Ivy Tech State College tends to confirm this. Sixty-one companies responded, and the consensus was that when workers could be located, they turned up short on the communication skills. "You find people who have great technical skills, but you can't put them in front of a client" said Ron Brumbarger, president of BitWise Solutions in Carmel (1).

Instead of leaving the interpersonal skills to the other courses in our curriculum, I have tried to give the students opportunities to practice what they learn across the curriculum, I focus mainly on courses in the CPT department where I teach. Specifically, I am going to discuss some activities that I've included in our introductory computer course. The course is CPT 135, Personal Computing Technology and Applications. The course provides an introduction to typical personal computing applications. Students gain hands-on skills and experience with personal computer applications such as desktop and file management, word processing, spreadsheets, presentation graphics, electronic mail, and internet browsing and searching. This course surveys personal computer technology and problem solving. Topics include computer hardware, computer operations, operating systems and environments, and computer ethics. Technologies include Microsoft Office and Microsoft Internet Explorer. This course seems like a perfect place to begin, since this is the first CPT course that our majors take and it is also a service course that many other majors take for their required computer course. The class always produces a wide variety of students with varying degrees of technical skills. This is exactly the environment that many of our students will be involved in when they work in industry. Following I will list some of the activities that I've incorporated into the CPT 135 class that try to reinforce the interpersonal skills necessary for our students to be successful in their IT careers.

Interpersonal Skills Activities

Article Summaries

Students were told to read an article about computer technology and write a summary. Students were required to do two of these assignments. The article was supposed to be in an area of interest for them, career, hobby or just a special interest. The summaries were to be no longer than one page in length and completed using Microsoft Word, the word processor used in the class. Both articles were due after students had completed the labs using Microsoft Word. On the due date I solicited students to discuss the articles. Many seemed genuinely interested in what they had read. Reading the summaries I found the biggest weakness was in summarization skills. Students had a difficult time summarizing the articles in a concise manner.

Paper

Students were required to write a five-page paper on a topic related to computer technology. The students had to have three outside sources and a bibliography. As with the article summaries students were asked to find a subject of interest, either related to their major, hobby or a topic of interest relating to computers. Students could also learn a new skill using computers (outside the scope of the CPT 135 class) and write their paper on the experience. Students also were allowed to interview people using computers on a day-to-day basis and summarize the interviews. Students were required to use the Microsoft Word to create the document. The paper they developed were the source for another activity (presentation) later in the semester. For the most part students played it safe when picking a topic for the papers. In the four times I've tried this in the class over the last two years, I've only had three students who have chosen to interview a person. I've found in these cases that the person interviewed a friend or relative. In fairness, the students may have found the interview difficult to fit within format of the required presentation. As far as students learning new technology, few students have ventured in that area also. A couple of the more interesting examples were when a student taught himself FrontPage with the aid of a book and developed his own web page for the presentation. He did a thorough job and it made a good presentation. In another case, a Purdue Technology student taught himself the basics of a CAD program that he would be using the next semester using a tutorial. Most students were cautious when selecting topics, some choosing hobbies or topics relating to their majors but many chose from a suggested list that I passed around. I can't count the times I've heard about Charles Babbage and the history of computers in the last two years!

Presentation

At the end of each semester each student must create and deliver a Powerpoint presentation. The presentation is based on the paper that they completed earlier in the semester. The presentation is between 6-10 minutes in length. Students must use Powerpoint using at a minimum of six slides. The student is expected to deliver a professional talk which they will be graded. Students are also graded on how effectively they use Powerpoint including things such as adding graphics, animation, transitions and actual readability of slides. Students also rate the presenters based on their content and presentation. In fact I have them make individual comments and then pick the student with the best presentation and best content and give those students several bonus points. Typically, students have turned in their papers shortly after midterm and have their papers back and graded with comments before they put together their presentation. Another way I have tried this is to have both paper and presentation due at the same time at the end of the semester. Instead of using the extra time for writing the paper students tended to wait until the last minute to prepare both assignments and the quality of both suffered. The quality of the paper and presentations were definitely better when the assignments had separate due dates.

Team Activities

During the semester I have several activities that students perform in teams. Most times I assign the students to teams of two to four, depending on the exercise. Following are some of the activities that I have students perform in teams. Many times I use the teams to liven up topics from lectures that can be dry if all that occurs are lectures.

Hardware Purchase Activity ­ This activity is now done using the internet, but the first time I brought in ads from the local newspapers. I divide students into groups of two to three and give each team different scenarios. The I ask them to find the various hardware components, a hard drive, monitor, printer etc. that best fits the scenario they have been presented with. Typically, students are told to find the two or three best choices and then defend their choice to the class. When students explain their choice they are required to explain all the "buzz" terms that are associated with their purchase. If they try to skip specifics, I will ask leading questions to help bring out the important points. Over the last couple years this activity is has probably been one of the more popular activities. Students really seem to enjoy this activity, trying to come up with the best fits for the scenarios that they have been given to present. Given different scenarios this exercise can challenge the stronger students along with the students who are novices.

Teach the Class ­ A week before a chapter from the text is to be covered in lecture I divide students into teams of three to four. Students are then given a section over the chapter that they are responsible to teach to the class. Students are given freedom on how they teach their section. They are generally given 10-15 minutes to teach their section. Students are encouraged to not only use the text but also bring in any other related material. The students are given about fifteen minutes in the class before they teach the section and about 10 minutes at the start of the class to get organized. Also, students are required to submit five questions over the material they present that I use in developing a quiz. Most of the time students utilize Powerpoint, a presentation tool that we use in the lab portion of the class. I would not consider this activity as one of the more successful attempts. Students tend to break their sections up and then each student will discuss his/her section. Many times students write notes that are almost word for word from the text and then read their notes with little or no understanding. The students didn't seem to enjoy this activity and rarely used outside sources. The activity seemed to do little to encourage teamwork and presentations tended to be unimpressive. It didn't seem to matter which topic was chosen, the results tended to be the same.

Website Evaluation ­ For this team activity students were given two websites to view and evaluate. We had briefly discussed things to look for and how we would evaluate a website before the exercise began. The goal was for students to look at the material on the websites and critically evaluate the material there. I try to pick topical, somewhat controversial sites for students to look at. The exercise occurred this past time on election day, so the students had to evaluate websites devoted to the presidential candidates from a "far right" website devoted to Al Gore to a teenagers for Bush website. Students got into lengthy and sometimes spirited discussions about the sites and validity of the content. This has been a popular activity with the students and one that has led to the most participation among the class as a whole.

Discussion of Articles

In the lecture portion of the course we have a chapter discussing ethics, computer crimes and effects of computers on society. The week before the lecture, students were assigned to find articles that directly related to a specific topic in the chapter. The following week as I lectured, students were instructed to discuss their articles as I covered the content. I had hoped the current articles would spark conversation and possibly debate about some of the topics in the text. What I found was that everyone had articles and some more than willing to expound on their topic. However, most of the articles tended to center on very specific areas of the chapter (usually computer crime) and the hope for discussions didn't occur. This past semester is the first time I tried this exercise and although everyone participated I'm not sure it was the thought provoking exercise I had anticipated when I made the assignment.

Conclusions

The activities I've discussed in this paper were included in the introductory computer class to enhance the interpersonal skills of students. The class itself is a lecture/lab class with lecture dealing with topics related to computers such as hardware, software, networks, internet, etc. and the lab devoted to developing skills with word processing, spreadsheets, presentation graphics, email and using the internet. Most of the activities have been developed so that they require skills used in the lab portion of the class and in all cases when activities are graded, part of the grade is based on successful use of technology. In this case I hope to reinforce the importance of using the technology presented in the course. As mentioned in the introduction, a primary goal is to develop interpersonal. This is not an English or Speech class but the intention of these exercises is to emphasize the importance of these skills to our CPT majors and to do it from the very beginning of their educational experience with Purdue University. The survey of the Indiana Information Technology Association (INITA) stated in each category of employer, the biggest deficiencies were not in technical skills but in interpersonal skills. In fact, over sixty percent in each category listed interpersonal skills as a deficiency among job applicants as compared to generally forty to sixty percent in the different category of employers who listed technical skills (2). As interesting was when employers were ask to prioritize current and anticipated (over the next 3 years) skills required, the "soft skills" made up eight out of the top ten skills required with teamwork, verbal communications, written communications all in the top five skills named (2).

The activities I've used in the CPT 135 course emphasize the interpersonal skills that employers are finding lacking in their job candidates. Not all of the activities have proved successful. I plan on reworking several of the activities to get more involvement by all of the students and improve the quality of the exercise to meet the objectives of the activity. The activities that have been a success I plan to continue to include and if possible incorporate into other courses in the CPT curriculum.

Summary

Interpersonal skills are important for the information systems professionals and if we are developing these professionals it is not enough to depend on the Speech and English courses in our curriculum to do the job by themselves. We need to reinforce the importance of these skills to our students along with the need of strong technical skills. For that reason it is critical to emphasize the necessity of theses skills from the very first course in CPT and continue to develop these skills as students go through the program. Hopefully, some or all of these activities may be used in other computer courses to enhance the interpersonal skills of our students.

References

1. Heikens, N. (1999, December 30). Central Indiana short of IT workers, survey says.

The Indianapolis Star. Pp. C1.

2. Indiana Information Technology Association. (1999, December).