Published in the Southwest Business Symposium Proceedings
14th Annual Meeting
College of Business Adminstration
University of Central Oklahoma
Edmond, Oklahoma
April 10 & 11, !997
Page 200

FROM MASS PRODUCTION TO MASS CUSTOMIZATION:

A PARADIGM SHIFT FOR INTRODUCTORY COMPUTING

C. Michael Hassett, Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS

Robert J. Meier, Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS

Steven Schulz, Bellevue University, Bellevue, NE

 

ABSTRACT

 In the past, introductory computing was delivered using a mass production approach with a monolithic course design. Even as the mass production paradigm continues to dominate, a new paradigm--mass customization--is emerging and will continue to grow in a parallel path. Mass customization will enable students to use information, delivery and service technologies to create their own learning environments and to enable instructors to individualize instruction. The demand for computer competent students, the diversity of computing skills of students entering college, competition, needs of stakeholders, technology and the need to certify and instruct students are driving the change. This paper describes a strategy for moving introductory computing into the mass customization era.

 

INTRODUCTION

 Poised at the edge of the 21st century, the introductory computing course is at a critical juncture. In the past, the course was delivered using a mass production approach with a monolithic course design. The mass production model is location-driven with one instructor in one physical classroom at a scheduled time. Even as the mass production paradigm continues to dominate, a new paradigm--mass customization--is emerging and will continue to grow in a parallel path. This model is bandwidth-driven and provides a virtual learning environment. The mass customization design will be modular and will provide a means of certifying existing competencies as well as providing instruction in deficient areas. Forces driving the accelerating shift are the demand for computer competent students, the diversity of computing skills of incoming students, the need to certify as well as to instruct students, the needs of stakeholders, along with competition and technology.

The Department of Computer and Information Systems plans to take a proactive stance in defining this shift by undertaking a one year development project. The development project will focus on the following:

This paper will compare and contrast the mass production and mass customization models. The drivers of change and pedagogical issues will be discussed. The department’s strategy for the transition to the new mass customization paradigm will be presented.

 

MASS PRODUCTION MODEL

 The characteristics of the current mode of teaching a general university-wide introductory computing course are:

The course, Introduction to Computer Information Systems, offered by the Department of Computer and Information Systems at Fort Hays State University currently uses the mass production model. It has eight sections of sixty students for a total enrollment of about four hundred eighty per semester. It is a three semester hour credit course with two lectures and one lab session per week. A common course syllabus is used and there are three to four instructors who teach the course each semester. The standardized course content includes concepts and vocabulary, MS Office Professional software, CMS, Gopher, and Netscape. Standardized examinations and assignments are also used.

All sections are taught in a multimedia class room. There are eight multimedia classrooms on the entire campus. Each classroom contains equipment (approximately $40,000) that includes the following:

 

There are a number of factors driving introductory computing toward the mass customization model.

 

DRIVERS OF CHANGE

 Six forces are driving the shift to mass customization. The mass production model largely ignores these forces.

Demand for Computer Competency

Masat [5] predicted that computer literacy would become more and more of an issue of elementary and secondary education. In keeping with this prediction the Kansas Board of Regents approved a Qualified Admissions Precollege Curriculum for the secondary schools. One component of this precollege curriculum is the requirement of one unit in the field of computer technology. The Regents’ position statement includes the following information.

Curriculum Area: Computer Technology - 1 Unit Required

  1. Students may fulfill this requirement by passing a proficiency examination offered by the Regents universities.
  2. The Board of Regents recommends that students have a working knowledge of multimedia applications including: sound, video, text, and data in order to appropriately and effectively communicate to various publics.
  3. "Information Literacy" is the comprehensive term of this burgeoning curricular area. As such, each student must know how to access, apply and evaluate computer technology and develop projects and products using such media.
  4. Students should be able to demonstrate their knowledge of computer technology as it relates to the educational environment and the workplace. Students should be able to demonstrate the use of software applications including but not limited to: word processing, spreadsheets, database management, electronic mail, Internet and operating systems.
  5. Students should be able to demonstrate a basic understanding of technical aspects of computer systems with basic problem solving capabilities for trouble shooting minor glitches.

 Diversity of Computer Skills

 At this university, approximately one-third of the students in the introductory computing course own computers (see Figure 1). The observation has been that students self-instruct when they own computers; however, there is great diversity in the formal computing exposure. In many cases the goal of high school computing has been the application of a specific software tool to a specific learning situation. For the most part high schools do not offer a specific introductory computing course. A recent survey conducted in the university introductory computing course revealed that exposure to word processing software was much more prevalent than that of spreadsheets (see Figures 2 and 3). Use of games was much higher than use of E-mail or Netscape (see Figure 4). However, a growing number of high schools are offering one or more courses in introductory computing with some schools requiring this course for all graduates.

Figure 1.

 

Figure 2.

 

Figure 3.

 

Figure 4.

 

Need to Certify and Instruct

 A proficiency examination is available for students who want to test out of the course. Currently, there are very few students who pass the entire examination; however, the authors envision an increasing number of students passing sections of the examination because of self-instruction and improved pre-college standards. The move toward mass customization will require a modular proficiency examination. For example, it would be possible for a student to be certified as competent in word processing and then receive standard instruction for the remainder of the course modules.

 

 

 

 

 

Competition

 Competition for the introductory computing course has become much more intense with an increasing number of available vendors. First, competition from traditional universities has increased for all students and not just for the introductory computing course. In the past, a university could have offered the introductory computing course as something unique in order to gain a competitive advantage. Today, the introductory computing course is ubiquitous and is no longer a competitive advantage for recruiting students to a university. A university is expected to offer this course.

On the other hand, alternative sources of competition have arisen in recent years. For example, a growing number of universities now offer this course off-campus. Satellite technologies and the Internet have become popular forums for offering this course. In addition, software companies and independent consultants also provide professional introductory seminars with follow-up seminars on specialized products. An increasing number of these programs have become approved for university credit hours.

However, the newest competitor for the introductory computing course is corporate America. A growing number of corporations now offer in-house training programs for employees. These programs are taught by in-house experts, independent consultants on contract, or university faculty. Articulation agreements are developing with universities to offer this course for university credit within organizations. This allows for both introductory and advanced education to be tailored to the specific needs of the corporation.

In the end, the competition for the introductory computing course has become intense. Traditional university programs, university outreach programs, commercial training programs, secondary education institutions and corporate America have all increased efforts in the area of computing education. Universities may need to evaluate their own competitive efforts.

 

 

 

 

 

Needs of Stakeholders

 One of the key issues will be to identify and monitor the needs of major stakeholders. As one set of stakeholders, the students themselves represent a complex mix of market segments rather than a single segment. Traditional high school graduates arrive at the university with diverse computing backgrounds. Some students arrive with very little training or interest in this course while others arrive with a relatively high level of computing sophistication and interest. With this much diversity in the student population, it is unwise to offer a mass-produced, one-size-fits-all introductory computing course.

The newest stakeholders of this university are likely to be non-campus students. As technology moves education off the traditional campus, another set of expectations about computer competencies is developing. Monitoring the expectations of this group may be the most difficult due to geographic distance and reliance on non-personal communication.

Another set of stakeholders is corporate recruiters hiring graduates of the university. The requirements and expectations about computer competencies vary by industry, company and position. Also, companies have become segmented in terms of adopted computer hardware and software. Input from corporate advisory boards and the monitoring of campus recruiters will be critical in making appropriate adjustments to the introductory computing course.

Faculty teaching other courses are also important stakeholders. As more and more computer applications are introduced into courses, students will be required to have specific prerequisite skills. Since the introductory computing course is the only computing course many students will take, these requirements must be addressed. For example, one faculty member may expect students to upload and download files from the mainframe computer while another may require students to create advanced spreadsheet models. It is important that the department offering the introductory computing service course meets these needs. Otherwise, each department may opt to offer its own customized introductory computing course.

 

 

 

 

 

Technology

Introductory computing is not a static commodity. Hardware, and software applications have evolved in a dynamic manner. These applications represent one impetus of change in the introductory computing course. There is continuous change in this course related to the advent of the graphical user interface, improved E-mail, advanced statistical packages, desktop publishing and computer aided design programs, along with the improvements and additions of hardware.

 

The half-life of the course content is about one year due to the rapid changes in technology. Reasonably priced, powerful personal computers linked by fiber optic cable and strands of high bandwidth category five cables are the key to the futuristic world where information flows over open, non-proprietary computer systems. The Internet is influencing course as students are introduced to the enormous potential of this resource. The department must continually assess the role of the Internet in this course.

 Impediments to Change

 Faculty will be expected to maintain a full work load while developing the mass customization course. The development curve for mass customization will be steep and time consuming. Faculty will need reassigned time and technical support to make the transition.

Those that represent the status quo will be threatened by the move to mass customization. Virtual classrooms, labs, and office hours will be hard to observe in the traditional sense.

Governing bodies will be slow to initiate the policy changes needed to accommodate the mass customization model. Accrediting bodies will need verification that the mass customization course is equivalent in quality to a traditional course.

These issues must be formally addressed and resolved if the shift to mass customization is to be successful.

 

MASS CUSTOMIZATION MODEL

Mass customization provides instruction tailored to each segment of learners and when possible to individual learners. Delivery of instruction will occur when and where it is needed. Instruction will be delivered using a variety of different media allowing the students to select the media that best matches their learning style. Students will be able to self-evaluate and track their learning progress. Students will be able to certify pre-existing competencies eliminating unneeded learning. In addition to basic subject content, students will be able to select specific specialized content that best meets their requirements.

The characteristics of the future mode of teaching a general university-wide introductory computing course are:

Mass production courses will continue to be offered in parallel with mass customization courses. The mass production course will eventually be phased out.

The mass customization course will utilize electronic classrooms, interactive television, the Internet, VCRs, CD-ROMs, interactive tutorials, E-mail and Voice-mail. Presentation of course content and the evaluation of students’ mastery of competencies will be matched with the best media resource and delivery method. The course will be modular with each module assigned credit units. There will be a process for certifying students’ mastery and providing instruction for each module. The length of the course from the student’s perspective will depend on the number of modules that require instruction. A data repository of terms, definitions, concepts, theories, rules and information resources will be established and administered. A context map will be provided on the Internet to help students track their progress in the course.

 

PEDAGOGICAL ISSUES

 Moving to the mass customization approach will require the resolution of a number of pedagogical issues. The following questions are posed:

 

TRANSITION ISSUES

 An organization with a clearly defined purpose can focus its efforts and resources to efficiently accomplish its goals. A poorly defined purpose often results in lost opportunities. During a period of transition, it is usually advantageous to create a market segment by providing a niche that will meet the needs of a specific segment or with radical innovation [8].

The transition for the introductory computing course can be illustrated in terms of the product life cycle. The major premise of the product life cycle is that all products and services go through four major stages. These four stages include introduction, growth, maturity and decline. The life cycle can be used to facilitate appropriate additions, alterations and deletions to the introductory computing course.

In terms of the product life cycle, the mass production introductory computing course has reached the maturity stage and is at the brink of decline. During the introductory stage, this course focused on a narrow set of specific applications, languages and hardware that were cutting edge at the time. Few students and relatively few majors required or completed this course. As the popularity of this course grew, enrollments increased with maturity being reached when the university required all students to complete this course.

The continuous growth of applications has placed the traditional introductory computing course at the crossroads of maturity and decline with respect to the product life cycle. The breadth of topics that could/should be included in the introductory course leads to three problems. First, it may not be possible to cover all of the topics necessary in a single course. Second, the subjects included in this course will probably reach some level of obsolescence by the time a student graduates since this is an introductory course. Third, the major stakeholders in this transition have a dynamic set of expectations and qualifications for the introductory computing course.

The department is facilitating the transition to mass customization by undertaking a one year course development project. The project will proceed as follows:

 Spring Semester 1997

  1. analyze stakeholder needs in terms of content, structure and delivery
  2. determine appropriate course content and structure
  3. develop course management
  4. monitor needs of stakeholders

Summer Semester 1997

  1. match delivery systems to instructional units
  2. monitor needs of stakeholders
  3. pilot test the course

Fall Semester 1997

  1. offer the mass customized version of the course
  2. monitor needs of stakeholders

 

CONCLUSION

 The era of mass production for the introductory computing course is over and a new mass customization paradigm is emerging. In terms of the product life cycle, this course has reached the maturity stage and is at the brink of decline in the traditional sense. The transition to mass customization will begin a new product life cycle for introductory computing. The demand for computer competent students, the diversity of computing skills of students entering college, competition, needs of stakeholders, technology and the need to certify and instruct students are driving the change. The complexity of expectations and qualifications of major stakeholders have become extremely diverse. Mass customization will meet the needs of stakeholders in the various segments. Faculty work overload, resistance from the status quo, and slow policy initiation will present impediments to change. Moving to the mass customization approach will require the resolution of a number of pedagogical issues such as enrollment size, credit hour production, minimum technology requirements for students, course marketing, etc. The department is facilitating the transition to mass customization by undertaking a one year course development project. During the first semester stakeholder needs will be analyzed and appropriate course content and structure will be determined. In the second semester, delivery systems will be matched to instructional units and the course will be pilot tested. In the third semester the mass customized course will be offered.

Mass customization will enable students to use information, delivery and service technologies to create their own learning environments and to enable instructors to individualize instruction. The transition to the new paradigm will be challenging and rewarding.

 

REFERENCES

 

  1. Atkins, George. Internet Telecomputing: A Computer Science Course. Proceedings of the Seventh Annual Small College Computing Conference, 1996.

     

  2. Atkins, George and Baugher, Madeline. The General Education Course: A New Perspective. The Journal of Computing in Small Colleges, Volume 10, Number 3, May 1995.

     

  3. Barr, John and King, Laurie A. Beyond Computer Literacy. The Journal of Computing in Small Colleges, Volume 11, Number 4, March 1996.

     

  4. Lutz, Charles M. and Hilton, Thomas S. E. The Evolution of a Computing Literacy Course: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Computer Information Systems, Volume XXXI, Number 2, Winter 1990-91.

     

  5. Masat, F. E. Computer Literacy in Higher Education. (AAHE-ERI C/Higher Education Research Report No. 6). Washington, D.C. American Association for Higher Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 214 446), 1981.

     

  6. Mitchell, William. Is the Black Box A Window? The Computer Literacy course in the Internet Age. The Journal of Computing in Small Colleges, Volume 10, Number 4, March 1996.

     

  7. Roth, Roberta and Duclos, Leslie. Meeting Entry Level Job Requirements: The Impact of the IS Component of the Business Undergraduate Curricula. Journal of Computer Information Systems, Volume XXXV, Number 4, Summer 1995.

     

  8. Rust, Roland T., Zahorik, Anthony J. and Keiningham, Timothy L., Service Marketing, Harper Collins Publishing, New York, 1996.

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

 C. Michael Hassett is an Instructor of Computer and Information Systems at Fort Hays State University. He has an M.S. in Computer Science from Kansas State University and an M.B.A. from St. Edward’s University. His teaching interests include introductory computing, assembler language, and database systems. His research interests include databases, multi-media instructional techniques, and continuous process improvement.

Robert J. Meier is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Computer and Information Systems at Fort Hays State University. He has a Ph.D. in Statistics from Kansas State University. His teaching interests include introductory computing, statistics, and operations research. His research interests include technology trends and instructional improvement.

Steven Schulz is an Associate Professor at Bellevue University, Bellevue, Nebraska. He earned a Ph.D. in Marketing at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska. His teaching interests are primarily in international business. In the research area, he is interested in global quality and international marketing.