In the digital technology era, mobile devices have an important rule to deploy a copy of data and information through the network. An electronic reader (eReader) allows readers to read written materials in an electronic manner that is available in many models. The objective of this study is to evaluate the usage of eReader by higher education students. We firstly identified the most frequently used eReader by surveying higher education students. The survey results showed that Apple iPad, Amazon Kindle, and Samsung Tablet are the most popular eReader devices used by higher education students. We presented these results, and then we analyzed the surveyed results in detail in order to develop an evaluation metric of the eReader in a mobile platform that clearly allows the selection of the most suitable eReader for higher education students. The main contribution of this paper is the development of a set of criteria that can be used by students in the selection of an eReader that matches their specific needs and requirements.

An E-Portfolio Assessment Management System (EAMS) can be an innovative tool that provides students with flexible opportunities to demonstrate the acquisition of skills and abilities in an outcome-based institution. The system has been developed and used for the past ten years to create, reflect, revise, and structure students’ work. It is a repository management system that facilitates collecting, sharing, and presenting artifacts of student learning outcomes via a digital medium. Therefore, it provides students with flexible opportunities to demonstrate the acquisition of skills and abilities to demonstrate growth of achieving learning outcomes. The rationale of the EAMS is to allow students to demonstrate competences and reflect upon experiences to improve their learning and career readiness; hence, they are accountable for their learning. The system was built around two defined set of learning outcomes: institutionally agreed upon set of learning outcomes, and learning objectives that are related to major requirements. The purpose of this study is to analyze students’ perceptions and attitudes when using an e-portfolio to support their employment opportunities. The participants were 217 students in the College of Technological Innovation. The students reported that the developing of e-portfolios was extremely helpful. The results showed that students have positive opinions about using e-portfolios as a beneficial tool to support their readiness for employment; they believe an e-portfolio increases their confidence to find a job in the IT field because it can allow them to showcase artifacts that demonstrate competencies and reflect upon experiences, and they can provide their supervisors during their industrial training with an e-resume that includes views of their actual work of what they have learned and are able to do when they complete their degree. Employers then can review e-portfolios to select prospective employees work readiness skills; hence, graduates are more likely to obtain a job in their workplaces. In conclusion, students do like the idea of e-portfolios when it is presented to them as a career showcase rather than a process for documenting learning. A career center can use e-portfolios as a tool to help students find a job. Furthermore, our analysis and evaluation uncovered learning issues involved in moving from the traditional approach of learning toward an integrated learning system that can be used after graduation.

Courses on Human Computer Interaction (HCI) largely differ in the conception of the role of the course in the program, in the topics to be included, in emphases, in the instructional strategies that are employed, and more. This paper describes the design and implementation of a HCI course for students of the Management Information Systems department in our college. Students’ intermediate and final homework assignments were analyzed to provide feedback for the course design. Quantitative analysis showed high correlation between the quality of the requirement analysis performed by the students and the quality of the final interface prototype, and also that the quality of design alternatives that were considered by the students can be a good predictor for the quality of the overall interface design. Qualitative analysis of students’ submissions showed the need for practicing skills required in users’ studies, especially conducting interviews and observations. Implications from these and other findings are discussed.

Simulations have been shown to be an effective tool in traditional learning environments; however, as distance learning grows in popularity, the need to examine simulation effectiveness in this environment has become paramount. A casual-comparative design was chosen for this study to determine whether students using a computer-based instructional simulation in hybrid and fully online environments learned better than traditional classroom learners. The study spans a period of 6 years beginning fall 2008 through spring 2014. The population studied was 281 undergraduate business students self-enrolled in a 200-level microcomputer application course. The overall results support previous studies in that computer simulations are most effective when used as a supplement to face-to-face lectures and in hybrid environments.