BISM7255 Business Information Systems Analysis and Design

 INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT - WEIGHTING: 25%

 Reflective Journal on Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) Blended Learning Lectures with the Low-Code Platform Mendix Assignment task Starting in the Teaching Week after the break, the learning and teaching in BISM7255 will be in Blended Learning Mode with a particular focus on the no-code/ low-code application Mendix. This the core part of the Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) and is accompanied by a number of surveys on learning progress. To have a final assessment of the students learning, a reflective journal about the low-code business application (app) is to be created, which corresponds with the app. It is the final assessment piece for the course. Students are expected to write in their reflective journal about their significant Mendix learning experiences. This means they should reflect on the content, meaning, and value of the experience in learning coding and app development. It is important in the reflection to personally assess how the learning improves their future careers and career prospects (e.g., as a Business Analyst, Product Owner). This discussion should address whether and how the learning experience positions them better in the job market. Finally, the journal should end with a critical account of the learning choice made (i.e., the learning style/ approach the student chose to learn coding and app development in the context of the WIL blended learning mode), and an evaluation of how that learning choice affected their overall learning of the Mendix app development. To better appreciate this assignment, it needs to be clear what a reflective journal is and how it is used for teaching and learning purposes. Based on the article by Plack et al. (2005) (p. 200), a reflection is defined as the process of examining an experience undertaken as an internal process that helps the individual refine his or her understanding of an experience. An expected and desired outcome of the reflection is that it may lead to changes in the individuals perspective. Ultimately, reflections result in new insights and deeper understandings of [a persons] experiences ... and ... through this analytical process that the reflective [person] ... develops a change in perspective. The Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority explains that reflective journaling helps students achieve core skills of learning. In general, a learning journal can document a variety of information, ideas, thoughts, learning strategies, and working processes, and should contain decisions made and reasons or justifications for these decisions. Because the learning journal is reflective, it informs further learning or future experiences. It enables students to identify their growth throughout a subject or experience, and set goals, and develop metacognitive skills. It is recommended to structure, with the relevant headings, the journal into the following four sections: 1. Purpose In your own words, describe how the reflection on the WIL Blended Learning lectures on Mendix can help you learn better. 2. Significant Learning Experiences In your own words, present learning experiences and reflect on their meaning. The learning experiences must relate to different knowledge, skills, and capabilities. This means each learning experience must be a unique learning event not learning the same but more of it. It also must be a specific moment in time, not referring to an ongoing process of learning. Version (21 February 2022) 1 In this section, the student also needs to master the articulation of a reflection, not a description. A reflection shall be a critical and reflective engagement about the Mendix learning experiences and their meaning for the student. The described learning experiences need to match the Mendix app submitted. This means that the description needs to be an authentic account of the learning in the course. For example, it cannot be that a student reflects on the app development and elaborates how s/he created microflows, but the students app does not have a microflow. Inconsistencies like this will be reflected in reduced marks. 3. Implications for Career In your own words, think ahead of your future workplace, the job you want to do, the company you want to work for, and reflect on how the Blended Learning lectures helped, prepared, and advanced you in this regard. 4. Assessment of Learning Choice In your own words, assess your choices in preparation, engagement, own contributions for the Blended Learning lectures on Mendix. It can include a personal reflection on things that worked for you and things you would do differently considering the unique nature of Blended Learning and the creation of an app. It is expected that the reflective journal will be around 750 words to present the learning and impact reflections. However, the word limit is not considered as a specific criterion in the marking. This means that an assignment with only 500 words, but written concisely and focused tightly on the reflections and insights made, might be of better quality than a longer journal. Hence, students should dedicate time for revising and improving the writing to clearly achieve a reflection, not a simple reporting of past experiences. Hints: We found that longer texts are not better assignments. A longer journal means that the student includes a lot of descriptions. Yet, the assignment asks you to reflect. Reflections are shorter because they articulate your own awareness of how you think. Markers do not want to read what you did in WIL but why you did it and how you achieved it. Analysing and understanding yourself better through the reflections will make you a better learner for the next innovation. Layout The assignment must have a cover pages with the title of the assignment, student name and ID. Use the following format & presentation: - Times New Roman - Size 12 font - 1.5 line spacing - Left aligned - Normal margins (2.54 cm) - Number all pages Students must have four headings as outlined earlier to indicate the different sections of their reflection, such as 1) Purpose, 2) Significant Learning Experiences, 3) Implications for Career, 4) Assessment of Learning Choice. Important note: All points or aspects of the layout not specified above are left to the students judgment to ensure the professional presentation of the reflective journal. Version (21 February 2022) 2 Submission Format and Process The assignment must be submitted electronically via turn-it-in through the Online Submission Folder on the course Blackboard site. Files submitted as email attachments will not be accepted. Format: Word File ----- NO PDFs ALSO Students need to submit their Mendix App created as part of the WIL project. Name of the app: Student ID (8 digits) and first and last name. No spaces, use underscore. For example, 44191384_Michael_Smith and also see screenshot below. Facilitators will help you with naming the app in the seminar. To submit your app you need to add a marker as your team member: 1) Go to the Mendix platform 2) Go to Developer Portal and select on the left side COLLABORATE there select Team 3) Now you can invite team members. Click on the blue button that says Invite member" (see 1st screenshot) 4) A new screen opens with the title: Invite Users to [name of the app] App 5) Enter the email address of [email protected] into the entry field where promoted 6) Click Add to List 7) Select the role for the marker as Business Engineer (2nd screenshot) Version (21 February 2022) 3 8) Follow all the steps (3rd screenshot) until the invitation is sent and a confirmation is displayed that the invitation has been sent Submission Date Submission date: 27 May 2022 at 2pm The assignment will remain open for late submission, but late submission penalties will apply in accordance with the electronic course profile. If a student has not submitted the Mendix App then the submission is considered incomplete and late submission penalties will apply. References Materials provided by the Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority; Marking Process with a focus on the Mendix App The marking of the app is based on the implementation of the client's requirements of the app. Throughout the semester, these requirements are elicited and clarified. Because each student is part of a development team and each development team has a dedicated teacher, an ongoing understanding of how the student progresses with the low-code development is achieved. Furthermore, students will be given the opportunity to showcase their apps during the seminar time in Week 12 or Week 13. Because the reflection essay is about past experiences, students who did not experience the entire low- code learning are not able to write their reflective essay. Thus, we expect that each student develops a unique app from a Blank app or tailored another app template so that it works in Mendix Studio (publish the app) and addresses the clients requirements. Students who do not have an app or did not submit an app are given the opportunity to create their app and are required to submit their app as part of the assignments submission process. When the app does not implement the requirements (data model, advanced GUI features, workflows) students are given the opportunities to include them and resubmit their app. Until the requirements of the clients are satisfactorily included in the Mendix low-code app, late submission penalties apply. Margaret Plack, Maryanne Driscoll, Sylvene Blissett, Raymond Mckenna, Thomas P Plack (2005) A method for assessing reflective journal writing: Journal of Allied Health 34(4):199-208. http://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/ Matook, Sabine, Wang, Yazhu Maggie, Koeppel, Nuria and Guerin, Simon (2021). Experiential learning in Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) projects for metacognition: Integrating theory with practice. Australasian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS), Virtual, 6-10 December 2021. Version (21 February 2022) 4 MARKING RUBRIC Total 25 marks Criteria Fail Meets Expectations Very Good Mendix Learning Experiences What significant learning experiences did I encounter during the WIL Mendix Blended Learning lectures? No or poor description of learning experiences. No or poor understanding what an experience is. Zero-One mark Descriptive presentation of la earning experience. Learning experiences relate to the same form of learning. Two-Three marks Reflective presentation of two learning experiences. Learning experiences relate to different forms of learning. Four-Five marks Meaning of the learning experiences Why was each learning experience so important for my learning? No or poor reflection learning experiences. Zero-One mark Simplistic (no or limited critical and reflective engagement) description of what the learning experiences meant for the student. Two-Three marks Critical and reflective engagement with the meaning of each of the learning experiences. Four-Five marks Consideration of future career impacts How and why is the learning valuable for my future career? No or poor consideration of future career impacts. Zero-One mark Simplistic (not critical or not reflective) considerations on future career impacts had the learning. Two-Three marks Critical and reflective considerations on future career impacts having had the learning. Four-Five marks Reflections on learning choice What was the impact of my learning choice (your approach/ style) upon my learning of Mendix app development? No or poor reflections on the students learning choice. Zero-One mark Simplistic (not self- critical) reflections on the learning choice made regarding the blended learning in general. Poor link back to the learning experiences. Two-Three marks Self-critical dialogue on the learning choice made regarding the blended learning in general. Clear and logic link back to the learning experiences. Four-Five marks Layout, structure, grammar Does my reflective journal clearly and error-free communicate my reflections on the Mendix learning experience? Many errors that make the writing confusing and hard to read. Document is not structured with headings. Zero-One mark Writing has several errors in punctuation, spelling, or grammar. Some structure is recognizable, but some headings are missing. Two-Three marks With some exceptions, punctuation, spelling, and grammar are correct. Document is well structured. Four-Five marks Version (21 February 2022) 5