Building a framework for the senior capstone experience in an information computer technology program

• Authors: Charles J. Lesko, Jr.
• Venue: Proceedings of the 10th ACM conference on SIG-information technology education
• Year: 2009

In developing an undergraduate capstone experience the fundamental focus characteristically centers on individual reflection of the college experience and demonstration, in a very practical sense, of the newly developed skill, methodology, and knowledge gleaned through the study of each student's chosen course of study. Capstone experiences typically encourage students to integrate facets of their area of concentration into a final effort typically coinciding with their last or senior year of study. Today's technology-focused academic programs face some unique challenges, not the least of which is maintaining a level of relevance as well as timeliness about the effort. In building a framework for technology-focused capstone experiences, there must also be a forward-looking agenda that further prepares students for coming challenges in today's globally-active workforce. Softer skills such as teaming, collaboration, project management, technical writing and oral presentation are all critical to the success of the capstone experience. This effort describes the early considerations taken in the development of a capstone experience for an undergraduate Information Computer Technology (ICT) degree program. The capstone experience describes the thought process behind the development of a traditional face-to-face course offering that covers the last two semesters of each undergraduate's program. Further discussions cover identification of capstone projects, scalability and class management, student team establishment and requirements, capstone project proposal and execution, classroom presentation requirements, and a brief review of student feedback from the first full year's experience. Finally, there is a brief discussion of the issues associated with development of a capstone experience for distance education students within the program that looks to yield many of the same objectives that are outlined for the face-to-face students.