Abstract:

This presented paper deals with the analysis of the transformation of study information systems on Faculty of Humanities of Charles University from the point of view of social sciences. Such an approach is unusual in the Czech Republic, as research on information systems in higher education is normally focused on the technological side, not the social side. The analysis focuses explicitly on the interactions among human and technological actors or actants. It is constructed from semi-structured interviews with administration and technical staff, professors, assistant professors and students of the faculty. The presentation is comprised of the description of the process of the transformation of study information systems and of the comparison of different study information systems, both based on the experiences of their users.
First, we will trace the process of the transformation of study information systems. This will include a brief review of the history of united university study information systems, e.g. the process of integrating different functions and individual faculties. We will concern ourselves with problems, resulting from the process of exchange of information systems. The chosen case - Faculty of Humanities, was one of the latest to transform its information system. We will examine the process of exchange of study information systems.
Furthermore, the comparison of two consequent information systems used in the Faculty of Humanities will be presented. The old IS (Information System), developed in Masaryk University of Brno, is built as a web application system. We will speak about an all-in-one-pack system. The contemporary information system SIS (Study Information System), developed by company the Erudio, is based on desktop application philosophy. This system is not very complex. It does not for example include e-mail and in the past it did not contain e-learning. The analysis compares weak and strong aspects of the systems from the point-of-view of users. Some differences in these systems stem from different histories of development. IS has been in development since 1999, while SIS is younger, its current form dating back to only 2006. The analysis focuses on the graphical side of systems, user comfort and other properties as well. The presentation deals also with the usage of Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment). The advantages and disadvantages of Moodle usage from the point-of-view of the users will be summarized. Finally, the experiences of using Hotmail services as the faculty’s main e-mail system will be analysed and we will attempt to answer why the faculty management decided to discontinue the use of Hotmail.