ISECON.2001.Grant

Ryerson UniversitySchool of Information Technology Management : 

Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 2001 1 Ryerson UniversitySchool of Information Technology Management The Use of Internet-based Tools to Support the Delivery of an eBusiness Course by Ken Grant, Wendy Cukier and Franklyn Prescod November 2001

Agenda : 

Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 2001 2 Agenda eBusiness Curriculum in Canada Selected Programs in eBusiness eBusiness Curriculum at Ryerson Developing the Introductory eBusiness Course Course Content Evaluating the eBusiness Course Faculty Assessment What worked well? What did not work well? Course delivery and the Internet WebCT the delivery tool and communication vehicle Conclusions and implications for further research

Introduction : 

Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 2001 3 Introduction This paper reviews the results of a pilot project using Internet-based materials to deliver an under graduate elective course in eBusiness.

eBusiness Curriculum in Canada : 

Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 2001 4 eBusiness Curriculum in Canada eBusiness courses are scarce “the importance of developing the eBusiness talent pool in Canada through the acceleration of skills training and retraining”. (Ogilvie, 2000). Post Secondary institutions are beginning to offer specialized courses Government/Private sector partnership

eBusiness Curriculum at Ryerson : 

Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 2001 5 eBusiness Curriculum at Ryerson Course Objectives The objectives of the course were: Ø       To understand the changes that are taking place in our local and global economies, which are creating the new Digital Economy, and the real implications of Electronic Commerce. Ø       To understand the fundamental social, business and technology drivers in the Digital Economy. Ø       To learn how the basic business functions (such as marketing, sales, manufacturing, distribution and customer service) will be impacted. Ø       To examine the concept of the integrated supply chain and how it can be transformed by the new tools available. Ø       To address outstanding issues in this new field (such as copyright, privacy, consumer protection, taxation and payment flows), as well as likely future developments.

Course Content : 

Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 2001 6 Course Content Integrated lectures, labs and exercises on a variety of topics: Technology and business Internet as a business enabler Marketing on the Internet Internet Users, Ecommerce buyers and Digital Products Retailing on the Internet Setting up a virtual store

Course Content Continued : 

Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 2001 7 Course Content Continued Integrated lectures, labs and exercises on a variety of topics: Security and Payment B2B and Auctions Legal Issues Business models for eCommerce Industries in Transition Whither ecommerce?

Evaluating the eBusiness Course : 

Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 2001 8 Evaluating the eBusiness Course Enrolment The course has now been taught in two semesters to a total of some 700 students, with the approximate numbers as follows: Fall 1999 320 day students 45 evening students 20 distance education students (taught only over the Internet) Winter 2000 200 day students 90 evening students 25 distance education students

Evaluating the eBusiness Course : 

Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 2001 9 Evaluating the eBusiness Course Faculty Assessment During teaching to the Fall 2000 group, a number of significant delivery problems did occur: Limitations in the software being used that were not obvious until use in high volume situations Some errors made by the development team that affected student understanding and ease of use of the course material Significant performance problems with the software tool, particularly in an examination mode Some volatility in the continued availability of some of the websites used as reference links for the course material

Evaluating the eBusiness Course : 

Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 2001 10 Evaluating the eBusiness Course Student Assessment More than 95% of the students completed a 45-question survey Course content Course approach Overall experience The decision to offer the course to a large group vs piloting with a small group 70% - The decision was the right one 30% - The course should have been piloted 19% - Would have rather waited for the “Final” version of the course

Evaluating the eBusiness Course : 

Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 2001 11 Evaluating the eBusiness Course What worked well? WebCT as a course delivery tool The use of large lecture presentation format with multi-media delivery The use of WebCT to manage students (more than 10,000 lab assignments , projects and online quizzes to almost 800 students) Building an eRetail site using a template-based tool Online submission of assignments Communicating using WebCT’s bulletin boards and email

Evaluating the eBusiness Course : 

Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 2001 12 Evaluating the eBusiness Course Student Assessment What did not work well? WebCT’s inefficiency when dealing with large numbers of students Initially weekly assessments accounted for 40% total course marks Online testing in the first semester was a disaster

The use of course delivery systems for large classes : 

Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 2001 13 The use of course delivery systems for large classes Internet Access was necessary Equipment and Software facilitated student participation Technical support for faculty and students Faculty and student acceptance of this online program

Slide 14: 

Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 2001 14 Conclusions The demand for learning opportunities in this field will increase The experience in developing and offering a web-supported eBusiness course at Ryerson was mixed More detailed evaluation of the next iteration of the course Overall the project was judged to be successful Challenges related to curriculum design and delivery using WebCT

Questions : 

Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 2001 15 Questions Thank You!

Ryerson UniversitySchool of Information Technology Management : 

Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 2001 16 Ryerson UniversitySchool of Information Technology Management The Use of Internet-based Tools to Support the Delivery of an eBusiness Course by Ken Grant, Wendy Cukier and Franklyn Prescod November 2001