Deploying an Online eBusiness Simulation as an Integrated Project for Undergraduate Business Student

1

• Deploying an Online eBusiness Simulation as an
  Integrated Project for Undergraduate Business
  Students
• A Pilot Programme
• Audrey Stenson and Conor Heagney
• Department of Business Enterprise
• IADT, Kill Avenue,
• Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin
• Tony Redmond
• Department of Computer Science
• Trinity College Dublin

2
Batchelor of Business in Enterprise

• 4th year of a 10 year evolution
• move from 30 CA to 78 CA
• Programme learning outcomes
• Emphasis on learning by doing/reflection
• Integrated projects (integrated learning)
• encourage and assess student learning in a safe
  academic environment
• relatively real-life simulations

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The Virtual Trading Project

• Promotes applied learning in a real-world
  eCommerce situation
• Hosted in the Management of Information Systems
  subject
• Four subjects linked to this project accounting,
  communications, organisational behaviour and MIS
• Project learning outcomes
• to understand how an eBusiness can run
• to be aware of potential digital business
  opportunities
• to solve problems in unstructured real world
  environments
• to integrate learning from different subjects in
  solving problems
• to improve group work skills

4
The Virtual Trading Project

• The students were required to
• research online trading
• source suitable products to sell online
• pitch for funding including a formal written and
  oral application
• plan and prepare for trading i.e. set up bank
  accounts, organise 3V cards, set up eBay and
  Paypal accounts
• trade for a period of 6 weeks
• produce a report detailing activity on the
  project over the course of the academic year

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The Virtual Trading Project Groups and Items
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The Virtual Trading Project Student Feedback

• Challenges to selling items online
• eBay.ie feedback rating
• item not suitable for selling online
• target market
• initial listing prices too high
• Problems encountered by groups
• It is harder to sell an item online than one
  might imagine
• Research is vitally important when selling on
  eBay and I just think we didnt research to the
  full capability that we could have
• If I had to do this project all over again I
  would definitely be looking to sell a different
  product first off as I feel that it was not best
  suited to selling online, I also believe a longer
  time frame would be required in order to sell.
• I would be more organised and make sure that
  everything was done in advance so that unexpected
  circumstances wouldnt prevent work from being
  done.

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The Virtual Trading Project Assessment

• Attendance figures
• class size in 2007/2008 was forty six
• 14 female and 32 male students
• non-attendance during the six week trading period
  of the Virtual Trading Project was 2
• over the course of the six week trading period,
  98 of the students turned up to class and
  engaged with the project at some point

8
The Virtual Trading Project Programme Learning
Outcomes
9
The Virtual Trading Project Programme Learning
Outcomes

• Programme learning outcomes span three academic
  years
• The Virtual Trading Project currently runs in
  second year
• The Virtual Trading Project addresses 5 of the 8
  programme learning outcomes
• Second year students cannot fully achieve these
  outcomes but instead can steadily work towards
  them

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The Virtual Trading Project Suggestions/Question
s for the Future

• Does this project improve the teaching and
  learning approach?
• Does this project help second year students to
  work towards achieving the programme learning
  outcomes?
• What can be changed to improve the experience for
  lecturer and student?
• How can lecturers be best supported in this
  integrated approach to teaching and learning?
• How do we evaluate individual students within a
  group?

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The Virtual Trading Project Suggestions/Question
s for the Future

• Student Feedback
• trading period will run twice during the academic
  year
• group issues under review in the Department
• Subject Integration
• review of
• scheduling
• communication between lecturers and students
• coordination of the project
• overall integrated team teaching approach
• Define clear success criteria for the student
  groups
• Measure impact on learning and on teaching in
  2008/2009 academic year

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The Virtual Trading Project Suggestions/Question
s for the Future

• Collaboration
• the Department and eBay Ireland
• eBay University - five star accredited
  international eBay trainer presented his
  experiences to all of the business students
• eBay Ireland presented a prize to the winning
  group at the end of the academic year
• the Department and eBay Ireland benefited by
  press releases issued by eBay Ireland announcing
  collaboration with IADT on this project
• proposed to involve local businesses in the
  project next year so that the students gain an
  insight into a real business rather than sourcing
  the products themselves

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Conclusions

• The installation of a major change in the
  learning environment, such as this simulation,
  typically takes a minimum of three years
• It is important that the students do not reject
  the initiative in the first years
• Student feedback is encouraging and accordingly
  the intention is to run the simulation in
  2008/2009
• The proposed changes will be incorporated to
  improve the experience for lecturers and students

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• Deploying an Online eBusiness Simulation as an
  Integrated Project for Undergraduate Business
  Students A Pilot Programme
• Thank you
• Go raibh maith agaibh.
• Any questions?
• Audrey Stenson and Conor Heagney
• Department of Business Enterprise
• IADT, Kill Avenue,
• Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin
• Tony Redmond
• Department of Computer Science
• Trinity College Dublin