http:www'slis'indiana'eduhrosenbawwwPresaoir_01

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Using the Internet to teach ecommerce The
challenges of digital pedagogy
Howard Rosenbaum lthrosenba_at_indiana.edugt 10.11.01
http//www.slis.indiana.edu/hrosenba/www/Pres/aoir
_01/
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I. Introduction The challenge of digital
pedagogy Collaboration technology, problem
based learning, and the internet II.
Teaching ecommerce with a virtual economy
How the VE works Using PBL in the VE
Student and shopper experiences
III. The value of a net-based simulation
Pedagogy and the real world
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I. Introduction The challenge of digital
pedagogy We spend many hours at work immersed in
digital environments using information and
communication technologies (ICTs) This is
extending into our social and private lives as
well We expect that our students are going to
spend many years working in networked
organizations What are the most effective ways
to prepare our graduates for work in these
environments?
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In the discourse on socio-technical trends in
higher education, we find that Schools are
increasing their investments in ICTs and are
integrating them into their curricula They are
offering instruction in different formats to
provide students with more flexibility More
curricula are beginning to focus on a range of
information environments and information
problems What do these trends mean for the ways
in which we educate our students?
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An opportunity



A suggestion An
implication
We have an opportunity where we can rethink the
ways in which we combine ICTs, the net, and
pedagogy
An important focus should be on the
investigation of information problems in
networked organizational environments
Pedagogical strategy and the socio-technical
infrastructure that supports it should immerse
students in these problems
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Collaboration technology, problem based
learning, and the internet Our Masters of
Information Science program emphasizes
teamwork The concept of teamwork is grounded in
situated learning, which assumes that learning
and cognition require social interaction and
physical activity Communities of practice
form where learning is constituted through the
sharing of purposeful and patterned activities
Roschelle, J. (1995), Brown, J.S., Collins, A.,
and Duguid, P. (1989)
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Situated learning and collaborative technology
A group
Problematic situation
Collaboration technologies
Community of practice
Successful resolution
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Information professionals learn to recognize
typical problems that arise in their
workplaces They develop a repertoire of
information behaviors that allows them to
resolve these problems Collaboration
technologies are important resources in this
work helping people Jointly produce shared
knowledge Generate communities of practice
Mutually produce new practice Interact,
communicate, and work with each other In a sense,
this is the real world we hear so much about
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How can we provide students with learning
experiences that prepare them to enter this
world? Is there a way to simulate the complex
organizational environments that they will
face upon graduation? How can we create a class
that requires students to spend an extended
period of time grappling with a difficult
problem? Are there pedagogical approaches that
focus on problems? Are there net-based
collaboration technologies that can support this
approach?
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Problem based learning (PBL) is an approach that
foregrounds the problem Learning is motivated
by a problem that should resemble one students
might face in the workplace The problem should be
complex and ill structured It should have no
clear-cut and easy answers It should have
nuances and subtleties not apparent upon first
analysis It should have relevance to students
who can analyze it using prior knowledge and
experience (Abdullah, 1998 1)
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PBL reverses the traditional approach to teaching
and learning As they work on the problem,
students propose plausible explanations or
hypotheses They develop plans and strategies to
resolve the problem They gather data that to
test their hypotheses or critically evaluate
their explanations and plans The instructor
provides relevant information, but only if
students offer a good reason for wanting
it (Margetson, 1998 194)
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Using PBL, students Take responsibility for
their education Learn about problem solving in
situations resembling those they will face in
their professional careers Learn to recognize
and analyze problems, taking into account their
contextual and dynamic natures Develop,
evaluate, and select among alternative
resolutions Engage in self-directed study
resulting in knowledge that can be used in
problem analysis Present and defend their ideas
in front of their peers
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I. Introduction The challenge of digital
pedagogy Collaboration technology, problem
based learning, and the internet II.
Teaching ecommerce with a virtual economy
How the VE works Using PBL in the VE
Student and shopper experiences
III. The value of a net-based simulation
Pedagogy and the real world
14
II. Teaching ecommerce with a virtual
economy Challenge to design and develop an
inquiry-based networked, learning environment for
teaching ecommerce Objective provide students
with a challenging, novel, technology-focused,
and learner-centered educational experience They
learn by doing ecommerce instead of listening
to someone talk about doing ecommerce Technology
a working, robust, and web-based virtual
economy (VE Web, Cold Fusion, and Oracle)
Syllabus http//www.slis.indiana.edu/hrosenba/ww
w/L561/syll/syll6.html
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How the VE works The virtual economy is a
distributed digital marketplace It is a
simulation of a competitive environment for
buying and selling digital products Activities S
tudents start up, design, and operate
e-businesses which compete in the VE This is
a semester long project Shoppers use digital
money to purchase information products and
services They participate for eight weeks
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Structure of the virtual economy
Store 1
Store 1
Store 2
Store 2
Bank
Portal page
Store3
Store 3
Store 4
Store 4
Flow of digital money Entering the VE Traversal
to store To portal
Shoppers
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The VE is based on HTML, Cold Fusion, and
Oracle It uses no pre-existing code and is a
proprietary design written to be transparent to
the participants No programming knowledge is
required to set up storefronts or to shop in the
VE The programming is modular, portable and runs
on a Solaris platform on a Sun Enterprise 250
server Cold Fusion can encrypt the code for the
primary functions (product catalogs, shopping
cart, and digital bank), so the VE is relatively
secure
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The VE is a collaboration technology It provides
a shared work space for store teams to develop
their businesses Each team works out its own
norms of interaction and rules for working
together It also provides a means for store
teams to engage in customer relationship
management as they attempt to initiate and build
relationships with the shoppers In past
iterations of the VE, this has involved the use
of email newsletters and chat rooms
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http//ebiz.slis.indiana.edu/g/ve/login.cfm
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Synergia information services
Vegas Casino entertainment
GetBusy information, services
DigiTeam collaboration services
SWOT.com information
GetBusy
Business Bistro bundled information
Succinct subscription
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Using PBL in the VE The problem is how to start
up, design, and manage a web-based
ebusiness This is complex, messy, and
ill-structured Students work in small,
self-directed teams and investigate issues
involved in creating ebusinesses They
determine what they need to learn to develop and
manage their stores They draw upon a range of
disciplines to resolve the problems they face
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The work is evaluated against real-world
benchmarks Sales, repeat customers, traffic
analysis, and customer feedback Students
apply what they learn to the basic problem as it
evolves over time This is authentic learning
because students publicly exhibit their
learning, and there are often real life
standards of quality (Gordon 1998 391) Outcome
higher levels of comprehension, more learning
and knowledge-forming skills, more social skills
(Rheem, 1999)
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Structure of the course and timeline for the
VE Week 1 Introduction Developing a start-up
company Week 2-7 Design, build, and test the
site 2 Present business plan, begin content
development 3 Database population,
evaluation of sites and development of
initial prototype 4 Development of advertising
and marketing plan 5 Final design online ad
auction 6,7 Presentation of customer service
and support strategies, testing and
redesign Week 8-15 Operate the storefronts
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The simulation becomes more real in several
ways There is competition bonuses added to the
final grade for the most profit and the most
traffic They never meet the shoppers face to
face Real digital products are being sold for
real purposes There is initial investment and
costs that have to be managed The banner ad
auction Web hosting Consulting (125/hr)
Market research (400 for a report)
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The student experience in the VE Store
owners Develop and implement business plans
Design working storefronts Design content
pages (product descriptions, help pages,
etc) Used a template page to set up a product
catalog, transaction procedures, and an order
form Develop content Annotated
bibliographies and collections of articles,
web site reviews, newsletters, subscription
services, editing and consulting activities,
and entertainment
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They Create advertising and marketing
strategies, banner ads for the portal page,
sales, and other promotions Participate in
an ad auction Set up customer service and
loyalty programs Develop policies to protect
customer privacy, handle grievances,
complaints, and technical support Manage their
businesses Monitor store accounts, handle
customer service and support, and maintain
inventory Add and remove content and redesign
pages
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Over the term, store owners raised fascinating
ethical issues They Took advantage of the
architecture of the VE Looked at each others
store directories Read each others weekly
reports Searched for pricing information One
group downloaded at least one of another
groups articles and sold it as their own When
do business practices cross the line between
competitive and unethical?
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The student experience in the VE Consumers Had
to develop familiarity with ecommerce Used the
VE extensively Checked their accounts and
purchase histories Provided extensive feedback
to store owners and the instructor Committed
fraud Claimed files were corrupted or never
delivered Took advantage of closing strategies
Formed buying circles
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I would like to thank my faculty colleagues and
collaborators Australia University of
Canberra Ric Jentzsch
University of Queensland Sophie
Cockcroft UK University of Bath Richard
Vigden, Joe Nandhakumar University of
Greenwich Margaret Lennox US The
Citadel Janette Moody Duquesne
University A. Graham Peace, William
Spangler Kennesaw State
University Martha Meyers Lehigh
University Catherine Ridings
Georgia College and State University Ric
Bialac I also received assistance from talented
SLIS students, some on the payroll and some with
independent studies Sun Microsystems and
Ameritech have also supported this work
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I. Introduction The challenge of digital
pedagogy Collaboration technology, problem
based learning, and the internet II.
Teaching ecommerce with a virtual economy
How the VE works Using PBL in the VE
Student and shopper experiences
III. The value of a net-based simulation
Pedagogy and the real world
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III. The value of a net-based simulation
Pedagogy and the real world This course shows
that a complex simulation can provide students
with a real world experience Internet-based
collaborative technology be used as the basis
for such a simulation Much has to change in the
pedagogy of a course built around a semester-long
simulation Teaching and learning
change Technology and pedagogy can be used to
bridge the gap between knowing what and
knowing how
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This combination of pedagogy and internet
technology is a useful way to prepare students
for their careers in IT They learn that their
implicit knowledge is legitimate and useful when
facing apparently unfamiliar tasks Because of
the range of problem resolutions, they learn
that heuristics are not absolute Students
generate their own solutions, which makes them
creative members of a culture of
problem- solving and community of practice
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They acquire new cultural tools A shared
vocabulary Workable methods of problem
analysis Collective problem solving The means
to discuss, reflect upon, evaluate, and validate
community procedures in a collaborative
process Groups give rise to insights and
solutions that would not come about without them
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Displaying multiple roles Successful problem
resolution helps them learn about the many
different roles needed for most cognitive tasks
in the workplace They can confront and discard
ineffective strategies and misconceptions They
refine their collaborative work skills They learn
about project management They learn that
ecommerce is hard work!
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Abdullah, M.H. (1998). Problem-Based Learning
in Language Instruction A Constructivist
Model. Eric Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on
Reading, English, and Communication, Bloomington,
IN. Brown, J.S., Collins, A., and Duguid, P.
(1989) Situated Cognition and the Culture of
Learning, Educational Researcher, 18, pp. 32-42.
http//www.ilt.columbia.edu/ilt/papers/JohnBrown.h
tml Gordon, R. (1998). Balancing real-world
problems with real-world results. Phi Delta
Kappan, 390-394. Margetson, D. (1998). What
Counts as Problem-Based Learning? Education for
Health Change in Training and Practice, 11(2)
193-202. Rheem, J. (1998). Problem-Based
Learning An Introduction. The National
Teaching and Learning Forum. 8(1).
http//www.ntlf.com/html/pi/9812/pbl_1.htm Roschel
le, J. (1995). What Should Collaborative
Technology Be? A Perspective From Dewey and
Situated Learning. http//cica.cica.indiana.edu/
cscl95/outlook/39_roschelle.html
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Using the Internet to teach ecommerce The
challenges of digital pedagogy
Howard Rosenbaum lthrosenba_at_indiana.edugt 10.11.01
http//www.slis.indiana.edu/hrosenba/www/Pres/aoir
_01/