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1. Using the Internet to teach ecommerce: The challenges of digital pedagogy Howard Rosenbaum <hrosenba@indiana.edu> 10.11.01 http://www.slis.indiana.edu/hrosenba/www/Pres/aoir_01/

2. 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”

3. 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?

4. 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?

5. 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

6. • 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)

7. faces a which faces a and uses leading to a reinforcing the Situated learning and collaborative technology A group Problematic situation Community of practice Collaboration technologies Successful resolution

8. 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

9. 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?

10. 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)

11. 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)

12. 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

13. 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, learningenvironment for teaching ecommerce Objective: providestudents 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/www/L561/syll/syll6.html

15. • 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 Students 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

16. Structure of the virtual economy Store 1 Store 1 Store 2 Store 2 Bank Portal page Store3 Store 4 Store 3 Store 4 Flow of digital money Entering the VE Traversal to store To portal Shoppers

17. 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

18. 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

19. http://ebiz.slis.indiana.edu/g/ve/login.cfm

20. Synergia: information services Vegas Casino: entertainment GetBusy: information, services DigiTeam: collaboration services SWOT.com: information GetBusy Business Bistro: bundled information Succinct: subscription

21. • 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

22. 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)

23. 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

24. 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)

25. • 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

26. 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

27. 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 other’s weekly reports Searched for pricing information One group downloaded at least one of another group’s articles and sold it as their own When do business practices cross the line between competitive and unethical?

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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”

31. 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”

32. 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

33. 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

34. 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!

35. 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.html 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 Roschelle, J. (1995). What Should Collaborative Technology Be? A Perspective From Dewey and Situated Learning. http://cica.cica.indiana.edu/cscl95/outlook/39_roschelle.html

36. Using the Internet to teach ecommerce: The challenges of digital pedagogy Howard Rosenbaum <hrosenba@indiana.edu> 10.11.01 http://www.slis.indiana.edu/hrosenba/www/Pres/aoir_01/