Internships: Benefits Through Distance Education Thomas A. Bodnovich Karen L. Duda

March 17, MBAA/SAIS Conference2 Extends work of an earlier project … Internships: A Proposed Methodology for Success Internships: Benefits Through Distance Education

March 17, MBAA/SAIS Conference3 earlier project … Internships: A Proposed Methodology for Success 1. Obtain an internship job 2. Identify an appropriate project 3. Advisor communications with employer 4. Advisor communications with student-intern 5. Record internship experiences in a journal 6. Prepare an internship paper ♣ A detailed outline is provided to the student 7. Publish the internship paper on the internship web- site

March 17, MBAA/SAIS Conference4 ♣ Process of course development ♣ Experiences from course delivery Internships: Benefits Through Distance Education

March 17, MBAA/SAIS Conference5 Process of course development 1. Select a Course Management System (CMS) ♣ Support for course communications ♣ Course productivity ♣ Student involvement ♣ Course administration ♣ Course delivery Extensive CMS listing:Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (WCET)

March 17, MBAA/SAIS Conference6 2. Become familiar with CMS e-learning tools 3. Identify course objectives … the Internship Course objectives are … ♣ Acquire discipline specific job experience ♣ Develop and refine professional work skills ♣ Apply academic theories to business problems ♣ Develop progress reports ♣ Improve written communications ♣ Learn about various career opportunities Process of course development

March 17, MBAA/SAIS Conference7 4. Match e­learning tools to course objectives Chickering et al, good practices in undergraduate education … ♣ Encourages student-faculty contact ♣ Encourages cooperation among students ♣ Encourages active learning ♣ Gives prompt feedback ♣ Emphasizes time on task ♣ Communicates high expectations ♣ Respects diverse talents and ways of learning Process of course development

March 17, MBAA/SAIS Conference8 Process of course development 4. Match e-learning tools to course objectives (continued) … the Internship Course e-learning tools are … ♣ Syllabus ♣ Threaded discussions ♣ ♣ Electronic assignment submission ♣ Grade book ♣ Links to external web resources

March 17, MBAA/SAIS Conference9 A few items from the syllabus Week Activity Access WebCT Submit resume and job description 3Submit 1 st progress report 13Submit 2 nd rough draft of internship paper 15Submit final version of internship paper

March 17, MBAA/SAIS Conference10 Experiences from course delivery 1. Course enrollment ♣ 27 students completed course ♣ 12 students currently enrolled 2. Archive of each term 3. Communications ♣ Streamlined ♣ Unusual to talk face-to-face ♣ Impersonal ♣ Interns shared experiences with each other

March 17, MBAA/SAIS Conference11 Experiences from course delivery 3. Communications ♣ Interns shared experiences with each other (continued) a. initial impression about the internship position b. types of job orientation c. internship experiences d. analysis of concepts learned either at the internship site or through on-line discussions

March 17, MBAA/SAIS Conference12 What is the next direction for the internship course? Recall … 1. Started with a little used course 2. Developed a methodology for offering the course 3. Converted the course to a distance education offering 4. On the horizon ♣ Examine usefulness of other e-learning resources ♣ Examine course discussion topics ♣ Some other electronic support (non-CMS)

March 17, MBAA/SAIS Conference13 Internships: Benefits Through Distance Education Questions or comments

March 17, MBAA/SAIS Conference14 Internships: Benefits Through Distance Education Thank you