1. Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 20011 Ryerson University School 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

2. Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 20012 Agenda u eBusiness Curriculum in Canada F Selected Programs in eBusiness u eBusiness Curriculum at Ryerson F Developing the Introductory eBusiness Course u Course Content u Evaluating the eBusiness Course F Faculty Assessment F What worked well? F What did not work well? u Course delivery and the Internet F WebCT the delivery tool and communication vehicle u Conclusions and implications for further research

3. Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 20013 Introduction This paper reviews the results of a pilot project using Internet-based materials to deliver an under graduate elective course in eBusiness.

4. Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 20014 eBusiness Curriculum in Canada n eBusiness courses are scarce F “the importance of developing the eBusiness talent pool in Canada through the acceleration of skills training and retraining”. (Ogilvie, 2000). n Post Secondary institutions are beginning to offer specialized courses n Government/Private sector partnership

5. Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 20015 eBusiness Curriculum at Ryerson Course Objectives The objectives of the course were:  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.  To understand the fundamental social, business and technology drivers in the Digital Economy.  To learn how the basic business functions (such as marketing, sales, manufacturing, distribution and customer service) will be impacted.  To examine the concept of the integrated supply chain and how it can be transformed by the new tools available.  To address outstanding issues in this new field (such as copyright, privacy, consumer protection, taxation and payment flows), as well as likely future developments.

6. Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 20016 Course Content Integrated lectures, labs and exercises on a variety of topics: n Technology and business n Internet as a business enabler n Marketing on the Internet n Internet Users, Ecommerce buyers and Digital Products n Retailing on the Internet n Setting up a virtual store

7. Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 20017 Course Content Continued Integrated lectures, labs and exercises on a variety of topics: n Security and Payment n B2B and Auctions n Legal Issues n Business models for eCommerce n Industries in Transition n Whither ecommerce?

8. Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 20018 Evaluating the eBusiness Course Enrolment n The course has now been taught in two semesters to a total of some 700 students, with the approximate numbers as follows: n Fall 1999 u 320 day students u 45 evening students u 20 distance education students (taught only over the Internet) n Winter 2000 u 200 day students u 90 evening students u 25 distance education students

9. Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 20019 Evaluating the eBusiness Course Faculty Assessment During teaching to the Fall 2000 group, a number of significant delivery problems did occur: n Limitations in the software being used that were not obvious until use in high volume situations n Some errors made by the development team that affected student understanding and ease of use of the course material n Significant performance problems with the software tool, particularly in an examination mode n Some volatility in the continued availability of some of the websites used as reference links for the course material

10. Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 200110 Evaluating the eBusiness Course n Student Assessment u More than 95% of the students completed a 45-question survey F Course content F Course approach F Overall experience u The decision to offer the course to a large group vs piloting with a small group F 70% - The decision was the right one F 30% - The course should have been piloted F 19% - Would have rather waited for the “Final” version of the course

11. Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 200111 Evaluating the eBusiness Course u 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

12. Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 200112 Evaluating the eBusiness Course n Student Assessment u What did not work well? F WebCT’s inefficiency when dealing with large numbers of students F Initially weekly assessments accounted for 40% total course marks F Online testing in the first semester was a disaster

13. Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 200113 The use of course delivery systems for large classes F Internet Access was necessary F Equipment and Software facilitated student participation F Technical support for faculty and students F Faculty and student acceptance of this online program

14. Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 200114 Conclusions n The demand for learning opportunities in this field will increase n The experience in developing and offering a web- supported eBusiness course at Ryerson was mixed n More detailed evaluation of the next iteration of the course n Overall the project was judged to be successful n Challenges related to curriculum design and delivery using WebCT

15. Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 200115 Questions Thank You!

16. Information Systems Education Conference - ISECON 200116 Ryerson University School 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